Greenwich Candidate Profile: Cheryl Moss For State Representative

GREENWICH, CT — On Tuesday, residents in Greenwich's 151st legislative district will cast their votes in a special election to replace former state representative Fred Camillo, who stepped down from the post after being elected as the town's first selectman in November.

Democratic candidate Cheryl Moss and Republican candidate Harry Arora are both running to fill Camillo's vacant seat.

Having grown up in the Millbrook area of town and graduated from Greenwich High School in 1984, Moss has deep ties to the community. She serves as the District 8 Chair for the Representative Town Meeting, a position she was unanimously elected to.

She has also managed the GHS swim and water polo teams, conducted fundraising for a number of local organizations and served on the RTM's public works committee and in various PTAs, according to the League of Women Voters. She currently lives in Cos Cob, where she raised her three sons.

"As happy as I am at the RTM, I'd really like to be more involved in policy making in Hartford and represent [Greenwich] there," Moss said to Patch, "because that's really where the big decisions are made."

Moss said her "biggest concern" is the economy and the need to bring more jobs to the state, as opposed to increasing taxes. She also emphasized a need to attract new types of companies to the state.

"We need to have companies of the future," Moss said, "and I think we need to be looking at companies that are green companies. It's an industry that's growing, and climate change is coming."

Moss said Greenwich specifically needs to focus on reducing its carbon footprint by implementing more solar and wind energy in town, which in turn could bring greener companies to the area.

She also thinks transportation in Connecticut needs improvement.

"We need to fix our transportation, reduce traffic and get our trains sorted out so they're faster," Moss said. "That will help encourage businesses to look at Connecticut."

Regarding tolls, Moss said she "firmly believes" the state needs to share the cost of its transportation system with out-of-state drivers.

"We're the only state in the northeast that does not have tolls," Moss said. "The number one reason businesses have left Connecticut...is because of our transportation system. It's because of the traffic and the poor train system. Tolls will help us fix that financially, as well as the fact that we can start looking at measures to reduce traffic."

Should voters choose her over Arora on Tuesday, Moss will continue to do in Hartford what she has always done in Greenwich: roll up her sleeves and work.

"I've been involved with this community for so many years," Moss said. "You just have to jump in and do the work, and that's what I've always done."

In addition to her work with the RTM, she cited her experience running a profitable recycling business for 250,000 people in London as proof she can handle a state-level job.

"It was profitable because of my tough negotiating skills, my vision for creating tough contracts and my no-nonsense approach to business," Moss said.

She also noted her ability to collaborate and work efficiently with others as strengths she would bring to the position.

"One of the reasons I've been successful in everything I've done so far is that I'm willing to work with everyone, not just my own party," Moss said. "I work across the aisle and across the board. It doesn't matter who you are, I'm willing to work with you if it's going to get the job done at the end of the day."

Moss said her favorite thing about Greenwich is its residents, and she has enjoyed interacting with them over the course of her short campaign cycle this past month. She hopes to make a difference at the state level for them, as well as the residents of Connecticut as a whole.

"I want to do what's right for this community," Moss said. "I'm not a career politician. I know I'm on the RTM, but to me that's more of a community service. I'm not looking into this to add a feather to my cap. I really want this job, and want to represent this community and do what's best for the town."