Wilton’s State Representative Gail Lavielle was honored by the Connecticut Council of Small Towns (COST) with its Town Crier Award, which recognizes lawmakers and municipal officials who have taken a leadership role in advocating for public policies that benefit Connecticut’s small towns.
Matt Knickerbocker, first selectman of Bethel and secretary of COST, presented Lavielle with the award on Wednesday morning, Feb. 19 at COST’s 2020 CT Town Meeting, where Lavielle also participated in a legislative issues forum.
“Rep. Lavielle was chosen as a recipient due to her outstanding leadership on legislation affecting Connecticut’s small towns–in particular, her efforts to defeat legislation that would have forced the consolidation of small school districts throughout Connecticut,” said Elizabeth Gara, COST’s executive director.
“In addition, the award recognizes her efforts to support fair share funding for small towns, enact meaningful mandate relief, and address the need for a statewide fracking ban. COST is very appreciative of her efforts on these issues as well as other legislation affecting Connecticut’s small towns.”
Lavielle said she was grateful for the recognition.
“I thank the Connecticut Council of Small Towns for all it does on behalf of our local governments. Its stewardship and continued support help municipalities maintain a strong voice on issues directly affecting their residents. It’s important that we continue to protect their autonomy because, as we saw last year in the debate on mandated school regionalization, people in Connecticut hold very dear their ability to make local decisions about matters like education, zoning, and how their property taxes are spent,” she said. She also congratulated her fellow COST award recipients, State Representatives Cristin McCarthy Vahey and Tami Zawistowski and State Senators Paul Formica and Christine Cohen.
Lavielle played a leadership role in the opposition to proposed legislation during the 2019 session that supported efforts to consolidate or redistrict school districts across the state–legislation that opponents say would have “…opened the door to mandated school consolidation” (according to a release from Lavielle’s office).
The press release includes mention of Lavielle as Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committee. It states that in that legislative capacity, “…Rep. Lavielle is a longtime advocate for smart budgeting and fiscal responsibility, stating that years of wasteful government spending and excessive taxation has created a lack of trust in state government and adversely affected towns that actually live within their means. She has also worked to reduce unfunded mandates on Connecticut municipalities, and has been widely recognized as a strong advocate for environmental protection.”