Submitted by Barrett Burns, Greenwich
My wife and I used to be lifelong registered Republicans. Not long ago we switched to the Democratic party for a variety of reasons. The current ruling Greenwich Republicans have been taking the party in the wrong direction. Period.
For 98 of the past 100 years, the BET chair has been a Republican.
For nearly a century, Republicans have held the BET’s tie breaking vote, and in recent years they’ve used it to push through shortsighted cuts that ignore both facts and community input.
This has meant higher long-term costs and unnecessary chaos — including but not limited to a surprise, last-minute $4.1 million school budget cut that forced teacher layoffs, larger class sizes, and earlier start times not to mention the long delayed but necessary school capital improvements.
In the private sector, this 98-year control would be deemed to be a monopoly. The R’s response would be that they have been duly elected. Yes, I get that. And I am not suggesting that the BET Rs are violating anti-trust law. That’s not what I am raising. What I am raising is the behavior of the Rs on the BET matches that of monopolists.
Monopolists thrive on control, of having it their way, of ignoring facts and logic as long as they are in control.
Monopolists believe they report to no one but themselves.
Monopolists believe they have all of the answers. Just ask them.
The good news, though, is that eventually monopolists fail because of those behavioral characteristics. This R-BET behavior has resulted in them slowly morphing from governing to ruling being the current situation. Think about that: morphing from governing to ruling.
Why do monopolists eventually fail? Because of hubris. The abuse of the power eventually overcomes them because with hubris comes arrogance. And arrogance leads to downsides.
And that is where we are now. There are many examples of this Republican BET arrogance.
It’s time to break this legacy, monopolistic behavior of the Republican BET.
I urge those who are eligible to vote in the upcoming election: Elect the Row A candidates, and there are many responsible reasons to VOTE FOR ALL SIX – ROW A – BET CANDIDATES.
Barrett Burns
A concerned Greenwich resident
Note: The deadline to submit letters to the editor about candidates for consideration in the Nov 4, 2025 municipal elections is Oct 28, 2025 at 12:00 noon.