Politics & Government

Budgets, Bonding, Bullying — Issues Facing Greenwich's Selectmen Candidates


Pay as you or pay over the long term, and other economic issues were the dominant topics Wednesday night during the only debate scheduled for Greenwich Board of Selectmen's races.

It was nearly a standing room only audience for the debate hosted by the Greenwich League of Women Voters and moderated by Jan Rabinow of the Connecticut League of Women Voters who posed questions submitted by the audience in the Greenwich Town Hall Meeting Room.

Board of Selectmen's Race
The evening began with incumbent selectmen Democrat Drew Marzullo and Republican David Theis discussing the responsibilities of their part-time posts — which include identifying and appointing residents to volunteer commissions and agencies.

The crowd's mood turned decidedly somber when Rabinow asked, "What if anything can the selectmen do to establish a better climate to discourage bullying?" The question was in reference to the Aug. 27 suicide of Greenwich High School sophomore Bart Palosz who shot himself after returning home from the first day of school. There was an apparent history of bullying of the teen — which remains under investigation by Greenwich Police and the town's legal department. 

Marzullo responded, "The incidents involving Bart is a town-wide issue, it is not an education or a school issue. When a 15-year-old takes his life in such a violent way, something, someone failed him. We have responsibility to find out why. Be assured, when investigation is complete, we will do whatever we can to make sure doesn’t happen again." He added, "Prejudice and meanness is a learned behavior … it is learned at home."

Theis said the era of cyber-bullying nationwide compounds the issues that "back in the day were resolved in the school yard." Theis said, "Teachers have to be very, very aware of the situation…don’t be afraid to pull a kid aside. Too many teachers are interested in being friends with students rather than an educator with a firm hand."    

First Selectman's Race
The debate for the three candidates for the town's chief elected official was a decidedly collegial affair with apparent diversity in how the town should be managed.

Democratic challenger Beth Krumeich carried her party's mantra that the town needs to expand its long-term borrowing in order to take advantage of low-interest rates to pay for capital projects. "We have to stop wasting taxpayer money by investing in short-term bonds rather than long-term and taking advantage of historic low interest rates and borrowing over 20 years," Krumeich said. She also said she supported outsourcing municipal jobs to reduce payroll.

Independent challenger James Reilly said, "I’m for cutting back on all expenses." He also pressed for the town to consider ways to improve recycling at the town's recycling center including opening a municipal thrift shop selling unwanted goods including architectural elements reclaimed from aging buildings.

Three-term Republican incumbent Peter Tesei remained steadfast that the town continues its practice of short-term borrowing to pay for infrastructure projects such as the Central Fire Station, the auditorium and music instruction space at Greenwich High School. Short-term funding insures lower, predictable tax increases, he said. He also said the town has outsourced services such as the trees department and payroll.     


How the winners will be chosen
The top vote getter in the First Selectman's race wins a two-year term. Voters can choose only one of the three candidates.

In the selectmen's race, voters can choose either the Republican or Democratic candidate. The two highest vote-getters from among the remaining two candidates for First Selectman and the two candidates for Selectman will win. But only one candidate from each party can win.



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