Submitted by Peter Bernstein, registered Republican and former Chair of the Greenwich Board of Education
Growing up my parents impressed upon me the importance of voting for a person over voting for a political party. Never has this been more important than in the upcoming elections. Using the same criteria that I have used to support Republican candidates in the past, I am supporting Hector Arzeno to serve as the representative for the 151st District.
Once upon a time you could put your faith in the party nominees and expect that they would represent all of the citizens of Greenwich alike. When it came to state representatives, we could always count on the likes of Lile Gibbons, Livvy Floren and Fred Camillo, trusted members of our community whose dedication was a measure of what we should expect from people in public service. Unfortunately, we can no longer be complacent and believe that the political parties are making the best choices of who belongs on the ballot.
Make no mistake, the new Greenwich Republican Town Committee represents an extreme view of the world that is not in line with our town values. One just needs to read the RTC Twitter feed and other rhetoric they spout to see that fringe theories have become their primary message. They disregard facts, wage personal attacks and have become hyper-politicized. If you disagree you are labeled a RINO (Republican-in-name-only) or worse. Trust me; been there, done that and lived to tell the tale.
The current RTC leadership has nominated Peter Sherr as their chosen candidate to represent the 151st district. Having successfully run against him twice and after serving eight years with him on the Board of Education, I can emphatically say that I believe he will not serve in the best interest of the people of Greenwich.
Sherr is always a critic, never a problem solver and would rather find an opposing view than offer a solution. If there was an angry mob, he would look to join no matter the issue. He would not work to build consensus within our party or across the aisle, yet we are now expected to believe that he will be able to work to build consensus as a representative to serve in the best interests of the citizens of Greenwich. The one year he served as chair he was appointed by the Selectmen, not elected, as he fractured the Board and then exhibited all of the behaviors that he accused past chairs of doing to the detriment of the Board.
He often accused the Superintendent and fellow Board members of being in “cahoots” with the PTA – as if increasing parent involvement was a bad thing; yet that is now the platform he is running on. He missed many committee meetings – specifically the curriculum committee – and, as chair of the Strategic Plan committee, failed to advance an update to a now expired plan. He would often come to meetings late, seemingly unprepared, reading materials or texting during public comment, and asking questions easily answered by the written materials.
Sherr often tried to portray himself as the victim rather than the aggressor. But, the twelve years in which he served was also the period of the most instability in the Superintendent’s office, major turnover in staff, and the rise of toxic relationships within the Board amid his claims that the Board was dysfunctional. Lest we forget, he is the only Board of Education member in anyone’s memory to be censured for his behavior at a Board meeting – behavior for which he refused to apologize. Interestingly, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of a board to censure members in March 2022, but not before Sherr had a lawyer send a letter threatening Board members with litigation over the censure. Had that litigation been pursued it would have come at a great expense to the town.
More negativity in Hartford is not the answer and the last thing we need is another representative from Greenwich who is a sure no vote and will not represent the will of their constituents. We need to get back to sending representatives to Hartford that are willing and able to work across party lines to ensure we are well represented. We need solutions-oriented people who understand that Greenwich is a special place. And above all we need people that will ensure that the tax dollars we send to Hartford are well spent – including spending them here rather than being penalized for our success.
For the same reason I have supported specific Republican candidates in the past – the ability to listen, to be a consensus builder, to always be respectful to those who might have a different opinion, and the willingness to stand up for what they believe in even in the face of party pressure – I fully support Hector Arzeno for the 151st district. Hector will proudly serve our town and our interests in Hartford with integrity. His character is much more important than his party affiliation.
Do not just vote the party line. Please get out and show your support for electing good candidates by voting for Hector on November 8th.
Peter D. Bernstein
Bernstein is a registered Republican and former Chair of the Greenwich Board of Education