NOTE: This morning’s story called Jack Klinge the oldest member of Westport’s Representative Town Meeting.
He turns 87 in January. That makes him 11 months younger than Dick Lowenstein, who will be 88 in February. Klinge is the longest-serving member, however.
When Addison Moore was born in 2005, Jack Klinge was in his 5th term on the Representative Town Meeting (RTM).
Last night, Moore — now 20 years old just began his first term on the town’s legislative body. He’s the youngest member ever elected.
Klinge — who turns 87 next month — is still at it. Now in his 15th term, he’s the second oldest member (and longest serving). Dick Lowenstein is 11 months older.
On Monday they sat together at the Westport Library. Klinge had plenty of advice for the newcomer.
Moore was eager to listen.
Addison Moore and Jack Klinge. (Photo/Dan Woog)
But Klinge wanted to hear from Moore too.
Both understand the meaning of the first word in “Representative Town Meeting.” Westport residents span every age group. All voices need to be heard.
Klinge and his wife Jeanne moved to Westport in 1966. They bought a home for $32,500 (“$100,000 got you a mansion,” he says), and raised 3 children. All are Staples High School graduates.
After a career commuting to General Foods and Topps — followed by a stint with Major League Marketing at The Mill on Richmondville Avenue — Klinge retired in 1997.
He mentored an 8-year-old boy, with whom he is still in touch. He substitute taught at Staples and the middle schools.
And the same year he retired — at the suggestion of his friend Marion Potter — he ran for the RTM.
Klinge had little idea how the town operated. He listened, and learned.
Jack Klinge and Addison Moore, at an October candidates’ forum. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Moore — born 8 years after Klinge’s first election — is a 10-year Westporter, and a 2022 Staples graduate.
He served on several youth advisory boards — including Human Services, the Westport Library, Toquet Hall and MoCA\CT — and founded Up Next Teens, a non-profit that grew to hundreds of Fairfield County youths addressing food insecurity.
As a junior at Lafayette College, he continued to seek ways to be involved in his home town. (He is on campus Tuesdays through Thursdays; much of his education is remote.)
Someone suggested he run for the RTM. It seemed far-fetched — until it didn’t.
He knocked on hundreds of doors, and beat an incumbent en route to one of 4 District 9 seats.
“Listen. Observe. Absorb,” Klinge tells Moore. “Learn all you can. Sort out who makes sense, who doesn’t, and what makes sense to you. Your time to talk will come. When it comes, speak from your heart and head.”
Jack Klinge speaks.
But, he adds, “Be succinct. And don’t talk unless you have something to say.” Klinge cites the words of former member (and police chief) Ron Malone: “Everything has been said. But not everyone has said it yet.”
Klinge also says, “Be yourself. Don’t sell yourself out. Make your decision, then stand by it. I’ve been outvoted 35-1. That’s okay.”
Klinge learned about the town by talking with department heads, residents and fellow RTM members. Ever since, he has enjoyed dealing with town issues, projects and problems.
Talking to all constituents is important, Klinge reiterates. It’s great that Moore has the ear of new, young residents. But there are 5,000 seniors in town too, he says. Their concerns and issues are also important.
Among Klinge’s proudest achievements: advocating for schools, helping the Senior Center relocate to its current location at Baron’s South, and helping create workable policies for dogs on the beach.
Right now, Moore is in his own early learning phase. He too is meeting as many people as he can.
Among the issues he’d like to address: making the town safer and more accessible, and expanding the Wheels2U transportation system.
Addison Moore, helping distribute food last winter.
The RTM has evolved since Klinge’s first term, nearly 30 years ago. There are more women and younger residents. (Three of the 4 District 4 members — including now-veteran Andrew Colabella — are in their 30s.
However, Klinge cautions, some RTMers ran just because of one issue close to their hearts. He urges members to be “town-oriented, not cause-oriented.”
One issue that will impact the entire town is the redevelopment of Saugatuck. Klinge hopes that there are enough “energetic, smart, creative, think-outside-the-box problem solvers” on the RTM to address that complex topic with wisdom and foresight.
Moore, meanwhile acknowledges the importance of longtime members like Klinge.
“They have an amazing level of experience,” the youngest RTMer says. “I want to keep learning from them about the past, and how things work. They can help me know about what went into decisions that were made earlier.”
Last year, Klinge helped the RTM celebrate its 75th anniversary by producing a booklet about its long history. He urges Moore to read it.
It gives a great sense of the Representative Town Meeting’s first 3/4 of a century — its big issues and votes, and its quirks too.
For example, certain members have certain seats.
“I’m a little nervous about sitting in the wrong spot,” Moore admits.
“I’ve had the same seat for 28 years,” Klinge notes.
Left unsaid: That’s 8 years longer than Moore has been alive.
