Submitted by Terri Angotto, Greenwich
Like most families, my cousins and I gather several times a year for dinner to celebrate holidays, birthdays, graduations, etc.
We enjoy this time together and look forward to it. But when it comes time to figure out when we actually sit down to eat, these gatherings get a little tricky. One of my cousins is Fred Camillo, First Selectman for Greenwich. So we typically offer our thoughts to one another about when he will arrive – he will be the last one to arrive for certain. We grumble a little amongst ourselves but we really don’t mind. There isn’t a time when we gather – including Christmas – where Fred doesn’t have a planned work event to attend. So we are patient and wait out his arrival. His job is too important for us to really mind – he’s at the helm of an incredible, one of a kind place in CT.
He’s always coming to dinner from a town resident gathering, meeting or other town event. That is the thing about Fred. He shows up always and everywhere for this town. His passion for Greenwich, its rich history and its future are always present mind for Fred. He’s loved it since he was a teenager and came to appreciate how lucky he was to be born and raised in such an incredible place.
His work as the First Selectman was tested early on in his tenure. Severe weather related storms and of course, the pandemic — which changed the way we worked, played, supported and enjoyed our amazing restaurants and retail vendors –presented all kinds of challenges to the office of First Selectman. There was no playbook for this but he navigated well through this unprecedented time!
His work to revamp the restaurants to provide outdoor dining on Greenwich Avenue was heralded by those in our town and was emulated beyond our borders in Fairfield County, providing restaurant owners with the blessing of keeping the lights on. The business district remained as vibrant as possible and continues to shine.
He works to make commonsense decisions for Greenwich with initiatives in safety, providing private partnerships when possible, addressing environmental concerns and our overall quality of life.
Prior to being elected to his first term as Selectman, Fred was the town’s State Representative in Hartford so it has been decades with Fred putting the interests of this town first. There is no better, more qualified, more experienced person to serve as Greenwich’s First Selectman than Fred Camillo.
He may be late for our dinners, but he’s always right on time for Greenwich. It’s ok – we will keep his dinner warm.
Terri Angotto
Note: Deadlne to submit LTEs for candidates in the Nov 7 election is Oct 30, 2023 at noon.