Old Greenwich Association to Host State Rep Candidate Debate

Old Greenwich residents will have the opportunity to hear from the two candidates vying for the open 150th state legislature seat Wednesday night when the Old Greenwich Association hosts a debate its annual meeting.

The debate is the second of the two planned for the 2014 election season.

“The questions that will be asked are being culled from letters, phone calls, conversations and questions that residents have been asking of our Board,” according to David Rafferty, Old Greenwich Association president. “They say ‘all politics is local,’ and what we intend to do during the debate is boil larger state issues down to a local level.”

For Democrat Jill Oberlander, a lawyer and consultant, this is not her first election, having served on the Greenwich RTM for three terms. Republican Michael Bocchino is seeking his first elected office having recently served as chairman of the Byram Neighborhood Association and New Lebanon Elementary School PTA president.

The debate is scheduled to begin around 8:15 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 108 Sound Beach Ave., Old Greenwich, and will be moderated by News 12 reporter Courtney Kane.

In addition to the debate, Greenwich’s recently promoted Director of Planning & Zoning Katie DeLuca will present an update on the development of the Old Greenwich/Riverside Neighborhood Plan. The plan is intended to help guide future development instead of simply reacting to it. Through public input and working closely with local stakeholders, the goal is to come up with a holistic vision for the future for the eastern side of Greenwich.

The annual meeting will start with coffee at 7 p.m. The business meeting and Neighborhood Plan presentation will be at 7:30 p.m. All are invited to attend and admission is free.

The Old Greenwich Association is a local-residents association with a volunteer board whose key objective is to monitor quality of life issues in Old Greenwich. The association has been involved in community activities for over 40 years.

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