Patch Candidate Profile: Jo Bennett, Norwalk Common Council

NORWALK, CT — The 2023 municipal election is heating up in Norwalk and there are plenty of local races with candidates eager to serve in elected office.

Norwalk Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as Election Day draws near.

Independent Jo Bennett, 55, is a Norwalk resident running for the Common Council At-Large.

Education

Jo Bennett has a long record of Norwalk community service that includes serving as a Human Rights Commissioner and volunteering with our Emergency Response Team and in our Person-to-Person food pantry in South Norwalk. She also volunteers as a bereavement companion with Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County, and as a guide with Achilles Connecticut, a nonprofit that helps individuals with disabilities through athletic programs and social connection.

A marketing professional and resident of Norwalk for more than 25 years, Jo has lived in Silvermine with her husband, Jeff, for more than a decade. She also previously enjoyed living in South Norwalk and West Norwalk. She is a lifelong Democrat who loves Norwalk and believes that we need checks and balances to meet the needs of our rapidly growing city and its constituents. As the future gets more complicated, we cannot succeed with single-party rule.

What is your occupation?

Recruitment marketing professional who began her career as a journalist in the mid-1990s.

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them.

Husband, Jeff Rollings, an IP attorney, gifted musician and devoted husband, dad and fan of pretty much each and every sport; stepdaughter, Sabrina, also a gifted musician, thespian and NYC graduate student; plus lots of family near and far.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

Commissioner, Norwalk Human Relations commission

Now we'd like to ask a few questions about your reasons for running and your general views on politics and government. First, why are you seeking this office?

I am a lifelong Democrat who fell in love with Norwalk when I moved here in the mid-1990s. For decades, I simply voted along my party's line - until I started paying attention to what was (and was not) being accomplished by our city's elected officials and governing bodies. Our roads are a mess, our students are getting a barely-passing grade education-wise, and the only ones who seem to be "getting ahead" are the developers (whose fortress apartments that none of our leafier suburban neighbors want), who know that Norwalk will afford them rubber-stamp approvals. We need checks and balances to meet the needs of our rapidly growing city and its constituents. As the future gets more complicated, we cannot succeed with single-party rule.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ___, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Trying to distill this question down to a single issue makes as much sense as basing one's vote on the row /party line where it resides on the ballot. The kitchen-table issue is "how are we doing?" Quality of life as Norwalk residents, taxpayers and parents who struggle to traverse our clogged and distressed roadways has not improved, while the city becomes increasingly unaffordable. We deserve adults in the room who will routinely ask questions in support of our constituents' quality of life.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My candidacy is not about party; it's entirely about representing the best interests of Norwalk residents, of whom more than 40% don't even align with either of the "major" parties.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?

I personally like Barbara. She encouraged me to throw my hat in the ring for the Human Relations Commissioner role several years ago. But her encouragement to "vote Row A" assumes a lack of intellectual curiosity on the part of the Norwalk electorate. For example, she chairs one of the committees where we are most distressed - Public Works, entrusted with maintenance of our roads, sewers and tree canopy, among other things. A simple glance at the Norwalk Hour, Nancy on Norwalk or Patch shows how dismally we are doing in all these areas.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I am a longtime volunteer in support of communities that I care about and have dedicated myself to learning about. The disenfranchised, the disabled, and yes, the regular Jo(e)s of Norwalk. For 20-plus years I've also worked in the corporate world, requiring a balance of critical thinking and diplomacy. I've earned industry awards and recognition from my peers. I would be proud to bring my experience and acumen to discussions about our city's direction.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Always assume that the other person has good intentions.