By Maria Weingarten
First Selectman is a very serious position, one that takes commitment and requires a leader that will truly listen, represent ALL residents and remain focused on our town’s interests. Leadership is vastly different from just having volunteer experience of working on a project or as a participant on a committee. New Canaan is blessed with so many dedicated volunteers, but those tasks and roles are not of the same ilk as a leadership role, and in particular, a leadership role in town governance. It is that depth of proven leadership experience which truly sets Dionna Carlson apart. She has shown she can lead both parties effectively by being elected unanimously to three consecutive terms as Chair of the Board of Education.
Residents can take comfort in the fact that Dionna has “on the job” tested and proven leadership skills and temperament, making her the right choice for the role of First Selectman of New Canaan. A dedicated community volunteer herself, Dionna will leverage our town’s strong bench of highly skilled volunteers to find locally driven solutions to our town’s most pressing issues, like affordable housing and cell coverage.
Further, role of First Selectman is more than what happens within our town’s borders, and this is where Dionna’s prior experience of leading on a non-partisan basis during her three years as the BOE Chair will be most helpful. She is ready to lead on day one and collaborate with other municipal leaders statewide, some of whom she already knows, to ensure that affordable housing is and remains a locally solved issue. Her leadership around affordable housing is sorely needed for New Canaan and she will advocate for our interests with other municipal leaders and at the state. This is why it is key that she must be elected First Selectman – so that she can lead both statewide as well as locally.
Dionna testified in Hartford against the school regionalization while she was on the Board of Education as did many residents from New Canaan on a bipartisan basis. Regionalization was a bad idea then, just as many of the developer driven, state zoning bills and unworkable affordable housing mandates are now. With these ever-growing pressures, we need Dionna Carlson as First Selectman – she will not be beholden to outside agendas and will stand for New Canaan’s interests.
Affordable housing is not a Democrat or Republican issue, and having Dionna’s experience as a nonpartisan leader will be critical. There are so many more external influences, political noise and unfunded mandates being thrust upon our town in recent years. We need a leader that has the relationships to band together with other municipal leaders in Fairfield County to make sure our interests are heard at the State and that we get our town’s rightfully deserved moratorium. Dionna will also ensure residents are well informed so they too can engage in real time on these very important issues to make sure all of our collective voices are heard loud and clear when the press and other may have remained silent.
Dionna Carlson is the right person for the role of First Selectman of New Canaan. She has shown leadership as a Deacon, which is a leader within the faith community. She has a finance degree, is a former CFA Charter Holder and has the professional finance experience to thoughtfully steer our town’s budget process. Peers have chosen her for leadership time and again because she is not only a dedicated and thoughtful participant that does her homework, but also a clear thinker, a consensus builder, a collaborator, and a communicator that brings all the parties together. She brings proven experience to the office of First Selectman to forge a better path forward for New Canaan. Please join me in voting for Dionna Carlson for First Selectman.
Maria Weingarten
