Westport Republicans Endorse Candidates For Fall Election

The following announcement is from the Westport Republican Town Committee:

WESTPORT, CT — The members of the Westport Republican Town Committee met tonight to officially endorse Republican candidates for this November’s municipal elections. Among those receiving the unanimous endorsement of the Westport Republican Party are: Current Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe for Re-election as First Selectman; Westport Board of Finance Member Jen Tooker for Second Selectman; Board of Education members Karen Kleine and Jeannie Smith for Board of Education; RTM District 9 member Andrea Moore and current Board of Education member Vik Muktavaram for Board of Finance; Westport Planning and Zoning Commission alternate Jon Olefson for Planning and Zoning Commission; and Chair of the Westport Flood and Erosion Control Board Tom Hood for Zoning Board of Appeals.

“We are absolutely delighted with our strong slate of candidates led by our current First Selectman, Jim Marpe,” noted RTC Chairman Tim Wetmore. “With leaders like Jim Marpe and Jen Tooker on the Board of Selectmen; Karen Kleine’s and Jeannie Smith’s continued guidance on the Board of Education, and the addition of Andrea Moore and Vik Muktavaram to the Board of Finance, Jon Olefson on the Planning and Zoning Commission, and Tom Hood on the Zoning Board of Appeals, I am convinced Westport’s future will remain bright. Our candidates understand the challenges and opportunities facing Westport, and they are the best prepared, most qualified public servants to lead us forward.”

About the Candidates:

BOARD OF SELECTMAN

JIM MARPE – First Selectman

Jim Marpe currently serves as Westport’s First Selectman, and was elected to that position in 2013. A Westport resident since 1989, Jim Marpe is married to Mary Ellen and they have one daughter, Samantha. Jim served on the Westport Board of Education from 2005-2012, and was the board’s Vice Chairman from 2007 to 2012.

Jim has been active as a volunteer and leader with many Westport community organizations, including the Westport/Weston Family Y, Homes with Hope, Greens Farms Congregational Church, and the Westport Rotary Club. Jim is a retired Senior Partner of Accenture, a leading global management consulting and computer technology services company, and earned a BS from Case Western Reserve University and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

JEN TOOKER – Candidate for Second Selectman

Jen Tooker is a current member of the Westport Board of Finance and a former member of the Westport Board of Education. She and her husband Morris have lived in Westport since 2008 and have three children attending the Westport public schools. Jen has volunteered in the Westport community in various capacities, serving as Vice Chairman of the Westport Conservation Commission, a member of the Board of Trustees for the Westport/Weston Family Y, and a soccer coach for the Westport Soccer Association. Jen is also a board member of the Women’s Business Development Council. She retired from Gen Re, a global reinsurance company, after a 22-year career in which she held a number of management positions in underwriting and marketing in both the US and the UK.

Jen has a BA in Economics from The University of Notre Dame.

BOARD OF EDUCATION

JEANNIE SMITH

Jeannie Smith currently serves on the Westport Board of Education. She has her Masters in Teaching from Fordham University and worked as an elementary school teacher and Academic Interventionist in Westchester County, NY for over 10 years.

She was an Educational Consultant in Manhattan before moving to Westport. Jeannie is a dedicated volunteer in the Westport community and an active member of the Kings Highway School PTA. Jeannie is also a Westport Justice of the Peace, and serves as a PAL travel basketball team manager. Jeannie and her husband, Dave, moved to Westport nine years ago and have four young children, Caleb, Nathan, Chloe and Noah, who attend the Westport Public Schools.

KAREN KLEINE

Karen Kleine has served on the Westport Board of Education since 2013 following four years as a PTA Co-President at both King's Highway Elementary and Coleytown Middle Schools. As someone who makes serving the community a priority, Karen serves on several other Boards in Westport including the Sunrise Rotary, the Westport Women's Club and the Westport/Weston Family YMCA Foundation. Karen is also active at Temple Israel as a multi-year member of the Religious School Committee and is part of the Westport Library Book Sale Committee. She also volunteers weekly at the Westport Senior Center delivering meals and serving lunch. Karen and her husband Joe moved to Westport in 1999 with their three children, Suzanne, Sarah and Dan.

BOARD OF FINANCE

ANDREA MOORE

Andrea Lawrence Moore was born and raised in Westport. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts in 1991, she moved to NYC and went to work for Salomon Brothers as an investment banking analyst. She worked for several investment banks during her career including Lehman Brothers, Bankers Trust/Deutsche Banks and Paine Webber/UBS in investment banking, equity research and institutional equity sales. Andrea moved back to Westport in 2002 and left her career in 2006 after the birth of her second child. Since then Andrea has dedicated her time to raising her kids and volunteering with many Westport organizations. She was President of the A Child’s Place Preschool Board, President of the Saugatuck Elementary School PTA, and Co-Chair of the Staples Tuitions Grants Committee. She currently serves on the Westport RTM for District 9. Andrea is also currently a co-chair of the Westport PTA Council Workshop Committee, and a member of the National Charity League and Westport/Weston Family YMCA Boards.

She lives in Westport with her husband Dave and their three daughters Tessa, Janna and Ella.

VIK MUKTAVARAM

Vik Muktavaram is a management consultant, providing advisory services in the areas of risk, strategy, and operations. Vik is also a former Chief Risk Officer of an asset management company, where he had oversight of financial risk, hedging, legal, and compliance functions. Vik currently serves on the Westport Board of Education. He is also a member of the Board of Bridge Academy, a charter school based in Bridgeport ,and a member of Westport Sunrise Rotary. He is married to Dr. Lavi Bellumkonda, a cardiologist with Yale Medical Group. Lavi and Vik have two daughters, Lyah and Anya, who will be entering 8th grade at Bedford Middle School and 4th grade at Long Lots School, respectively, in the fall.

PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION

JON OLEFSON

Jon Olefson is an attorney who currently serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Cotiviti, a publicly traded healthcare analytics company in Wilton, CT. Jon currently serves as an alternate on the Westport Planning and Zoning Commission. Jon received his Juris Doctor with honors from The George Washington University Law School and a Bachelo r’s in Political Science from Emory University. Jon and his wife have three young daughters who attend the Westport Public Schools.

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

TOM HOOD

Tom Hood is an architect and an information technology professional. He currently works at Mandalay Associates, LLC, a privately owned residential development company. Tom currently serves as the Chair of the Westport Flood and Erosion Control Board. He is also a Trustee of the Westport Weston United Methodist Church. Tom earned both a Master’s of Architecture and a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, an MBA in Marketing from the University of Connecticut. A Westport resident for 25 years, Tom and his wife Mary Jane have three children who are graduates of the Westport schools.

Photo: The Westport RTC officially endorsed candidates for municipal office this evening. Pictured here are Westport Board of Finance candidates Andrea Moore and Vik Muktavaram; Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe, who is running for re-election; Second Selectman candidate Jen Tooker; Board of Education members Jeannie Smith and Karen Kleine, who are running for re-election to that Board; and Tom Hood, candidate for Zoning Board of Appeals. Not pictured is Jon Olefson, candidate for Westport Planning and Zoning Commission. Photo credit: Contributed