Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor Train

Selectman David Martin: Sarah Neumann Has Been Dedicated and Worked Actively for the Town

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To the editor:

I am writing to urge Darien residents to vote for Sarah Neumann for the Board of Selectmen for Darien. Now more than ever Darien needs leaders focused on understanding how issues affect residents and businesses, who do the hard work to know the details and history of any issue. Sarah is that person. I currently serve on the Board of Selectmen with Sarah and can attest that she is dedicated to listening and responding to resident needs. Whether it be Eversource’s tree cutting on Littlebrook Road, or flooding issues on Crimmins, Saltbox or Coachlamp, she is always responding to resident inquiries and reaching out proactively to understand their concerns.

Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor Horse brown

Monica McNally Was Diligent, Found Middle Ground in Getting RTM To Approve Darien Bag Ordinance

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To the editor:

Darien has an important choice to make in November in deciding who can best provide the type of strong leadership we’ve come to expect from our first selectman during Jayme Stevenson’s successful tenure. I would like to share my perspective on candidate Monica McNally with the Darien community, as I had the pleasure of working with her during the campaign to reduce plastic use in Darien, as a co-chair of BYO Darien. Monica was assigned by the Public Works Committee to present our petition to the full Representative Town Meeting and move the process forward. She performed very diligent research and investigated the potential impact of our petition on the Darien community from all possible angles. She created very relevant documentation to satisfy questions from the RTM members when she presented the petition to them.

Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor 2 cents Parcel Post

On the RTM, Monica McNally Was Instrumental in Addressing Complex Problems

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To the editor,
I have served with Monica McNally on the Representative Town Meeting in various capacities since she first joined the Public Works Subcommittee, a committee she would chair the following session. I also worked alongside Monica on the Rules Committee to the RTM and the Technology Subcommittee to the Rules Committee during the most recent legislative session. In each of these leadership roles Monica consistently demonstrated a willingness to jump in, listen, learn and do whatever necessary to benefit our town and residents. Through hard work, patience, inclusiveness, curiosity and fiscal good sense, I observed Monica would build a solid knowledge base that governed her actions on the items that came before her. By taking into consideration the perspectives of various constituencies Monica was instrumental in advancing environmental, safety and operational initiatives, with budgetary discipline taxpayers expect to improve the quality of life in Darien.

Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor Columbus

Stacey Tie and Julie Best Have Testified in Hartford About the Need for Local Control of Education Decisions

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To the editor:

It’s hard for me to express how much I support the candidacies of Julie Best and Stacey Tie for the Board of Education. We were all on the Council of Darien School Parents together for years, and no one was more dedicated and enthusiastic in representing the parents of Darien. Many people don’t know how much work being a great parent representative is; CDSP members attend a fair number of Board of Ed meetings. Julie and Stacey attend all of them. Being a member of the Board of Education requires absorbing an enormous amount of information — these two are ahead of the game!

Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor Swords WWII

Monica McNally Has the Knowledge, Skills and Temperament To Be First Selectman

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To the editor:

Starting in December 2018 I served with Monica McNally on the Representative Town Meeting’s Public Works Committee. As chairman, Monica demonstrated knowledge, tolerance, consideration, inclusiveness, curiosity and sensible budgetary leadership. Monica was instrumental in the passing of numerous initiatives and budgetary items resulting in significant positive impact to the quality of life in Darien. These important infrastructure initiatives don’t gain much notoriety but they foster improvements to town safety, sidewalks, roads, waste management and recycling, sewer and storm drainage, etc. She also served on the RTM Rules Committee and subcommittee for technology.

Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor Theodore Roosevelt

Guess How Much Darien Sends to the State Government in Taxes

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To the editor:

I‘ve lived in Darien for 35 years and served as a public official for 28 years (12 years on the Representative Town Meeting and 16 years as your town treasurer). But, I’ve never heard of the situation that occurred on Sept. 26! That day, two U.S. senators and a U.S. congressmen came to Darien to insert themselves into our First Selectman race supporting the Democratic candidate. Why so involved in our small town of about 21,000 people and a local political race?

Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor Newspapers Periodicals

Selectman Sarah Neuman Is an Organizer With Long Experience Leading Groups in Town

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To the editor:

Sarah Neuman is a skilled organizer, effective communicator, and selfless advocate for others. Her candidacy for the Board of Selectmen meets the needs of our town. We met Sarah almost 20 years ago and have been continually impressed with her caring and dedication towards others that has extended to the town of Darien. Our families bonded through our children and have remained very close over the prior two decades. Through her volunteer work, Sarah delivers a positive experience for the people and businesses of Darien.

Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor Swords WWII

Stacey Tie and Julie Best: Tireless Leadership, a Firm Grasp of Education Issues

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To the Editor:
As we have seen over the past 18 months, public service in support of our schools can be a challenging and thankless endeavor. That’s why I am so thankful that Stacey Tie and Julie Best are willing to step forward and serve our students as members of the Darien Board of Education at such a pivotal time. Our students would be so fortunate to have Stacey and Julie as advocates at the table on their behalf. For years, Stacey has been my “go-to” when navigating school issues — particularly as my son’s special education journey began. She has an uncanny way of getting to the heart of any matter with reasoned logic and an impressive level of patience for details.

Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor Thomas Jefferson

Candidates Julie Best and Stacey Tie Have Dedicated Their Time to Darien Schools for Years

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To the editor:

It is with great enthusiasm that I write a letter of support for Julie Best and Stacey Tie for Darien’s Board of Education in 2021. Julie Best and Stacey Tie have each spent years working in a wide range of capacities within the Darien PTO organizations as well as town government to improve our schools and our community. As a current parent of students in the Darien district, I am grateful for their ever-present support, experience and dedication, helping our students, parents and schools navigate a year and a half of unforeseen challenges. In addition to their work on our various school TPO organizations, Stacey Tie has served on the RTM and its Finance and Budget committee since 2016 and offers experience in all aspects and challenges of our district’s budgets while Julie Best has served in numerous PTO organizations in Darien, with her most recent leadership role as the co-chair of the Council of Darien School Parents, the umbrella organization for all Darien PTOs. I feel their dedication, energy and creative thinking will offer our community the passion, leadership and partnership we are looking for at this time.

Education
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Stacey Tie Has Integrity, a Strong Urge to Help Darien Educate Its Kids and Is Familiar With the Budget

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To the editor:

I write in support of Stacey Tie’s candidacy for a seat on the Board of Education. Stacey has so many qualities that will make her an ideal BOE member. Topping the list: integrity. Stacey’s decisions will be principled and rooted, above all else, in what’s best for our children. Stacey brings to bear a unique array of relevant experience that will guide her service on the BOE.

Board of Selectmen Election 2021
Letter to the Editor Washington 1932

Former Selectman Susan Marks: GOP Slate for Board of Selectmen Has Wide Experience, Knowledge

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To the editor:

First Selectman candidate Monica McNally, and Board of Selectmen candidates Jon Zagrodzky and Marcy Minnick are the team that will continue lead Darien to be a town people want to move to, raise a family, shop, dine, open a business and retire in. Monica, currently on the Board of Selectmen, has been giving back to the town for over 25 years. As a community advocate, she was a founding member of OPUS and president of the YWCA Women‘s Club. Elected to the RTM eight years ago, she quickly rose to the leadership roles of vice-chair of the Rules Committee and chaired the Public Works Committee. Importantly, Monica has a solid foundation in finance, having worked as a financial consultant for Smith Barney.

Board of Education Election 2021
Letter to the Editor Pilgrim

Ignore the National Culture Wars, Stacey Tie and Julie Best Have a Pragmatic Focus on Darien’s Needs

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To the editor:

We’ve all sought out new activities during the pandemic as we’ve all had so much more free time at home. For me, I spent more time paying attention to our local government. Zoom enabled viewing town council and school board meetings with an ease that didn’t exist before. Mostly, I was interested in how the pandemic was affecting Darien, and especially how town officials were managing and planning school activities. I’m not a particularly political person, and when we moved to town a decade ago I was impressed by the moderate pragmatism that defined both the Democratic and Republican politicians in town.

Board of Education Election 2021
Letter to the Editor Train

On the Board of Education, Julie Best and Stacey Tie Will Ask the Hard Questions

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To the editor:

On Nov. 2, we, the Darien community, have the opportunity to elect two experienced and passionate Board of Education candidates, Julie Best and Stacey Tie. I am able to share a unique perspective as I have worked closely and served on the Tokeneke Elementary PTO Board as well as the Council of Darien School Parents (CDSP) Executive Board with both of these dynamic women. From our years of working together, I can tell you firsthand they are natural leaders who have the drive and dedication to be instrumental members of the Board of Education. Julie has held numerous volunteer positions such as Tokeneke PTO co-chair, Tokeneke Pumpkin Carnival co-chair and most recently as the co-chair of the CDSP.

Board of Education Election 2021
Letter to the Editor Farming

Former Selectman Barbara Thorne: Board of Ed Candidates Best and Tié Have Deep Experience Helping Schools

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To the editor:

DPS IS BACK!!! This represents a total community collaboration and two candidates  — Julie Best and Stacey Tié — have demonstrated how to accomplish this. Years of volunteering have resulted in strong connections to the community beyond boundaries of school and the Representative Town Meeting. Their actions and words create a positive platform for exchange of information and ideas. Beyond special interests and single issues they encompass the entire education system with a goal to build even better.