Darien Republican Caucus 2015

Joe Miceli, Rob Werner, Chris Noe, Spencer McIlmurray Return Petitions for Fall Election

Letters: First Selectman and GOP Town Committee on Caucus

Decision Time Monday Night for Darien Republicans: Which 2 Selectmen Candidates to Nominate?

Selectman Susan Marks Says She’s a Team Player on a Successful Board

Selectman Candidate Kip Koons Says He’s Experienced in Business and a Team Player

Selectman Candidate Spencer McIlmurray Wants Concerted Effort Against State Interference

GOP Selectman Candidate Joe Warren Wants Long-Term Planning

Selectman Candidate Kip Koons’ Statement to the RTC

Letter: GOP Town Committee Asks Darien Republicans to Get to the Caucus Monday Night

Stevenson: Marks, Koons Bring Right Mix of Experience to Board of Selectmen

Letter: Selectman Candidate Marks a Great Advocate; Koons Has Business Experience

Three Selectman Candidates Vie for GOP Caucus Support on July 27

Selectman Susan Marks to Challenge GOP Endorsement of McIlmurray for Her Seat

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Three candidates have returned petitions to be on the November ballot as independent candidates for first selectman, and a candidate who bid for the GOP nomination for selectman has also returned petitions. There also may be a GOP primary, if one candidate — Joe Warren — who asked for petition forms returns them by the deadline. Warren lost his bid in the Republican Caucus to be the party’s endorsed candidate for a seat on the Board of Selectmen. Rob Werner, Joe Miceli and Chris Noe have all returned signed petitions to be candidates for first selectman, challenging incumbent Jayme Stevenson, who has the Republican nomination. Miceli is a former member of the Board of Selectman; Werner and Noe have run for office before.

Two letters to the editor: One from First Selectman Jayme Stevenson (which came in first), the other from Republican Town Committee publicity chairs on the recent caucus and GOP candidate slate:

From Jayme Stevenson, first selectman:
Dear Editor,

Monday night’s Republican Caucus was memorable in many ways. More than 320 Darien Republicans came out on a hot summer night and casted their vote for an outstanding slate of Republican candidates, including my Selectmen teammates Susan Marks and Kip Koons. Susan, Kip and I are eager to hear the thoughts and concerns as we work to earn your vote on Nov. 3. It takes a solid team that’s committed to listening to our residents and business owners, and one that works together to keep our town well managed, open to opportunity, fiscally responsible and dedicated to maintaining Darien’s superb quality of living. It’s also an honor and privilege for me to have earned the caucus endorsement and run for a third term as your First Selectman.

There are four sides to this political contest in the Darien Republican Party, and every registered Republican in town can have a say in it by showing up at tonight’s GOP caucus in Town Hall. Four candidates for the Board of Selectmen are vying for two available seats. Selectman Susan Marks, who’s worked closely with First Selectman Jayme Stevenson, wants to be renominated for a second term. She didn’t get that at the last meeting of the Republican Town Committee, which chose Kip Koons and then Spencer McIlmurray as the two endorsed candidates. Former Selectman Joe Warren also applied for an endorsement, was rejected and — like Marks, submitted petition signatures to be considered in the 7 p.m. Republican Town Caucus.

A large part of the job of any selectman working with a first selectman in her own party is working cooperatively on the board together, and while other candidates may indicate they want to do that, Selectman Susan Marks has already been doing it for more than 18 months. A 26-year resident of the town, Marks says her strengths include being able to listen well and work cooperatively with others. “I think this current Board of Selectmen has worked extremely well together,” Marks said in a recent interview. “I think Jayme has done an excellent job as far as bringing the board together to get consensus.” Last winter, the board’s first budget vote was 3 to 2, with Democrats on one side, the GOP members on the other, she said.

Kip Koons (Charles A. Koons), was recruited to run for selectman by First Selectman Jayme Stevenson and Susan Marks, and all three are supporting each other as a (currently unofficial) ticket for the GOP Caucus on Monday night. The business consultant and just-about lifelong resident (he moved to town as a young child), said he was speaking with Stevenson after an April meeting of the Board of Selectmen in which state Sens. Bob Duff and Carl Leone gave the board what he considered a weak response to local concerns about state meddling in what are traditionally town concerns like zoning in the business districts. “My first task is to assist First Selectman Jayme Stevenson in maintaining a lean, responsible form of government,” Coons said in a recent interview. He then quoted from his statement to the Republican Town Committee on the night he was endorsed.

Darien town officials need to counter state interference in local taxing, zoning and housing decisions with strategies that show state lawmakers that Town Hall is addressing problems better than the state can, says Spencer McIlmurray, one of four GOP candidates for selectman. Registered Republicans will meet 7 p.m. Monday at a town caucus to select a nominee from four candidates. McIlmurray and Kip Koons are the two candidates endorsed by the Republican Town Committee. Koons, however, has said he’s running on a “ticket” with First Selectman Jayme Stevenson (who is unopposed within the Republican Party) and incumbent Selectman Susan Marks, who was not endorsed. Joe Warren is also a candidate for one of the two spots.

Joseph Warren, a member of the Board of Selectmen a decade and more ago and well-known in several roles around town, is again running for a seat on the board. If elected, one of Warren’s biggest goals for the next two years would be to make sure the town takes a long-term, integrated look at where various projects are headed, particularly the major redevelopment proposals for Noroton Heights and downtown Darien. “What I am looking at is some long-term planning — what the long-term implications of the decisions we make are going to be,” Warren said in an interview on Saturday. For the Palmer family’s proposal in Noroton Heights and the David Genovese/Penny Glassmeyer proposal for downtown, as well as for another expected proposal for the east side of Noroton Heights, Warren said:

“How are we going to manage storm runoffs? How are we going to manage sewage disposal?

On July 8, Kip Koons and three other candidates for the two Darien Board of Selectmen seats up for election this year answered questions and spoke before the Republican Town Committee. He made his application and prepared remarks available to Darienite.com. Koons and Spencer McIlmurray were each endorsed by the town committee. Two candidates who did not get the endorsement — Selectman Susan Marks (running for re-election) and Joe Warren (a former selectman) have filed petitions to challenge the endorsed candidates at the Republican Town Caucus, open to all registered Republicans in town. The town GOP caucus takes place Monday, July 27, at 7 p.m. in Town Hall Auditorium, 2 Renshaw Road.

To the editor:

The Darien Republican Town Committee announced our slate of nominees for endorsement at the July 27 Republican Caucus, including 25+-year resident Spencer McIlmurray, former RTC member currently on the RTM; along with life-long resident Kip Koons as our Republican representatives for Board of Selectmen. The RTC also nominated: Jayme Stevenson/First Selectman; Donna Rajczewski/Town Clerk; Joan Hendrickson/Town Treasurer; Kathleen Larkins/Tax Collector; James
McLaughlin and James Palen, for Board of Finance; Sarah Schneider-Zuro and
Elizabeth Hagerty-Ross for Board of Education; Richard Dolcetti /Board of Assessment Appeals; Susan Cameron and Richard DiDonna for Planning & Zoning Commission; Joseph Tarnowski and Louis Calastro for Constables. We hope all registered Republicans will join us in endorsing this exemplary and well-balanced slate and show your approval with your votes on Monday, July 27t as we move forward with new, highly qualified nominees complementing the returning candidates, to work through the difficult issues facing Darien’s future. Nanci Natale
Co-chair, Publicity Committee,
Darien RTC

Editor’s note: Darienite.com publishes letters to the editor and will accept letters about the GOP contest for the two selectmen seats up until 5 p.m. Friday, July 24. Email letters to the editor or proposed opinion articles to dave@darienite.com.

To the editor:
On Monday, July 27 at 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall, Darien Republicans have their first opportunity at the Republican Caucus to show support for whom they wish to lead our town for the next two years. The election season is always a great opportunity to hear about important town issues and who will lead with the best interests of all our residents and taxpayers in mind. I’m honored to have the support of the Republican Town Committee to seek reelection as Darien’s First Selectman and look forward to earning your vote. The work of the Board of Selectmen is a team effort and requires diverse viewpoints and outreach to make the best long term policy decisions for our town. Susan Marks and Kip Koons each will bring the right balance of leadership, outreach and business acumen to my team. Susan Marks, my friend and teammate, has been an outstanding and involved member of the Board of Selectman since 2013. She understands well the role of boards and commissions in the governing process. Susan is a hard-working consensus builder and community advocate as evidenced by her 20 years of active involvement in our town schools, non-profits and on the Board of Selectman. Susan and I welcome Kip Koons, a lifelong Darien resident, to our team! Mr. Koons is a senior financial consultant with a law degree and 45 years experience in strategic and operational decision-making for both public and private companies. He has also served Darien in non-profit leadership roles with Family Centers, the Darien YMCA and the Darien Red Cross.

To the editor:
With the flurry of press surrounding the presidential race that’s 15 months away, it’s easy to lose sight of our very own election that’s right around the corner. But before residents of Darien cast their ballots in November’s municipal election, registered Darien Republicans have the opportunity endorse Board of Selectmen candidates at the Republican Caucus on Monday, July 27 at 7 pm. The contested caucus is an opportunity for all Republicans to make a choice.
The Town of Darien is run by hundreds of wonderful volunteers who give their time and talent. Jayme Stevenson, Susan Marks, and Kip Koons are no exception. Jayme with her proven leadership, Susan with her long-time community advocacy, and Kip with his business experience are three wonderful examples.
All three bring something unique and all three bring their commitment to and love for Darien. Please join me in supporting Jayme, Susan and Kip on Monday. Sara Franzese
Darien

Registered Republicans in Darien are being asked to choose on July 27 between at least three candidates who want the party nomination for two seats on the Board of Selectmen. First Selectman Jayme Stevenson is supporting Selectman Susan Marks and Kip Koons (full, formal name: Charles A. Koons Jr., not to be confused with his son, Charles III). The Republican Town Committee earlier this month endorsed Koons and Spencer McIlmurray, but not Marks, the incumbent for two years. With petition signatures, Marks will put her name before the July 27 caucus in Town Hall to which every registered Republican in town is invited to come and cast a vote. (Any other Republican in town can also petition to be a selectman candidate before the caucus.

« August 2022 »

After the Republican Town Committee recently decided not to endorse Selectman Susan Marks for re-election, instead throwing its support to Spencer McIlmurray, Marks decided she wasn’t stepping down without a contest. So on Sunday Marks announced she’s throwing her hat back into the ring, saying she’ll contest that endorsement at the upcoming GOP Town Caucus. The caucus is open to any registered Republican. It meets to nominate candidates on July 27. “I will be a petitioning candidate at the upcoming Republican caucus,” Marks said in a news release issued Sunday.