Submitted by Penny Monahan, Greenwich Selectman, 2001 – 2007
To the Editor,
On Tuesday, November 7th I look forward to casting my vote for Laura Erickson for First Selectperson.
Laura Erickson is a proven leader with decades of experience serving Greenwich citizens on the RTM, Board of Education as Chair and on the Board of Estimate and Taxation and its important Budget Committee.
Her experience as a Finance professional, mother of three adult children who attended Greenwich Public Schools and her engagement with their schools provide her a unique perspective that will serve Greenwich very well.
As a 38-year employee of the Greenwich Police Department, former 3 term Selectwoman, member of the RTM and a proud “Townie” I have worked with several First Selectmen from both parties. During their tenures Greenwich was consistently recognized as a “safe community”. These safe community rankings are the result of dedication, training and hard work by the men and women who serve in our Police, Fire and GEMS, more so than any politician.
Recently we have seen the result of haphazard decisions made by the current Town administration to remove traffic control from Greenwich Avenue without any plan and delay replacement of essential fire apparatus. Laura Erickson will work with our Public Safety Chiefs and citizens to be a strong leader for public safety by standing up at the BET and RTM advocating for funding these essential resources. She will provide principled leadership for our neighborhoods and the men and women in uniform.
Laura will keep her commitment to our seniors by supporting Nathaniel Witherell Skilled Nursing Facility under Town management as this is one of Greenwich’s earliest public-private partnerships.
The current First Selectman campaigned on supporting Nathaniel Witherell as a Town Department only to turn his back on the families and residents of Nathaniel Witherell once elected. He betrayed many residents and their families through his nominations to the Nathaniel Witherell Board and his seeking request for proposals to “privatize” this treasured service for the most vulnerable in our community.
Greenwich will be well served with Laura Erickson as First Selectperson. Please join me in voting 1A for her on Nov. 7th.
NOTE: The last day to submit a LTE about a candidate is Oct 30th at 12:00noon, no exceptions. We are starting to get a backlog, so if you see letters published after Oct 30, that’s the reason.