To The Citizens of Westport
As the newly elected members of the Planning and Zoning Board — Chip Stephens, Cathy Walsh, Jack Whittle and Al Gratrix — we all want to thank you for your support, trust and faith in our campaign promise to you that we will do our very best to PRESERVE WESTPORT for you and generations to come.
We hope to deliver a more transparent and interactive board that will listen to you, the citizens of Westport, and your concerns and suggestions. We want your voices to be heard, and we will abide by the plans, rules and Town Plans that have served us so well in maintaining the charm and vision of Westport.
Thank you Save Westport Now for your endorsement. Thank you Republican Town Committee for your endorsement. Thank you to all who came out and voted, and thank you to all who are leaving their positions on the P and Z for your service and dedication.
We 4 will do our best to uphold our pledge to Preserve Westport. We promise to listen and consider all proposals brought to us over the next 4 years, and to judge each application with an open mind and fair hand.
We will do our best to understand the wishes of those that elected us and will welcome any and all suggestions . Please join us at the meetings live or on cable. Please keep us real and on track with your opinions via email or in person.
We will do our best to make your decision one you will never regret
Thank you from all 4:
Chip Stephens
Cathy Walsh
Jack Whittle
Al Gratrix
Ahead for the new P&Z: many decisions about Westport's future.
Hi Chip: Al, Cathie, and Jack:
I personally want to congratulate all of you for your successful and victorious campaign. As a group you were able to capture the hopes and dreams of the Westport electorate. Our community wants Westport to keep its small town character. It is important to make sure that the community is included : ie, town meetings in which people can dialogue in an open forum ideas with regard to planning, to keep meetings open longer so that the media can be able to get the information to the community. All of you have an important task to accomplish in the next four years as our new commissioners of the P&Z. Week by week there are complicated issues which deeply affect individuals as well as business, families, seniors and children. I’d like to thank Save Westport Now for their validating your credentials and supporting your campaign.
Good luck in the next four years,
Joyce Colburn
Thank you and the best to you and Westport.
Congratulations to you all. The people have spoken and look forward to your pledges to weigh the issues with an even hand…with thoughtful deliberation and in a non-arrogant manner. This was a great example of how non partisan participation works for the greater good of our community and so much thanks need to be directed to Sidney Kramer, Connie Greenfield, Amy Ancel, Helen Martin Block, Matt Mandel and Michael Calise and so many others who worked so hard in order for this to have had such a positive outcome. The key now is to remind the remaining commissioners, Mr Corwin and Mr. Lathrop especially of their original campaign promises when they originally ran with the support of Save Westport Now and how it is still not to late for them to honor those words creating a balanced approach to development while ensuring the character and small town feel remains.
Good luck to all of you and remember…play nicely in the sandbox together.
Good teamwork. Paid big dividends.
Get us back on track.
I usually vote “Democratic”, but I’ve always tried to vote for the best choices. And given Ron Corwin’s arrogant and inept leadership of the P&Z (even with such good members as retiring Ellie Lowenstein) and how he wanted to change Westport, I decided to follow Save Westport Now’s suggestions and voted for the four candidates mentioned (Cathy, Al, Chip and Jack). I’ve admired Sidney Kramer’s love of the town for 35 years (he started Save Westport Now). My husband and I didn’t vote for Jennifer Johnson (a nice lady and a Democrat) because she would have had to vote for Mr. Corwin to continue his chairmanship. I was surprised how many voters crossed party lines to assure a new day for the P&Z.
I apologize if this sounds like an attack. I’d read these comments but I think I should have kept them out of this discussion. Mea culpa!