Letter To The Editor: Local Board Members Are The True Champions

To the Editor:

National and state politics get most of the media’s attention. Yet, 90 percent of our democracy functions on a local level. The citizen volunteers that serve on town boards, councils and commissions are the true champions of our system of government.

Local office holders are the bedrock of a community and play a vital role in its future. They put in long hard hours away from family and their work to serve fellow town residents.

Serving in office is often difficult, demanding, time consuming and contentious. It takes courage and commitment to take up this challenging role. But it is work that must be done to safeguard our democracy and for our republic to endure.

There are many terrific local candidates on both sides of the aisle that ran for office this November. Whether or not a candidate won, they should be recognized and thanked for stepping up as our system of government is always strengthened by their efforts.

Those that serve on our local republican and democratic town committees should also be recognized and thanked for recruiting and supporting candidates to run for these vital positions in our town government. As everyone can see, the election process can be grueling and is not for the faint at heart. Congratulations to those that ran on November 5th and to those that will now hold office. We are grateful to all of you.

Toni Boucher
State Senator from 2009-2019, former State Rep, Board of Selectman and Board of Education Member
Wilton, CT