This Week’s Letters to the Editor

Editor’s Note: The Letters to the Editor section in the Woodbridge Town Chronicle is a place where community voices can be shared and heard. In the print newspapers of years past, letters to the editor were often the liveliest section, where readers spoke directly to one another, the broader community, and its leaders. To submit a letter for consideration please refer to the submission guidelines.

Power grab and political maneuvering start Woodbridge charter revision on the wrong footing

To the editor,

Last week the newly elected Board of Selectmen appointed a Charter Revision Commission to review the document which serves as our town’s Constitution. The state law governing the charter revision process seeks to ensure bipartisan deliberation by allowing a “bare majority” of any party on the committee. Unfortunately our First Selectman ignored the law’s intent and tried to push through a slate of his choosing.

As is customary, the majority and minority members of the Board of Selectmen shared our list of nominations in advance. As the two Common Ground Selectmen, we recognize that we are the minority despite the majority’s razor-thin margin of victory. We therefore offered three names for the seven-member commission.

Imagine our shock when First Selectman Cardozo nominated, and Deputy First Selectman Munno seconded, a full list of seven people including only one of our nominees. This action prohibited thoughtful review of each person based on their qualifications. The motion was an attempted power grab, exposing the emptiness of Cardozo’s post-election promise to “serve all of Woodbridge.”

Facing our strong objection, Cardozo called a recess to confer with his caucus. He returned with a revised list, including only two of our three nominees. The slate of nominees was approved, despite our vote against.

We commend the appointed Charter Revision Commission members for their willingness to serve. Our disappointment is not with them but with the counter-productive political maneuvers of the majority. The recent election results show Woodbridge is split down the middle on important issues like zoning, growth patterns, and taxes. First Selectman Cardozo has a responsibility to promote cooperation within the Board of Selectmen through respectful engagement and collaborative policy development that unites rather than deepens this divide. If the Board of Selectmen can’t work together how can the town as a whole do so?

— Amey Marrella and Andrea Urbano

The writers are members of the Board of Selectmen.

Democrats play power politics — and lose supporters

To the editor,

I was a lifelong Democrat until this last local election. I found myself pushed out because the Woodbridge Democrats no longer stand for the people of Woodbridge, conservation of our natural resources, education, or prudent fiscal management. Instead, it appears, the Woodbridge Democrats seek, as the song goes, to “pave paradise.” Undeterred by the Woodbridge Democrats winning a bare majority of Board of Selectman, they now are engaging in an anti-democratic Trumpian seizure of power without regard to what Woodbridge’s populace want.

I watched with dismay the conduct of the Woodbridge Democratic Selectmen the other day during a discussion of the Charter Revision Commission. Clearly, the Woodbridge Democrats are attempting to modify our Town’s Charter to — taking a page out of the Donald Trump and Greg Abbot playbook — to put into place functionaries to ensure that the Woodbridge Democrats can control the Town in the future regardless of public sentiment or elections. This anti-democratic behavior is difficult to understand given the outcome of our recent election, which clearly shows a Town that does not want its character fundamentally altered by despoliation of our environment in favor of industrial housing.

Instead, the lesson of the last election should be prudence, moderation, and consensus with a focus growing our Town’s housing and tax base in an intelligent manner. Now, because of the two new massive apartments being developed, our school, fire department, and other resources will be overwhelmed. Will the Town just keep raising property taxes 25% a year as occurred recently?

I encourage the Woodbridge Democrats to reconsider their obstinance and shortsightedness: you are losing your base rapidly. Listen to the people, reflect on the election results, collaborate with Common Ground for Woodbridge. We are a small Town that should be governed by consensus and foresight and not pure power politics.

— Karen Sklarz

Editor’s Note: Letters reflect the perspectives of their authors. They are published to foster dialogue about issues of local concern, including questions of governance, transparency, and accountability, as well as topics such as highlighting upcoming or past events from community groups. To submit a letter for consideration please refer to the submission guidelines.