Marc Thorne and Robert Richards, selected at the town Democratic Caucus on Tuesday night as their party’s endorsed candidates for Board of Selectmen, each had statements about themselves that they read from or referred to at the meeting.
We reprint them here:
From left: Robert Richards and Marc Thorne, Democratic candidates for Darien\’s Board of Selectmen
Mark Thorne’s statement
I am married to Barbara Thorne, a retired faculty member at Darien High School and formerly a town official
We raised two boys, John and Andrew, who attended Darien schools
Our family has lived in Darien almost 40 years
I have been a Representative Town Meeting member from District 2 for about 30 years: — Presently a longtime member of Finance and Budget Committee, previously served on the Public Safety Committee and the Town Government Structure and Administration Committee. — Previously a member of the RTM Rules Committee.
I have been chair of the Darien Democratic Town Committee
I was recently president of the Darien Men’s Association
I am retired from IBM
I earned a BA from Cornell University and an MBA from Sacred Heart University
I feel confident that I can make a positive contribution on the Board of Selectmen. From my service on the Representative Town Meeting’s Finance and Budget Committee, I have a good knowledge of town operations and how responsibilities are divided among the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Finance and the elected and appointed commissions. :The voters hold the selectmen accountable for leading our town’s direction.
I am aware of the current and past issues that our town has dealt with and the issues that face us in the immediate future. Issues are what people are concerned about. A selectman needs to listen more than to speak.
I want to work constructively to have the best town government we can afford.
Robert Richards’ statement:
When I was 19, I held my first professional job as an automotive designer in Detroit. By the time I turned 20, I was promoted to [be] a senior designer at Ford Automotive. When I turned 21, I was accepted at Parsons School of Design in New York. By my second year at Parsons, I was hired as an assistant art director for Peter Max and received a scholarship from the Art Directors Club of New York.
Upon receiving a BFA in communication design at Parsons, I was hired by Calvin Klein Advertising and worked on the much publicized “Marky Mark” campaign.
Then in 1994 I founded Pin Design Inc., and as president and creative director I maintained a Fifth Avenue office for nearly 20 years. My clients include the famous, the not so famous and everyone in-between.
In the summer of 2008, my wife, Julie, and I moved from New York to Darien with our 2-year-old daughter, Taelyn. We have two children, Taelyn, who is now 9, and our son, Rhys, who is 5. Both kids will be attending Holmes School this year.
I have been an active member of the Darien Democratic Town Committee for the past 3 years and now I am stepping forward as a candidate for the Darien Board of Selectman position.