To the Editor:
As a Fairfield resident, I am a bit bewildered by this petition for a special election. Didn’t we just have an election and pay for it in 2023? More worrisome: do our votes in that election not count?
Bill Gerber chose Christine Vitale as his running mate in 2023 for good reason, and she earned every one of the sizable number of votes she got. He named her Acting First Selectman in July 2025; our Town Charter is very specific as to what to do in a situation where our First Selectman can no longer serve. Mrs. Vitale was just sworn in this past Monday following the procedures outlined in our Town Charter, and I am relieved. Fairfield deserves consistency and stability at this time. Mrs. Vitale has the experience (especially with town and Board of Education budgets as Selectman and BOE chair), competence, and leadership qualities Fairfield needs now to unite and to heal.
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I’m also puzzled by the choice of Senator Hwang, whose experience does not offer the best fit for the office of First Selectman. This could pose fiscal and operational risks to the town. I am surprised that the RTC would endorse him, much less agree to the costs of a special election. I thought Republicans were all about being fiscally conservative. Why not wait until we are due for a Board of Selectman regular election and respect the will of the voters?
Lori Hashizume
