Patch Candidate Profile: Peter Gordon, Weston Board of Education

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

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

Peter Gordon, 60, is running for re-election to the Weston Board of Education, on the Republican ticket.

Education.

Master of Science Degree from University of California, Santa Barbara in Electrical Engineering. Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Electrical Engineering.

What is your occupation?

Executive in the Global Photonics Industry

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

Wife Kimberly – looks 29 and works in Financial Services and is a Yoga Instructor. Daughter Giselle - 11 (6th Grade) who can be seen volunteering at LaChat farm and Bee Keeping, participates in local Girl Scout Troop 50194 activities, and riding Dressage at part of Pony Club at Whimsy Brook Farm in Redding. Peter enjoys hitting tennis balls at Weston Racket Club and running Devils Den and Troup Brook Preserve. We enjoy skiing during the winter.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

None

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

Currently an elected Board of Education Member in Weston, CT.

Why are you seeking this office?

I am running for reelection because I helm the EOC, Education Optimization Committee, focusing on facilities reconfiguration, refurbishment, and repair in concert with enabling unique and agile curriculum reimagination and expansion. Aligning around sustainability, realizing a world-class public school district campus, brands Weston as prescient – positioning ourselves well ahead of the educational curve.

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

As an incumbent BOE member, I recognize that it has one of the most important responsibilities in our town. It fundamentally connects the will of the community to the education of its children. Our collective decisions directly affect the lives of students and their parents, the livelihoods of those the district employs, and the social and economic well-being of the residents. The most pressing issue facing these stakeholders is how to ensure student achievement and proudly prepare students for the challenges and opportunities of 21st century citizenship and careers while meeting our fiduciary responsibilities. My task is to succeed in this objective via the EOC deliverables.

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

As the only BOE Member who operates within a global high tech eco-system, I have provided sound high-level oversight and governance of WPS administration and have differentiated myself by advocating STEaM instruction, driving student achievement, and maintaining safe and healthy buildings. I champion clean air, energy efficiency, and sustainable investment with fast ROI along with the potential concomitant curriculum expansion in Environmental Sciences and real-world skills in such areas as recycling, pollution control, water treatment, vertical farming, and LED lighting.

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

The TOW has missed multiple opportunities to affect long overdue upgrades to the WPS campus. Fortunately, the window still remains wide open, albeit now with more significant financial constraints, so the BOE, the administration, students, parents, boosters, and residents now need to collectively lead the charge and drive achievement of our far-reaching objectives with multi-generational implications. The time is now.

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

Standardized test scores come under significant scrutiny. Although WPS students perform very well compared nationally and even with our DRG, WPS certainly is not standing still and is striving for even greater achievement, particularly in Math. Although test scores don’t reflect the complete holistic K-12 experience, particularly collaboration, they still are a key metric, and one thought I have on building on our baseline is addressing absenteeism of staff and students. There is a direct correlation between instructional time and performance. Absenteeism really undermines learning.

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

I bring a wide range of experience to the role from successfully raising seed funding and securing exits for Optical industry start-up companies to peer recognition for my dedication to teaching when I was a volunteer certified, Adaptive Skier Ski Instructor.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

The future is at our hands! Hence, paraphrasing John Muir, “The power of re-imagination, makes Weston infinite.”

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

The missing piece to driving student outcomes is deeper involvement by parents as volunteers, as welcome partners of the Administration, and most importantly, and critically, to drive the message home that each incremental student success (intellectually, emotionally, and athletically) begets more success. Step by step, our children can catch their dreams as optimistic participants in Education in Weston, CT.