Stay the course

Written by Sara Poirier Correa, Editor
Thursday, 29 October 2009 09:24

Election season, which has gone largely without fanfare this year, as there is only one contested race in New Canaan, is upon us. Tuesday is the day New Canaanites will choose their leaders, from constable to Town Council to Board of Education to first selectman. The latter is where the real debate has been.

The choices are clear: a Democrat and a Republican — Sally Hines and Jeb Walker. Both are capable, qualified candidates who have worked together throughout the past two years, weathering good times and bad, to make “the next station to heaven” stay on track. Their teamwork, along with the input of Republican Rob Mallozzi on the Board of Selectmen, has proven a good combination, and should remain intact as such. In this time of economic turmoil, unseen since the Great Depression, derailing a train that’s riding smoothly along the tracks would not serve the town well, and could cause disruption.

As the candidates’ forum last Thursday showed, with Hines and Walker agreeing on many issues, there is synergy on the Board of Selectmen. Whether fiscal prudence is an “undergirding” philosophy or an action item, it must be a way of life in town government, and in his first term, Walker has made it so.

Despite there being only one contested race, it’s still important to go to the polls, as many residents have given up their time to run and sit on the town boards and commissions. Registered voters should exercise their right and their duty as citizens.