Letter To The Editor: Leeper Ready For Hartford, RTM Leader Says

Press release from Jill Vergara:

October 29 2020

Leeper—Prepared to Hit the Ground Running

You know the popular depiction of politicians as glad-handing salesmen who charismatically smile for the camera, shake hands and pinch babies’ cheeks? It’s a popular image, because all too often those who are good at packaging themselves are the ones who win elections. The unfortunate truth about elections is that candidates who devote more time thinking about how to win than they do what they believe in and what they want to accomplish are much more likely to win.

I whole-heartedly support Jenn Leeper, because she defies this stereotypical mold of an empty politician. She has carefully researched and planned policy objectives that she will advance when she is elected. Rather than attend ribbon cuttings, she has thought deeply about her goals and how to achieve them and is ready to hit the ground running. In formulating her policy goals, she has reached out to community experts for their opinions and guidance—these experts (in tax policy and finance, for example) are one of our town’s and state’s greatest and yet most underutilized assets. She knows to leverage these important assets, because she is smart and an astute collaborator; and her resulting policy positions—for example, for how to help rebuild our economy—are thoroughly grounded in data.

Jenn does not equivocate to garner votes. Instead, she very openly supports or opposes issues: She has clearly laid out her perspective and opinions for all to see on her website and blog. She also has a clear record of uncompromised support for education (having consistently voted for education budgets, school infrastructure projects and teachers’ contracts); as well as supporting essential school infrastructure projects (including the once-controversial proposal to air condition all town schools and expanding Mill Hill Elementary School to a 504 capacity); supporting environmentally friendly projects like solar panels at our schools (when others caved to parochial neighbor concerns about “aesthetics”); and directly and unambiguously committing to social justice, equality and anti-racism work.

Brian Farnen’s record and policy goals are less clear. Mr. Farnen’s campaign website does not outline any plans. As an RTM member (a body on which he served for three terms, or 6 total years), Mr. Farnen voted for education budgets that had been cut; voted against multiple teachers’ contracts; did not support air conditioning all of our schools; failed to take a position on the size of the Mill Hill renovation (which could have expanded our building capacity); restructured the Senior & Disabled Tax Relief Committee in a way that led to its ultimate inaction and failure to advance much-needed tax relief; and would not co-sponsor the bipartisan plastic bag ordinance, which was the only environmental ordinance passed in all of the time that Mr. Farnen served. Given this record, Mr. Farnen’s tenure on the RTM cannot be characterized as pro-education or pro-environment; neither was it pro-seniors nor bi-partisan.

Jenn Leeper is the solid choice of substance, word and action. Jenn Leeper is truly poised to move our town and state forward, and I hope that Fairfield and Southport join me in supporting the best candidate for the job—Jenn Leeper.

Jill Vergara

Majority Leader, Fairfield RTM

Chair, RTM Senior & Disabled Tax Relief Committee
Representative, RTM District 7

This press release was produced by Jill Vergara. The views expressed here are the author’s own.