Bindelglass Runs for Second Term as First Selectman

Dr. David Bindelglass announced that he will run for re-election to a second two-year term as Easton’s first selectman. A small group gathered June 3 at Town Hall to witness the ceremonial filing, including his wife, Gloria, who is a nurse at Bridgeport Hospital, and Selectman Robert Lessler. Incumbent First Selectman Dr. David Bindelglass signs re-election documents in his Easton Town Hall office. With him are his wife, Gloria, and Selectman Robert Lessler. — Nancy Doniger Photo As he filed the necessary papers, Bindelglass cited his administration’s accomplishments and goals. An orthopedic surgeon in addition to first selectman, Bindelglass is especially proud of Easton’s performance during COVID, when the senior center, the schools, and Town Hall worked together to continue providing services to residents.

He described the additional challenges the town faced during his first term, including Tropical Storm Isaias and the resulting extended power outages.

“I’m first selectman for all of Easton,” he said. “I took office in November 2019, and I’m very proud of our accomplishments over the last two years. We were ready from the start to bring good, effective governance to Easton and, because of that, we were able to handle unexpected challenges while accomplishing several critical projects. Easton needed to see results, and I am committed to continuing to deliver them.”

Other significant accomplishments include completed construction of one bridge on Park Avenue and another one underway; improving health care delivery through joining the Westport-Weston Health District; creation of a representative task force that is examining options for the South Park property; and increased transparency of town government through weekly public updates to citizens.

“Easton voted in May to fund the best education we can offer our children, restoring much needed resources that had been cut previously and addressing the need for additional services to help our students through the pandemic and its aftermath,” he said. “And the vote for the town budget is an endorsement of the good work our town departments are doing and the projects we have undertaken.”

He additionally cited extended public comment at Board of Selectmen meetings, a Town Hall presentation for newcomers, brown bag lunches, and several other open forums. Bindelglass is also improving Town Hall procedures by streamlining the permit process, and expanding Park and Recreation Department projects for seniors.

Engagement in local government grew tremendously during the pandemic, when people could watch and participate in meetings virtually from the comfort of their homes, Bindelglass said. He wants to offer hybrid choices for people to attend meetings in person and online going forward, but said they are still figuring out the technology to do it.

Bindelglass, 62, is the first Democratic First Selectman in Easton since 1985 and is presiding over the first Board of Selectmen with a Democratic majority since 2005.

“Most of our accomplishments have been supported by a unanimous board,” he said. “I intend to keep our work non-partisan and always in the best interests of all the people of Easton.”

Lessler, a longtime selectman and fellow Democrat, said he hasn’t yet filed papers to run for another term. The filing deadline is July 28 for local elected offices, Town Clerk Christine Halloran said.

Photo at top: David Bindelglass files papers with Town Clerk Christine Halloran for re- election as first selectman. — Nancy Doniger Photo

What Matters Most to Easton: Responds

1. What do you believe is the single most important issue facing Easton voters and why?

The first item on my agenda is stabilizing our health care relief system. As of Oct. 14, has had over 60,000 cases of COVID-19, with over 4,500 resulting in death. In Fairfield County alone, we lost nearly 1,500 of our citizens to this virus. When the pandemic-induced recession hit in June, 6.9 million workers lost their jobs, and with them, their employer-sponsored health insurance.

When we factor in dependents, 14.6 million people are struggling without health insurance. When someone in Easton loses their job because of COVID, we need to make sure employers provide subsidies during the initial job search, so people may keep their coverage despite unemployment.

This effort will require coordinated intervention in order to keep our citizens healthy. This past year, I’ve secured $135 million for hospitals around the Fourth District. I’ve also encouraged bipartisan legislation to provide relief for our unemployed. But there’s still work to be done. We need Congressional support for unemployment insurance, for PPE and medical supplies and for our schools. I’ve supported every House attempt to negotiate with the administration and the Senate, and it’s imperative that we make a deal.

2. What is the second most important issue?

Congress has a responsibility to support our citizens’ economic well-being as well as their physical well-being. I supported the $2 trillion CARES Act that stabilized our economy, provided necessary support to hospitals, assisted our states’ response, and approved loans for small businesses. I brought home over $1.4 billion in PPP loans for our district, assisting over 16,000 small businesses, 160 businesses and nonprofits, which protected over 140,000 jobs.

Providing small businesses with much-needed capital during COVID-19 is crucial to keep our economy afloat. Supporting our local businesses, and the families and communities they serve is a top priority for me and for Easton.

3. Why should Easton voters support you on Nov. 3?

Over my terms in Congress, I have been a steadfast voice for common-sense, independent solutions to national and state challenges. I have advocated for our middle class and I fought for accessible and affordable health care for all. I have created opportunities for our working families, in times of both economic boom and economic stagnation. I’ve been a steady voice in support of our national security. Most importantly, I put the needs of all of my constituents over partisan politics, and I have consistently reached across the aisle in order to support both our state and our people.

Letter: Shaban Led, Hughes Blamed

(Response to Shaban’s Call for Leadership Is a Little Late, Aug. 19, 2020)

I write to reply to the letter criticizing John Shaban’s article questioning the lack of state and local leadership during the recent storm.

Sadly, Hughes tries to excuse her absence before and during the storm by claiming that she will now “call for legislation” after the fact to “hold Eversource executives accountable.” Hughes’ repeated attempts to blame “big business” and “the rich” for all of our problems isn’t leadership, it is deflection and political pandering. Calling Eversource and UI to task before the storm — as Shaban did for six years while in office — is what we needed, not more hind sighted legislation and finger-pointing.

Notably, Shaban helped craft and pass bipartisan legislation in 2011 and 2012 that gave state and local officials the tools to address storms and power outages before and during the crisis. He also pushed for and passed the “Russ Neary Bill” (PA 13-204), named after one of Easton’s firefighters tragically killed in the 2011 storm, to help the families of fallen first responders.

We need representatives in Hartford that focus on our towns — and take the lead before a storm and/or an important issue hits -— not the pandering and partisan politics displayed by our current freshman state representative.

Wendy Bowditch

Easton Republican Town Committee Chair

Police Reform: Too Rushed or Too Delayed? Easton Delegations Tackles the Question

Timing was the crucial question for Easton’s two state legislators, as they voted on police reform in the special session of the Connecticut General Assembly that convened last July 24 and adjourned July 29.

The state House and Senate adopted the proposed law enforcement measure and Gov. Ned Lamont signed the bill, officially known as H.B. No. 6004, into law on Friday.

The legislation, among its reforms, provides for an inspector general and municipal civilian review boards to oversee police behavior.

The reform would also make it easier for municipalities to fire and decertify police officers. Disciplinary action by municipalities against police officers would become matters of public record.

On the contested issue of qualified immunity, the legislation would enable individuals to bring civil suits against police officers for alleged denial of rights, subject to a court’s determination that the police officer in good faith believed that he or she was acting lawfully.

In a party-line vote Wednesday, state Sen. Tony Hwang, R-28th, was essentially asking for more time to design law-enforcement reform, when he joined his fellow Republicans in voting against the police accountability and transparency police measure.

After a 10-and-a-half hour debate, state Rep. Anne Hughes, D-135th, urged her House colleagues to support the police reform bill as an emergency response, without delay, to the decades-long trauma of systemic racism and rogue police behavior.

“I agree there is a need to act and many of the elements in the bill are good, strong proposals. But rushing legislation does not do justice to the level of attention this issue requires. The hastily pushed approval may create sweeping unintended consequences,” Hwang stated in a press release.

Hughes told her colleagues, “You better believe this registration is rushed because that’s what you do in an emergency. You rush to render aid, to intervene. And our colleagues have worked hard for years to prepare for this intervention. I resent the implication that this is sloppy. What’s sloppy is waiting so long to intervene.”

The differences, then, between Easton’s legislators in the matter of law enforcement reform appear to come down to issues of process, not necessarily of policy, although the qualified immunity debate did reveal significant policy differences on the floors of both the House and the Senate.

Section 42 of the police accountability and transparency act does offer the contending parties some potential relief on the immunity issue by providing for a task force to study the implementations of the police transparency and accountability act and to report to the General Assembly no later than Jan. 1, 2021 on “any recommendations related” to the immunity provisions of the reform bill.

This includes the “anticipated impact” that the measure might have “on the ability of a police officer or municipality to obtain liability insurance.”

Contributor’s Note: This article continues a review of recently adopted law enforcement legislation. A third article will cover three other bills adopted by the state legislature dealing with absentee ballots, telehealthcare, and insulin costs.

Special Session Bills Passed, Easton Delegation Agrees/Disagrees

The Connecticut General Assembly closed its special session this week having adopted four pieces of legislation, three with bi-partisan support and one with a vote along party lines in favor of the Democratic majority in both the state House of Representatives and the state Senate.

State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-28th, and state Rep. Anne Hughes, D-135th, tracked that overall voting in their respective legislative houses. Hwang represents Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, Westport, and Hughes represents Easton, Redding, Weston.

The bill they disagreed on — Hughes yay, Hwang nay — was the most controversial of the four special-session proposals, and it took marathon, over-night debates in both houses before “An Act Concerning Police Accountability” was adopted.

The lightning rod in that legislative proposal was the section on qualified immunity for police from civil litigation.

The legislation would provide that individuals alleging that their civil rights have been violated by the actions of a police officer have a right to sue the officer with the only immunity for the officer being the court’s determination that the officer had an “objectively good faith belief” that his or her conduct did not violate the law. There is a provision in the bill that each municipality “shall protect and save harmless” the sued officer from financial losses and expenses resulting from such litigation. However, if the officer is judged to have committed a “malicious, wanton or willful act,” he or she is required to reimburse the municipality for its costs and expenses.

The accountability legislation would also create the new position of inspector general to investigate police use of deadly force. As well, the legislation would allow the formation of civilian review boards with subpoena powers in police matters. Disciplinary actions against police officers would be in the public record, and the bill has provisions making it easier for municipalities to fire and decertify police officers. That could prevent them from being hired by other municipalities.

Contributor’s Note: This is the first of three stories on the recently concluded legislative session. The three other pieces of legislation will be covered in a subsequent story.

Michelle McCabe Secures Nomination as Democratic Candidate for 28th Senate District Receives Unanimous Support from Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, Weston, and Westport Delegates

FAIRFIELD, CT – On Tuesday evening, Michelle McCabe secured the Democratic nomination for the 28th State Senate District representing Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, Weston, and Westport.

“At my 2020 kick off in January, I expressed the same Connecticut-focused position as I did in 2018. None of us could have predicted that months later, a pandemic would show us the degree to which our national division would threaten our very existence. The urgency with which we campaigned in 2018 now seems frighteningly prescient. It is not an overstatement that 2020 is the fight for our very lives and who we choose to lead us at all levels of government matters more than ever. The challenges that will be before all elected officials will require a strength of purpose and willingness to make unpopular but necessary decisions, ones that will test the public’s stomach for personal sacrifice like never before in our lifetimes,” said McCabe.

Referencing our nation’s core principles of “give me liberty or give me death” and “the land of the free,” McCabe speaks to the natural tension between being free and sacrificing some freedom to live in a society with others, an issue that has reached a dangerous boiling point amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

McCabe told convention attendees, “We aren’t terribly good at navigating the divide between what’s best for ourselves, and what’s best for the common good. That’s why we outsourced that kind of decision-making to government. Our elected leaders have the unenviable job of weighing opposing interests and making a decision. At least in theory, we elect people who we trust to make the right decision, to hear all sides of an issue, to ask experts as well as constituents, to take the long view and make a decision that will allow us all to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness even if it’s not exactly as we envisioned.”

McCabe, a dynamic community leader, seeks to bring a trustworthy, responsive, solution focused, and innovative approach to government.

“We will only survive the challenge ahead if we elect people who we trust to thoughtfully and decisively lead us out of the pandemic and into what will be a very different world, and who are willing to brave the fallout of very unhappy people in the process,” said McCabe. “My opponent is not that person. I am.”

McCabe’s résumé is lengthy: Director of the Center for Food Equity and Economic Development (FEED) at the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport; Sacred Heart University School of Social Work Advisory Committee member; Fairfield University Center for Social Impact Steering Committee member; Connecticut Asset Building Collaborative, Co-Chair; Bridgeport Regional Business Council, Member; Women’s Business Development Council, Regional Advisory Committee Member; Connecticut Emergency Support Functions #6, Task Team Member; Accountable Health Communities Program, Advisory Board; Connecticut Food System Alliance, Member. Despite her extensive professional expertise, McCabe said the most important quality she brings to the table is courage.

“I have the courage to know that I don’t know everything, to welcome all opinions especially if they challenge my own, and to steadfastly make decisions that strike the proper balance between personal freedom and the common good, even if it doesn’t please everyone,” said McCabe. “You will always know where I stand. I’ll earn your vote because of my character, and I won’t avoid talking about something that I believe is right for fear you might disagree.”

McCabe ended the evening pledging to work hard as the Democratic endorsed candidate, as Senator for the 28th district and said she would “rise to the challenges we face and fearlessly fight for our future.” Michelle McCabe is a long-time resident of Fairfield, Connecticut where she lives with her three children. She is the Director of the Center for Food Equity and Economic Development (FEED) at The Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport.

For more information visit www.michelleforCT.com Facebook.com/michelleforCT Instagram.com/michelleforCT Twitter.com/michelleforCT

Easton Democrats Celebrate First Selectman at Inaugural Ball

Easton residents, friends, and community leaders gathered together to honor the historic win of David Bindelglass as the Town of Easton’s First Selectman, and to thank Bob Lessler for his twenty years of service as Selectman. (L – R) Michelle Lapine McCabe, Anne Hughes, Bob Lessler, and David Bindelglass at the First Selectman’s Inaugural Ball on January 18th in Easton, CT. Photography by: Lillie Fortino.

Bindelglass, an orthopedic surgeon from Easton, Connecticut, was elected this November as the Town’s first Democratic First Selectman in 36 years. Along with Selectman Bob Lessler, who was re-elected to his eleventh term as Selectman, the two have formed the first Democratic majority on the town board since 2003. The election is also historic because it is the first time since 1983 that Easton has elected a Democratic First Selectman as well as a Democratic majority to the three member board.

Despite the inclement weather on Saturday, January 18th, approximately 70 guests arrived at the private estate of longtime residents and art collectors, Elliot Leonard and Roger Litz, who graciously hosted the Inaugural Ball for Bindelglass. “Easton is here tonight, and we’re bringing change,” said Leonard as he welcomed guests to the party that evening. “Smart and hard work led us to the first board control since 1983, and hopefully will help to bring change nationally in 2020.”

The attendees celebrated the collective achievements of the long serving Democrats in Easton, with remarks from State Rep. Anne Hughes, State Senatorial candidate Michelle Lapine McCabe, Selectman Lessler, and First Selectman Bindelglass. The event doubled as a fundraiser for 2020 campaigns and leadership initiatives supported by the Easton Democratic Town Committee (EDTC) and its members.

“Easton residents want to be informed and valued no matter their age, race, or gender. Our neighbors want to feel safe, heard, and like they belong in this community, and we will continue to be guided by our vision that upholds the quality of life and prosperity of each of our citizens. The EDTC is working hard to be an example of how a town can positively collaborate for the greater good of all of its residents. We are grateful for the support of our state representatives and leaders, and we are looking forward to even more success for Democrats in 2020,” stated Nanette DeWester, Chairperson of the EDTC. To learn more about how you can serve alongside the Democratic town leadership, build community, and participate in planning for Easton’s future, please visit the EDTC website and attend an upcoming monthly meeting. The EDTC is an inclusive, engaged, and welcoming group of residents who believe in public involvement, as well as a proactive and solutions-oriented approach to town government.

Hughes Kicks off Re-Election Campaign

State Rep. Anne Hughes kicked off her re-election bid for the 135th District of Easton, Weston and Redding at Silverman’s Farm in Easton. The Easton Democrat is seeking her second term in office.

Governor Ned Lamont, State Senator Will Haskell, State Rep. Cristin McCarthy-Vahey, and , State Senator candidate Michelle McCabe, Easton First Selectman David Bindleglass, and a crowd of friends, family and constituents gathered at the family farm of Irv and Nancy Silverman where Hughes and her many supporters celebrated her successful first-term. The 100-year-old farm and Pick-Your-Own orchard (that Hughes visited regularly as a child with her family from Fairfield), set the stage for Hughes as she urged the crowd to “pick your own democracy, pick your own future, pick your own representation… because there has never been more at stake in our lifetime.”

She highlighted the collaboration with her colleagues and the governor, to address the climate crisis, unaffordable access to health care and life-saving prescriptions, and the widening economic disparity we face as a community, state and nation. Hughes and her legislative friends expressed enthusiasm for finding solutions with the broadening coalition of legislators, youth activists, and advocates, the governor’s administration, and a more engaged constituent public than when she first ran two years ago.

“I represent everybody, all ages, all affiliations, like those who have shown up today to celebrate this kickoff… but it’s the youth voices we have a responsibility to amplify, to heed… it’s their future at stake now,” she said, pointing to the groups of students in the crowd.

The governor described Hughes’ leadership along with her colleagues as the “conscience of the Legislature,” that was crucial in passing Paid Family Medical Leave, raising the minimum wage, enacting the plastic bag ban, advancing the renewable energy offshore wind project, and developing the first state water plan.

In her first term, Hughes earned the 2019 Environmental Champion by the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (CTLCV). She points to her record of 79 bills introduced or co-sponsored as an important template of the values and needs of her constituent community, including a bill to increase the earned income tax credit, supporting safe bathroom access in schools for gender-nonconforming students, working to prohibit certain pesticides, and a ban on fracking waste.

She plans to continue her efforts on expanding eligibility for absentee ballots, an act permitting the publication of legal notices on municipal websites, safe firearm storage, increasing support for aging in place, and mental health insurance parity.

To learn more about the bills Hughes introduced in session year 2019, visit her legislative page on the Connecticut General Assembly online. See: https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/CGABillStatus/CGAMemberBills.asp?dist_code=%27135%27.