Farewell to Major, Bliss: Weston selectmen make way for new board

Written by Kimberly Donnelly
Wednesday, 04 November 2009 11:38

For the last eight years, Weston has experienced some Major Bliss — Selectman Glenn Major and First Selectman Woody Bliss, that is.

Next Tuesday, on Nov. 10, as a new Board of Selectmen and other newly elected town officials are sworn in, the town will bid farewell to the two Republicans who have sat at the head of the table in the town hall Meeting Room, and at the top of the ticket for nearly a decade.

“It’s time for a fresh face behind the table,” Mr. Major said earlier this week. While he has loved serving the town as selectman, he said, over time, “you can get stale and even jaded... It was just time for someone else to take their turn.”

Mr. Bliss said he doesn’t think Weston has seen the last of Mr. Major, who was born and raised in Weston. “Glenn has been a terrific partner for the last eight years. He’s a brilliant guy, really very smart. Most importantly, he’s not afraid to ask the really tough questions, and to demand to get straight answers,” Mr. Bliss said. “The people of Weston have been very lucky to have had him on the Board of Selectmen, and I hope he chooses to run for first selectman one of these days. I think he’d be a great first selectman.”

Maybe someday, but not in the near future, Mr. Major said. For the time being, he is looking forward to spending more time with his family, which includes his wife, Elise, and his two children, a seventh grader and a high school freshman. “They are reaching that age where I think it’s important to be very available to them,” Mr. Major said.

In addition, Mr. Major, an attorney, said he also looking forward to reviving his zoning practice, something he had to give up while serving on the board.

For Mr. Bliss, who served as selectman for two years prior to running for the top spot with Mr. Major in 2001, at 73, he said he is ready to “get to some things I’ve neglected for the past 10 years.”

He is looking forward to doing more traveling — especially to see his three grown children and his five grandchildren — and doing more sailing and skiing, two of his favorite activities.

Another passion is genealogy. He is a lifetime member of the Connecticut Genealogy Society, and, now that he will have more time on his hands, Mr. Bliss is considering teaching the tools and techniques of genealogy research.

A look back

A look back at the past decade or so shows Mr. Bliss and Mr. Major have led the town through some fairly significant changes. As a selectman when Democrat Hal Shupack was first selectman, Mr. Bliss helped usher in the $80-million school and recreational facilities project. Bringing that project to fruition — the building of a new intermediate school, expanding the high school, and construction of playing fields at Morehouse Farm Park and Bisceglie-Scribner Park — took the better part of four terms in office.

Before the school project could be approved, however, Mr. Bliss said the town first had to deal with septic problems at the schools. The town was divided between those who thought sewers were the answer, and those — like Mr. Bliss — who believed there had to be a better way.

The ultimate solution — the Xenon treatment plant that now sits across from the middle school — was the result, Mr. Bliss said, of many volunteers who put in countless hours. “A lot of volunteers, a lot of great people, have done a lot of great work here,” Mr. Bliss said.

Many of those volunteers have sat on “select committees,” an idea implemented by Mr. Bliss, who came from a management/corporate background at IBM. “I brought in the notion of the corporate task force,” he said. While the committees (which range from an insurance advisory committee, a cemetery committee, and a veterans affairs committee) have done the heavy lifting, Mr. Bliss considers himself “the coach.”

Mr. Bliss said his “corporate philosophy” changed town hall in other ways, too. He said he brought long-range planning and the 10-year plan to the budget process. “We have a pretty rigorous budget process,” he said.

Other changes

While Mr. Bliss and Mr. Major steered the board, there were other changes in town as well. More than 1,500 acres in Weston were saved as open space. The town fought a power line project that would have run high voltage wires through Weston. A bridge (on Cartbridge Road) flooded and was replaced in record time. A new cell tower was built at the town landfill. Tax abatement, deferment, and freeze programs for seniors and veterans were created or upgraded. A senior center was built at the elementary school.

“It’s been busy,” Mr. Bliss said.

But the now almost former first selectman believes his greatest contribution to the town has been improving civility in Weston.

“Civility has been a major theme for 10 years,” Mr. Bliss said. He added public discussion during Board of Selectmen meetings as a way for citizens to voice their opinions in a respectful manner, and the town started broadcasting the selectmen’s meetings on public access TV.

“I think both those things have contributed to the civility of our meetings and the town,” Mr. Bliss said.

“It’s a great town and a great job, and I’m thankful the people of Weston have given me the opportunity to do it,” he said.

One of the only things he did not like about the job?

“Well, I gained 25 pounds,” he said with a laugh.