Submitted by Jerry Cincotta, Caucus endorsed Candidate for the RTC from District 5
I am running for re-election to the Republican Town Committee as a fiscal conservative representing my neighbors’ interests to keep Greenwich the special place that it is. I believe the RTC’s primary mission is developing and selecting strong candidates to represent us and helping those candidates win elections. To do this all Republicans need to be involved.
In the Spring of 2022, I decided to volunteer at the RTC. During my interviews with several members of the leadership team, I was told the RTC had come together after the leadership change earlier in the year. As campaign season was ramping up, I was asked to be the communications liaison between the RTC and each of the four state election campaigns (Fazio, Fiorello, Lopez and Sherr). As time progressed, it became clear that not everyone was on the same page and there were existing issues to which I was not privy. After a month in this role, Ryan Fazio asked me to be his campaign manager due to personnel changes on his team.
Working on Ryan’s campaign was when my political education truly kicked into gear. I learned many things about how a campaign should work, including three primary lessons. First, candidate quality is critically important. While that may sound obvious, it is not always adhered to. Second, even a quality candidate can lose if there is not a strong and experienced team supporting the candidate. To win a campaign requires a significant amount of planning and execution across a range of activities and having experienced hands involved is key. Third, acknowledging weaknesses and getting the resources to fix them should be a high priority.
I believe there were multiple issues that led to three of the four RTC-endorsed candidates losing in 2022 with responsibility being shared by both the campaigns and the RTC. For the 2024 election, and beyond, the RTC needs to be able to draw on all Republicans to get involved. We cannot have experienced people sitting on the sidelines because of ego or apathy. Everyone needs to be focused on increasing the Republican party’s representation in the Connecticut General Assembly. One party rule in Hartford has initiatives like removing the successful 2017 fiscal guardrails, instituting electric vehicle mandates, and increasing Hartford’s control of local planning and zoning each gaining momentum. I think most Greenwich residents do not support these initiatives and to stop them Republicans need to win elections. We all should want more common sense in Hartford. I believe in the RTC’s tag line of “The Common Sense Party”. We need to make sure these words don’t ring hollow.
In the District 5 primary, I am running with Andy Duus, Michael Hahn, Marc Johnson, and Paul Olmsted. We ask Riverside Republicans to support us. Until March 4th , voting is available in person at Town Hall or by absentee ballot. Election day voting on March 5th will take place at the Riverside School from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Thank you for your consideration.