A second Westporter has joined the race to succeed State Representative Jonathan Steinberg.
Board of Education chair Lee Goldstein joins Matthew Mandell in the campaign for the 136th District. Steinberg is retiring.
Goldstein — a Yale University graduate and former high school English teacher, writer, editor and manager of a family foundation, and volunteer with the Westport Arts Advisory Committee and Mercy Learning Center — filed paperwork on Thursday.
“Westport deserves experienced, thoughtful leadership that protects our schools, strengthens our communities, and takes the rising cost of living seriously,” says Goldstein. “I’m running to bring that leadership to Hartford.”
As BOE chair for 4 years, Goldstein helped lead the renovation of Coleytown Middle School, plan for a new Long Lots Elementary School and Stepping Stones Preschool, and develop a comprehensive capital improvement plan.
School budgets have passed unanimously, which she attributes to collaboration she fostered between the Board of Ed, Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting.
Lee Goldstein
However, she notes, “Federal instability threatens funding, public health and safety, education, reproductive rights, and common-sense gun safety laws. Connecticut needs steady, values-driven leaders in Hartford who recognize what’s at stake and bring people together to solve problems.”
Goldstein tells “06880”: “I am proud of our remarkable schools. But over the past 4 years on the Board, I’ve learned that more depends on relationships and trust than on any single decision.
“Whether we’re aligning budgets with long-term priorities, advancing overdue capital work or developing complex strategic plans, progress comes from listening, persistence, and a willingness to bring people together around shared goals. The most durable decisions are rarely the most dramatic ones — they’re the ones people have a hand in creating themselves.
“What is drawing me toward Hartford right now is a mix of optimism and urgency. I think Connecticut has the capacity to respond thoughtfully to this moment -strengthening public education, protecting reproductive rights, public health, and gun safety laws, addressing affordability pressures, and helping communities plan responsibly for the long term.
“But optimism only matters if you’re willing to take responsibility for what comes next. Over time, I’ve come to feel that the next phase of the work I care about needs to happen at the state level.”
Hi Lee, I’m curious where you stand on the Cribari Bridge controversy. Do want it replaced so that 18 wheelers can use it or would you prefer to see it rehabilitated and slightly widened for enhanced bicycle and pedestrian access?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/204364047@N04/55145238777/in/dateposted-public/
Well, this is certainly exciting!!! I can’t think of a better, more compassionate, qualified and steady voice to lead us as State Rep in Hartford! Thank you Lee for stepping up! 👏👏👏
Fluffy thinking ☃️
I’ve known Lee for more than 50 years. She’s one of the smartest and kindest people I know. So pleased to see her candidacy and wishing her the best!
Wow! How did our town get so lucky!? What a quality candidate we have in Lee. Her experience, levity, wisdom will serve us well. I’d say anyone serving two terms as Chair of our Board of Education is well equipped to solve problems and make good decisions.
I have known Lee Goldstein for most of my life and can attest to her courage, intelligence and unfailing moral compass. She uses her capacities as a thoughtful leader to move ahead with the essential needs of her entire community. She has faced wild accusations with diplomatic calm and is not diverted from the task at hand by being pulled into a politically engendered morass. She sees her way to the finish line with clear analysis and constructive plans that reflect the voices of her entire constituency. Her fearless style belies the warmth and genuine heartfelt motivation that underpins the very reason she has chosen to run at this time when destructive interpersonal pressures plague our politicians. She can do it at the next level. She will do it if elected. That is a guarantee. We need leaders with her character, persistence integrity, grace and knowledge right now.
What exciting news! I have known her for many years, and what I most admire about Lee is her incredible thoughtfulness and immense curiosity. She thinks deeply and critically about the issues at hand. Lee has the experience, wisdom and integrity to help lead our town effectively.
I served on the Board of Education alongside Lee Goldstein for four years, and she was Chairwoman the entire time. We disagreed often—more than any other two members on the board.
But disagreement never changed my respect for her. Lee is one of the smartest and hardest-working people I’ve had the chance to work with up close. She shows up, does the work, and takes the responsibility seriously.
You don’t have to agree with someone on everything to recognize their character. In fact, when you disagree with someone, you sometimes see their character even more clearly—just through a different lens. Lee has integrity, conviction, and a genuine commitment to this community.
Lee will always fight for Westport.
When people like Lee step up to help, it gives me hope. Smart, calm, level-headed and thorough. We couldn’t ask for a better representative.
As someone on the rtm for 6 and half years working with lee on special ed issue and security issues and meeting with the superintendent of schools she she brings a lot leader ship to Westport someone I can or she can call me anytime thanks lee for all you do
Knowing Lee as well as I have for the past 25 years, I know that she did not make this decision to run lightly. As a BOE leader, she knows well that creating better outcomes for communities takes backbone, deep knowledge of the issues, empathy and the capacity to create alignment in order to act. And she is wicked smart with the best sense of humor.
I guess the DTC establishment doesn’t want Matt Mandell to be the nominee?