We Can Do Better: John Blankley Offers Incomparable Managerial Experience

I usually resist comparing government to a business because the business of government is to provide public services not to generate profits. That being said, this year the voters have a chance to elect a bona fide CEO as First Selectman.

John Blankley has extensive private sector managerial experience that would translate very well into being an outstanding First Selectman. Greenwich has all the challenges of any major enterprise with a $300 million budget and unionized work force, but requires someone with the experience to deal with hundreds of volunteers and the public as well.

The Town Administrator is no substitute for a hands-on leader like John Blankley. John is one of the most intelligent and erudite people I have ever met. These are qualities in scarce supply at Town Hall these days. John has been criticized as "not being one of us" because he moved his family here as an adult and was not born here. I reject nativism as a litmus test for public office. Most Greenwich residents were not born here but moved to Greenwich because of the exceptional opportunities and lifestyle we enjoy. I assume that's why my grandfather moved here.

What people like John Blankley bring to the mix is a broader prospective precisely because they were not born here. They can envision different ways of getting things done not just what has been done in the past. We are a decentralized system of government and the First Selectman's role in some important areas like public education is not well defined. The incumbent is comfortable with the limitations on his office and is reluctant to tread into unfamiliar areas. John Blankley sees a problem like declining test scores and a dysfunctional Board of Education and asks what can he do to make things better. This is a level of leadership lacking for years that John Blankley can provide as First Selectman. My vote is for John Blankley.