Board Of Education Member Joins Greenwich Selectman Race

GREENWICH, CT — Republican Board of Education member Lauren Rabin has thrown her hat in the ring for the town selectman race, a decision she publicly announced at the Republican Town Committee (RTC) candidates forum on June 12.

Her decision came after being discussed by two RTC search committees, one that wanted her to run again for the Board of Education and another that considered her a good candidate for the position of selectman, she said.

Forced to choose between the two, Rabin decided to go with the one she has had on her mind for some time.

"Running for selectman is something that I have thought about for a while," Rabin said to Patch. "As time unfolded, I discussed it with my family and people who are close to me. I decided that was the position I wanted to try to win."

In addition to a love for Greenwich, she also brings a wealth of knowledge about the town and its inner workings to the race with her. Rabin said she was "very involved" with the Parent Teacher Associations at her children's school before being elected to the Representative Town Meeting (RTM). She has also served on the Board of Social Services and was elected to her first term on the Board of Education in 2015.

"I grew up in Greenwich and I raised my children here, so I've been a part of the community for quite some time," Rabin said. "I think just with my community experience, and then having served and been appointed to different boards and town government, that it makes me a unique candidate."

Rabin noted she does not come from a legal or finance background, having more of a background in education and marketing, which could bring a good perspective to a role that can act as an ombudsman within town government.

If elected, she will still have a strong interest in education. She said the town's school system is really important, as many people choose to move to Greenwich because of its excellent schools, both public and private.

"The things I think about are the infrastructure," Rabin said. "The Board of Education recently developed a 15-year capital improvement plan, so I think we have to think about that as a town government; how much of that can we fund?"

According to Rabin, that plan was never positioned like it had to be done in 15 years, but was more akin to figuring out what order members would do it in and how they would stagger it for 15 years were they to do it.

"That's something I want to think of as part of the First Selectman's Office," Rabin said. "To sort of pay for all these capital improvements, I think we have to think about if there are efficiencies that we can gain in our operating expenses."

Rabin is also a vice president of integrated marketing at Gartner Inc. in Stamford and has a deep understanding of technology, something that could be an asset.

"I've worked in technology for over 30 years, and I know that there are efficiencies that can be gained in using technology to do your job, but that's easier said than done," Rabin said. "There's a whole change management part that goes along with using a different process or using something like technology to do something differently, so I feel like I can really lend some experience there as well."

Though she is waiting for the RTC nominations in July to officially kick off her campaign, Rabin said she is already prepping and starting to think about her campaign team. Having run for the Board of Education before, she understands the process and is looking to run a unified campaign with her fellow RTC members.

What she's most excited about though is being able to continue giving back to the community she loves so much.

"I'm super excited," Rabin said. "It's that whole giving back mindset. My whole way that I've sort of conducted myself is how do I give back to others? How do I serve and help [them]? I'm married to somebody who thinks just like that and I have his whole support, so I just feel really excited about the opportunity to give back to the town that grew me."