Dear Editor,
Dionna Carlson has a genuine passion for New Canaan. She has served on the BOE (including chairman for three years) as well as leadership positions at Congregational Church, DAR, board member for her children’s schools, and more. When I think about why Dionna is the best choice to lead New Canaan, I think of three qualities… leadership, accessibility and honesty.
Dionna is a proven town leader. Dionna testified in Hartford at the Education Committee Public Hearing against a school regionalization bill while she was BOE chair in 2018. Her actions are clear evidence that she can be counted on to represent our residents by speaking out for local control of our town and our schools. Her demonstrated advocacy on our behalf will be an important asset in the coming years with the ever-increasing number of bills with unfunded mandates coming down from Hartford.
Dionna is accessible. I reached out to Dionna was when I was considering running for the BOE two years ago and she immediately replied and met me for coffee. I found Dionna to be warm and engaging. She always makes time to meet, talk things through, and answer questions. She is an active listener and provided constructive feedback every time I reach out for advice. Dionna’s experience has been invaluable, and she clearly communicates the thoughtful reasons behind her feedback.
I’ve seen Dionna treat all members of our community with fairness and honesty. As an example, during her tenure on the BOE, Dionna heard the needs of elementary school parents and was their voice during the school start times decision. While she recognized the benefits of changing school start times for HS students, Dionna balanced those goals with the comments she heard from numerous elementary school parents that had very legitimate concerns about the impacts of the administration’s proposal on their families. While Democrat BOE members continued to push the administration’s stated proposal, Dionna thoughtfully voiced the elementary parents’ concerns and challenged the school leadership to go back once more to try to come up with a more workable solution. The district heeded the suggestion, and their revised solution which shaved 30 minutes off the start times, was reported on at a recent BOE meeting. The survey showed that the final adopted plan has been seen as a success by families and students alike at every grade level. The new solution also resulted in a significant annual cost savings compared to the original proposal.
If elected, Dionna has committed to providing regular town updates via a town newsletter as is done by leadership in many of our neighboring towns. This communication best practice is an initiative she mentioned this Spring, and it will bring a level transparency to the office of First Selectman that we have not experienced. Our town is fortunate to have Dionna stepping up to the challenge of leading New Canaan. I am confident she will do good things and I am excited to support such a strong and amazing woman. Proven leadership, it really matters and that is what Dionna brings to the role of First Selectman.
Julie Toal
