Submitted by Steve Brown, Greenwich
It’s a Matter of Trust
In April of this year Democratic legislators voted for an appropriation for a new build of Westhill High School in Stamford. It was a real commitment to our public schools and both Ryan Fazio and Kimberly Fiorello voted against the appropriation. It was a bad vote, but it is their prerogative.
It is NOT their prerogative to take credit for the funding. They joined the democratic delegation that fought for the appropriation and it was the definition of cognitive dissonance to see them there at the announcement of the successful appropriation.
It begged the question: Are they trustworthy? Will they support our schools when opportunities arise for Greenwich? What if Greenwich could get State funding for its new build of Central Middle School? Would they support it? Fiorello has already introduced a bill (HB 5509) that proposes to divert public school funding to charter schools.
At the Round Hill Association debate earlier this month Kimberly Fiorello promised she would not mischaracterize her opponents positions. But she felt free to mischaracterize the Black and Latino Studies curriculum that was introduced this fall at Greenwich High as anti-police, which is a flagrant mischaracterization. Fiorello aims to curtail learning because teaching only a limited set of facts supports her ideology. Fiorello cannot be trusted to protect our schools, our teachers, our students or their learning.
What if Republican lawmakers wrote a bill to ban abortions in Connecticut? Would they support it? Ryan Fazio voted against HB 5414 that authorizes Protection for Reproductive Health. Both Fazio and Fiorello say Connecticut law allows abortion and they would not oppose it. But if they could, would they?
What about the suit the Connecticut Citizens Defense League (CCDL) has brought challenging Connecticut’s assault weapons ban? The lawsuit was written by Republican State Representatives Dubitsky and Fishbein. Do Fazio and Fiorello support this suit along with the rest of the Conservative Caucus? Can we be confident they will stand against the overturning of the Sandy Hook law that banned assault weapons? Fiorello has co-sponsored HB 5970, which prevents towns from passing gun control laws stricter than those enacted by the state. She has an A rating from the NRA.
Her record doesn’t inspire confidence.
Both Fazio and Fiorello voted against the Clean Air Act passed earlier this year so we know they are not going to work to address climate change.
I don’t trust Kimberly Fiorello and Ryan Fazio to advance the interests of the majority of Greenwich residents.
Rachel Khanna and Trevor Crow are hard-working women who will stand up to fund our schools, support our teachers, keep government out of the private decisions of women, end gun violence and support smart climate action. I trust them to represent me, my family and my values.
Steve Brown
Greenwich
NOTE: The deadline for submitting letters to the editor regarding the Nov 8, 2022 election is Nov 1 by 12:00 noon.