Weston Selectmen Candidates Square Off

The four Weston Board of Selectmen candidates appeared before a joint session of the Hurlbutt Elementary and Weston Intermediate School Parent Teacher Organizations to speak and answer questions about their positions, backgrounds and experience.

Moderated by former Weston First Selectman and longtime resident George Guidera, the moderately attended event took place at the Intermediate School on Thursday morning. First Selectman candidates Gayle Weinstein (D) and Dan Gilbert (R) appeared, as did Selectman candidates David Muller (D) and Dennis Tracey (R). Weinstein is the incumbent First Selectman; Gilbert and Muller are also incumbents. There are three available positions, including First Selectman.

“We are all here for one reason: we love our kids,” said First Selectman candidate Gilbert. “Our investment in education is personal.”

Gilbert went on to note his contribution to the enormous success of the school district’s health care savings accounts.

“Those savings are still accruing to us,” he said. “This type of thinking has a dramatic impact [on education] because it allows us to control costs” while also maintaining a high educational standard.

Weinstein noted her own long history of service to the town and her success in keeping Weston’s mill rate – the highest per capita in the state – to the lowest increase in Fairfield County for the second consecutive year.

“Part of this job is learning how to bring people together who disagree while best serving the needs of the town with limited dollars,” she said.

“We need to balance the economic reality [with] what our priorities should be,” Weinstein added, noting her own efforts to increase transparency and accessibility.

“I would be honored to continue” as First Selectman, she finished.

Selectman candidates Tracey and Muller spoke next.

“I am completely committed to the community and to nonpartisan and cooperative [government],” Tracey said, noting his longstanding commitment to numerous Weston endeavors.

Tracey is the co-chairman of Weston’s charter revision committee, “an incredibly important process for our town.”

“We are rethinking our entire structure of government,” Tracey said, noting the committee’s stated intent to make “whatever modifications are necessary to ensure as much [voter] participation as possible.”

Tracey also leads the Lachat building committee, which , and serves as a parent coach in the schools’ popular and successful “mock trial” program, which last year resulted in a state championship.

“I am bipartisan, cooperative and open,” he said.

David Muller, the incumbent selectman candidate, noted his belief that the current selectmen’s record of accomplishments “is compelling.”

Muller’s contributions include years as a member of Weston’s Planning and Zoning board, as well as advancing the joint board meetings of the town’s selectmen, finance and education members.

“I am an active proponent of open government,” he said. “I have always tried to be tried to be crystal clear as to why I believe what I do.”

Muller also noted that he is “an active parent volunteer” who “believes [he] is a top contributor to the Box Tops for Education program.”

“I am also very good at trivia night,” he continued, laughing.

Each of the four candidates agreed that the revised charter should include the Annual Town Budget Meeting as well as a secret ballot.

“The meeting provides an opportunity to have serious conversations,” Weinstein said. “We are considering combining the public Board of Finance meeting with the town meeting.”

Gilbert agreed.

“Gayle and I are basically on the same page,” he said. “The wonderful thing about [the town meeting] is the discourse and debate…it lets us make informed decisions."

Muller noted the “long, long tradition in New England of approving the most significant question, which is how much is it going to cost me to stay in the town," he said.

“The biggest issue is what are the potential outcomes in a ‘no’ vote,” Muller said. “We need to clarify that quickly.”

Tracey noted the town meeting's “very important role,” while also expressing a desire to “get people engaged in the budget process," whether through a voice or secret machine vote.

Tracey also noted that Weston has “more unaffiliated voters than either Democrats or Republicans.”

One audience question asked First Selectman candidates Weinstein and Gilbert to identify their top three priorities should they win in November.

“We must control property tax increases,” Gilbert said. “They drive everything. Our town got hurt even though property taxes had no increase,” he added, referring to the recent increase in state taxes.

“We have to continue to do a good job to control those increases, provide quality education, and deliver town services.”

Weinstein partially agreed.

“Dan is right with the first point,” she said. “We have to keep that mill rate down [so] we can be competitive for new families and also for Weston's families that are hurting. 

“We also need a strategic plan moving forward, and we need to maintain current infrastructure,” Weinstein added, noting the need to bring town hall and the services it provides up to 21^st century standards.