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Printed From Acorn-Online.com Wilton Bulletin
Peggy Reeves, the town’s Democratic registrar, is seeking her party’s nomination to run for the district office. The announcement was made at a press conference at 9 a.m. at Wilton town hall on Monday morning. Ms. Bruschi will be running for the seat formerly occupied by Toni Boucher, who has decided to run for state senator for the 26th District with the announcement by Judith Freedman last week that she wouldn’t seek re-election. Ms. Bruschi was endorsed by Ms. Boucher to run for the seat. “Susan Bruschi’s experience in local government makes her an eminently qualified candidate to represent the 143rd District in Hartford,” said Ms. Boucher. “As second selectman and former chair of Wilton’s Board of Education, she has a long and solid record of accomplishment and has developed strong policy-making, consensus-building, and advocacy skills.” Ms. Bruschi said she hoped to carry on the tradition of service Ms. Boucher had provided for more than a decade. “I want to thank Rep. Boucher for her endorsement and encouragement,” said Ms. Bruschi. “She has fought hard for 12 years as an advocate for all of us in the 143rd District, and I hope that I will have the privilege of serving the citizens of Norwalk and Wilton with as much dedication and tenaciousness, and with the same high ethical standards, that she has brought to the office of state representative.” “If I am fortunate enough to win our party’s nomination, I will look forward to spending the next few months listening to our district’s constituents and focusing on the issues that concern them the most,” she added. In an interview Tuesday, Ms. Bruschi pointed to her experience making her most qualified to run. “My experience in such a diverse number and different types of organizations, I think it will serve the constituents of the 143rd very well,” she said. Ms. Bruschi has served on the Board of Selectmen since February 2007. Prior to that she served on the Board of Education from May 2001, and was that board’s chair from December 2004. She was president of the Parent Teacher Association from 1999 to 2000 and was a member of the League of Women Voters steering committee from 2002 to 2004. She is the current chair of the Republican Women of Wilton. She said her experience with contract negotiations while on the Board of Education was also an asset. “We negotiated the teacher’s health contract,” with her co-leading that process, Ms. Bruschi said. “It saved the school district and the taxpayers a lot of money.” In addition, Ms. Bruschi once worked as a consultant pharmacist, something she said gives her perspective on health care issues. She said her decision to run came from assessing her experience on the Board of Education and Board of Selectmen, and that she felt it was time for her to pursue this position. “I always had this and others in mind going forward. I decided, You know what, this is an opportunity that I just cannot pass up,” said Ms. Bruschi. The many varied issues a state representative has to take on is also a responsibility Ms. Bruschi said she could handle. “I thrive when I have many things on my plate,” she said. She said while she had priorities she would like to pursue at the state legislature, those priorities may change once she has spoken with both constituents in Wilton and in Norwalk. Three issues she brought up were the economy, the fight with the Federal Aviation Administration and education. “So many people are concerned, justifiably so, with the number of people that are leaving Connecticut,” said Ms. Bruschi of the economy. “It seems to be hitting Connecticut kind of hard. It doesn’t seem like any community is immune.” On the FAA, she said it hadn’t done due diligence in crafting its new airspace plan and she knows it’s important to not only Wilton but other surrounding communities to continue the fight. And she pointed to unfunded mandates at the state level as a problem for education. She said she wanted to make sure that not only children at the two ends of the education spectrum are taken care of, but also the regular students, and to that end she has been an advocate for keeping down class size. On her potential opponent, Ms. Reeves, Ms. Bruschi said her experience was what made her the more qualified candidate. “We’re both very nice people,” said Ms. Bruschi. Al Alper, chair of the Republican Town Committee, said Monday there was no one better qualified to take the reins after Ms. Boucher’s 12-year tenure. “I couldn’t think of anyone more passionate, more energetic, more experienced, more well loved to run for that seat,” said Mr. Alper. He noted that in the last municipal election in November 2007, Ms. Bruschi received the most votes of any of the five selectman candidates. “She has exhibited and demonstrated a bipartisan concern for Wilton citizens regardless of party affiliation,” said Mr. Alper. Ms. Bruschi said she will remain as second selectman through the election. “I will continue to give the citizens of Wilton ... 150%,” she said. Click here to read the April 24 election on the state Senate race. Click here to read the March 27 coverage of Ms. Reeves' announcement. © Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers |
