#MiddleburyCT
BY Jennifer Mahr, October 5, 2023
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Earlier this week, while out on the campaign trail, I couldn’t believe my eyes. After slowing down my car to get a better look, I saw a typical campaign sign displaying both the Democrat and the Republican candidates for Middlebury’s Board of Selectmen.
According to this sign, it’s safe to say that the current incumbents, Republican Elaine Strobel, and Democrat J. Paul Vance, have apparently endorsed each other for their positions. Bipartisanship or not, this lawn sign sent a direct message to voters: the incumbents don’t care about voter concerns, they only care about getting re-elected.
Right now, the newly revised Middlebury Town Charter only allows a political party to nominate one candidate for the Board of Selectmen even though two seats are available. This means that if each party nominates a candidate, and there are no other petitioning or write-in candidates, the Republican and Democratic nominees automatically win.
Don’t be fooled in this election. The Republican and Democrat selectmen aren’t running against each other, they’re comfortably awaiting to each reclaim their seat by default. Better yet, if these candidates are already sharing space on campaign propaganda, what’s next? Joint fundraisers? You better believe it.
Recently, at a fundraiser hosted by Middlebury’s Democratic Town Committee, the Democratic and Republican selectman candidates both spoke to voters as a makeshift way to “meet the candidates”, despite having only two out of four total selectman candidates present. While the incumbent candidates comfortably partied, I was at the Watertown Planning and Zoning meeting, defending against the intrusion of four large distribution facilities that would sandwich Middlebury between 1.4 million square feet of warehouse space and commercial traffic at exits 16 and 17.
This November, let’s not repeat history, let’s make it. As co-founder of the Middlebury Small Town Alliance, who has successfully organized multiple “Meet the Candidate” events during past election seasons, I am the only selectman candidate who has proven to put the interests of our hometown first, without even being elected. My inspiration stems from being a mother, a Coast Guard officer, and a community leader who has served, informed, and even protected Middlebury against the negative effects of distribution facilities.
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