DTC Chooses Goldrick to Replace Barton on Ballot

Before christening the new Democratic Headquarters at 32 Field Point Road Wednesday evening, the met at Town Hall and voted to add DTC member Sean Goldrick to the fall ballot to fill the Board of Estimate and Taxation seat recently vacated by Nancy Barton.

from the BET last Monday, citing an undisclosed illness. The DTC has appointed Mary Lee Kiernan to fill Barton’s seat on an interim basis for the remainder of her two-year term.

Goldrick joins five other Democratic candidates, all unopposed, seeking seats on the BET, which has a total of 12 members.

During the special meeting, DTC Chairman Frank Farricker said the DTC executive committee interviewed five candidates for Barton’s seat — Jill Oberlander, Laura Erickson, Sean Goldrick, Herb Johnson and Greg Schulte — and then whittled that down two candidates, Erickson and Goldrick.

However DTC member Shawn Asselin nominated Greg Schulte from the floor, and the motion was seconded, creating a three-way vote.

DTC member Brad Markowitz nominated Goldrick; DTC member Lin Lavery seconded. Both said it was an exciting time for Democrats in Greenwich as the local party has never been so unified, and that the DTC was blessed to have multiple qualified candidates step forward to fill the seat.

“This is an exciting and important time for Democrats in the Town of Greenwich,” Markowitz said. “Exciting because for the first time in many years we not only have a candidate for every municipal office, but we also have excellent choices from within the party, as we seek to put forward the best possible slate of candidates; Important because those Republicans in town who have Tea Party leanings, including a surprisingly large number of individuals acting in town government, seem to be emboldened by what s happening on the national scene and are trying to bring that Tea Party sensibility to local Greenwich government.”

Markowitz said while serving on the search committee and talking to other DTC members it became clear to him “that what is needed are candidates who will make decisions that are consistent with our Democratic values... and the one person who came to mind was Sean Goldrick.”

Markowitz said Goldrick meets the four criteria he uses to evaluate all candidates for office: “Does he have the time? Does he have the professional skills to get the job done? Does he share our Democratic values? Is he the most effective person, out of the Democratic candidates who are available, to serve on this BET?”

“By all accounts the BET is the single most time-consuming volunteer position in our town government,” Markowitz said. “Sean is retired, and his children, who are recent graduates of the Greenwich public school system, have grown. Everyone in this room is familiar with Sean’s incredible energy and willingness to work for the good of our party in our town: Whether he is campaigning for local, state or national candidates, or researching and advocating on local issues of importance, Sean is always there, getting it done.”

As far as Goldrick’s experience goes, Markowitz said: “He’s had a long and successful career in finance, which positions him well to come up the learning curve and have an impact on the BET in his first term.”

"Every member of the DTC knows that Sean is a consistent advocate of progressive policies and a reliable defender of the things we as Democrats care about most,” he added.

Lavery said she evaluated Goldrick using similar criteria: “His financial expertise; commitment to the job; and demonstrated belief to Democratic values.”

“This is a man who spent his entire career in finance — a man who has a global picture, but also a very strong local picture,” Lavery said. “This is probably one of the most important offices you can hold in this town. Fifty percent of the BET is Democratic — the Republicans tried to change that this year — but we didn’t let that happen. But we are losing three people — yes, we’re bringing on two new people — but be careful, it’s very important that you know exactly what you’re doing at this time. This position is critical.”

“Sean is smart — he takes an issue, he does his homework — and I can tell you that as a candidate, he’s got your back,” Lavery added. “He will put in the time.”

Goldrick said although he was happy to have opportunity to fill the position, he was saddened by the loss of Barton on the BET.

“Fellow Democrats, we all wish that we didn’t have to hold this election tonight,” Goldrick said. “Nancy Barton has performed wonderful work for this community and for Greenwich Democrats. She is a true Greenwich original and we’re all saddened she will not continue to serve on the BET. I offer her my personal thanks for years of great service and wish her renewed health. While no one will ever fill Nancy’s shoes, we must choose a replacement. I feel I am best qualified to follow her.”

Goldrick pointed to recent party accomplishments and pledged to help keep the momentum going.

“I commend our Democratic BET members for standing together and refusing to permit the BET Republicans to kill the MISA auditorium project this past spring,” he said. “Certainly it was one of Greenwich Democrats finest hours. I also applaud future first selectman, John Blankley, for his speech in which he made it clear that if the Republicans killed the project, when elected he would make certain it was funded."

“Overall our school facilities are not as well maintained compared to schools in other communities less affluent than ours,” Goldrick said. “This spring, BET Republicans suggested that the maintenance budget be cut from $10 million to $6 million — I will oppose those cuts.”

Goldrick said “there are other areas of infrastructure in town that have been ignored that must be addressed on a long-term basis."

“Greenwich was fined this year for major sewer line breaks in 2008 and 2005,” he said. “Our drainage ponds need to be dredged — including Binney Park which has not been dredged in 18 years — and we have flooding problems that need fixing."

He said while town property taxes remain low, the town's current "pay as you go" startegy for handling capital projects "and our reliance on short-term bonds has left our town’s infrastructure is in very poor shape."

"We need to understand that we are competing for housing dollars," Goldrick said. "Families seeking a home and a school system for their children have a myriad of choices throughout this region. We must not let our town reach a tipping point at which poorly maintained school facilities, declining academic performance and crumbling infrastructure leads those families to pass us by, taking their housing dollars and future tax revenues to other communities that offer them a better quality of life.”

Goldrick said with interest rates at historic lows, the town has an unprecedented opportunity to lock in long term bonds and “address our infrastructure problems that have languished for too long.”

And on the topic of the MISA project at Greewnich High School he said: "Someone suggested that the cost of removing toxic PCBs and heavy metals from the soil at GHS should be added to MISA – making the auditorium project too expensive to build. I consider toxic substances to be a public health hazard that must be kept separate from MISA. The cost of remediation should be handled as a separate budget."

Goldrick won convincingly, receiving 32 votes to Schulte’s 13 and Erickson’s 9.

Following the vote, DTC members adjourned to celebrate the opening of the new Democratic Headquarters at 32 Field Point Road.

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