Westport Election 2021: Michael Cammeyer For Planning and Zoning

WESTPORT, CT — Election Day is approaching fast, and a number of key positions in town will be on the ballot.

To help readers make an informed decision on Nov. 2, Patch has reached out to local candidates to share their views on a few topics.

Democrat Michael Cammeyer, 44, is running for the Planning and Zoning Commission in Westport.

Occupation: Healthcare Mergers & Acquisitions

Family: Wife, two teen sons and new dog.

Experience: Westport Planning and Zoning Commission

Family in government: No

The single biggest issue in town is ______, and I plan to do this about it:

I am answering many of these questions as a team with my fellow commissioners and running mates, Danielle Dobin and Neil Cohn.

Westport faces many challenges - traffic & infrastructure issues resulting from changing commuting patterns, ensuring our downtown remains revitalized, our restaurants community vibrant, preserving our open spaces and investing in our parks, preparing for climate change impacts and ensuring Westport's P&Z - not outside developers - control multifamily development in town.

As our strong record of accomplishment demonstrates, we are aggressively confronting these challenges by planning - adapting our regulations to anticipate and prepare for the future as we concurrently work collaboratively with the Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance, Downtown Committee and other groups to develop smart, and sustainable solutions while ensuring that Westport's small town New England charm is preserved.

Critical differences between me and my opponents:

This feels like an invitation to speak badly of our fellow candidates and that is simply not our style. Instead of talking about them, we will talk about our record of accomplishment as P&Z Commissioners.

We revitalized downtown, we expanded outdoor dining and entertainment, we improved our parks and fields, we prioritized planning for climate change and stronger storms, and we took back control over multifamily development, and we did it all by working collaboratively with other boards and residents.

Accomplishments:

Our records shows that we are pro-active problem solvers who get the job done. When we were elected, vacancy signs were everywhere as downtown was being strangled by overly restrictive regulation. We changed the rules and the tone at P&Z and downtown has blossomed into a vibrant, joyful space where all Westporters come together.

We saw that our restaurants would struggle during this difficult time, so we transformed outdoor dining regulations to be simple and easy to follow. We knew residents felt left in the dark too often, so we changed notice requirements to ensure that neighbors know what is being proposed in their neighborhoods.

For too long Westport ignored state mandates to create affordable housing, and in contrast we took a proactive approach ensuring that housing for families - not just studios in overly large buildings on the Post Road - are being created.

Other issues:

Making traffic better! There are several major "drivers" of all the terrible traffic including (1) changed commuting patterns with all the cars that were at the train station lots now circulating around Westport (2) waze sending drivers from 95 and the Merritt onto our local roads and (3) the later school start times force parents to pick up their kids instead of relying on the afternoon bus.

These are challenging problems but they are not intractable. There is no magical overnight solution but we can work with the Traffic Authority (the BOS) and the Public Works Dept to improve local intersections and we are already lobbying for state legislation to allow CT towns to limit certain roads to local traffic only and we are working with other Boards/Commissions to improve our town infrastructure.

What else would you like voters to know about you?

I’m involved because I care a great deal about our town. I would visit other towns and ask myself, why don't we have that in Westport. I joined the P&Z to make a difference in Westport. It is really important to me to preserve everything we all love about Westport while thinking about the future needs of the town and its residents.

I joined a team so we can make positive changes such as adding sidewalks, improving intersections, creating affordable housing for people like our teachers and town employees, preserving our open space and improving our parks and fields. I am a champion for the environment, and I coach my kids sports teams and am active in the community.