Selectman Bas Nabulsi will be attending a Board of Selectmen meeting for the last time this evening, July 7. Nabulsi, who earlier this year announced his plans to resign from the board, is relocating to Massachusetts.
After more than 30 years in Wilton, his departure is a significant one for Wilton.
First Selectman Toni Boucher very publicly expressed her sentiments at the May 6 Annual Town Meeting, thanking Nabulsi for his years of exceptional service and collaborative style:
“For most of his over 30 years here, Bas has served faithfully on the Wilton Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Selectmen without partisanship or rancor, always listening carefully to his peers and the public. His decisions are always thoughtfully arrived at while providing guidance with care, compassion and respect. Bas strives to reach compromise with a spirit of collaboration. I say this sincerely, that we all appreciate Bas who has been contributing without fail while balancing his professional and personal responsibilities.
More recently, Boucher acknowledged Nabulsi’s impending departure in her June 30 email update to residents, saying she was “feeling this loss very keenly.”
“It is difficult to effectively measure how much we all value Bas,” Boucher wrote. “I will personally miss his warm and helpful partnership on the Board of Selectmen, and the supportive or kind word of encouragement he often provided after a long or challenging meeting.”
“Although he may disagree with you, he always remained courteous, respectful and helpful to the group and to the mission at hand. His quiet leadership provided guidance to those he served with, showing everyone the same level of compassion and respect.”
Boucher was not the first Town official to recognize Nabulsi’s attributes. His appeal across political party lines was evident well before his term on the BOS.
During his 2021 campaign on the Democratic ticket, he received the public endorsement of the Republican then-First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice. She praised Nabulsi for his “proven record as a thoughtful, nonpartisan and intelligent decision-maker” and “his analytical skills as an intellectual property attorney and a chemical engineer,” which she felt would be “assets to the Board of Selectmen as we analyze much-needed potential investments in town infrastructure and amenities”. [Editor’s note: Vanderslice also endorsed Republican candidate Kim Healy in the three-candidate race.]
Vanderslice also praised Nabulsi for “understand[ing] how important Wilton’s schools, recreational amenities and natural environment are to this community. Balancing the costs and benefits of developing these assets will require diligence and sensitivity to community-wide needs and concerns,” she said at the time.
Nabulsi Reflects
In a June 6 interview, GOOD Morning Wilton spoke to Nabulsi at length and asked him to reflect on his time on the BOS, with specific questions outlined in advance, including the decisions or actions he was most proud of or had given him the most satisfaction serving on the board.
During the interview, Nabulsi said he “struggled to answer that.” Instead, he explained that he viewed his term in two distinct phases: one under Vanderslice — who was smoothly operating in her second term when Nabulsi joined the BOS — and a new phase under Boucher, who was elected in November 2023 without recent municipal experience.
Nabulsi admitted the latter phase has “been bumpy” and while Boucher “has worked extraordinarily hard through that onboarding process,” he felt his role (and that of his fellow board members) had necessarily shifted.
“So I think that during Toni’s tenure, there’s been a much greater call on the Board of Selectmen to not only review the issues that are presented to us, but to put in place procedures that are effective and to ensure that we are communicating well, both amongst ourselves and with the public,” he said.
In that view, the key success of his term became “reach[ing] a point where we’re now functioning effectively” as a board.
He distinguished between disagreement on issues (perhaps alluding to Boucher’s handling of the Ambler Farm lease) and any dysfunction on the board — which he believes is largely resolved.
“The fact that we have a lot of dissension among the [board members] on specific issues is distinct from whether we’re actually now, I think, functioning as a five-person board.”
Still reflecting on impactful moments, Nabulsi reached further back in time to recall a pivotal a-ha moment when he was a member of Wilton’s Planning and Zoning Commission:
“It was probably the earliest moment that I felt I was capable of making a positive contribution as an elected official,” Nabulsi said, as he recounted a preliminary application for what is now the Westy Self Storage facility (65 Danbury Rd.).
“The sense of the commission was that the applicant had met the requirements of the regulations. I was troubled at the proposed plan [and] advised the commission that I would not support the application for various reasons that I felt the regs supported.”
The applicant withdrew the proposed plan and returned with one that addressed Nabulsi’s concerns.
“Honestly, that was such an impactful meeting, because it was the first time I went out on a limb with my own views,” he said. “The experience showed the importance of doing my homework… and it turned out in a way that I’m proud.”
Unfinished Business
If Nabulsi has any regrets, it’s the stalled effort by a Plan Implementation Committee (PIC) that was envisioned in Wilton’s 2019 Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) to assess the Town’s progress on the POCD goals and make any necessary adjustments to ensure success.
Nabulsi contributed significantly to Wilton’s last two POCDs. In the campaign for his BOS seat, Nabulsi emphasized the importance of the BOS working to help ensure POCD goals were realized. He made attempts during both Vanderslice’s and Boucher’s administrations to get the PIC ball rolling, but the effort languished amid other priorities at P&Z and other boards and commissions.
As one example, Nabulsi lamented the “poor job” in leveraging momentum from successes like the Sustainable CT Silver Certification achieved by the Town in 2022. Organized by the nonprofit Wilton Go Green, the certification was the result of achievements made by 12 Town departments, six Town boards and commissions, and numerous Wilton organizations.
“There’s all these actions that we made to get that accreditation. It receives zero attention. It’s not been on the agenda. I view that as a failure,” Nabulsi said.
The Wilton Go Green Board of Directors issued a statement saying Nabulsi “will be missed”: “Since Wilton Go Green’s inception, Bas has been a great supporter of our mission. It was always good to know that the decisions he made were based on careful listening and a thoughtful approach when it came to our work and his work in our community.”
More Leaders React
The accolades for Nabulsi from across the political aisle have also come from Republican Selectwoman Kim Healy.
“It has been a true privilege to work with him over the last 3.5 years,” Healy wrote in a statement to GMW. “He has brought a thoughtful, balanced approach to every discussion, consistently prioritizing the best interests of our community. His integrity, collaborative spirit, and deep commitment to Wilton have made a lasting impact.”
On the Democratic side, Selectman Ross Tartell echoed praise for Nabulsi for his “clarity on complex issues” and “sound decision-making”, as well as his “keen insight into people.” Tartell’s praise went even further, crediting Nabulsi for making the BOS a better board.
“By watching how Bas prepared for meetings and what he thought was important, I have learned to be a better Selectman,” Tartell wrote in a statement he provided to GMW. “I am grateful to have worked alongside him.”
“His steady presence and quiet leadership made us a better board. No matter the discussion, the board always sought out and listened to his perspective,” Tartell continued. “I will especially miss his ability to distill what matters in a budget, catch important nuances in contracts, identify key questions in projects, and ensure that our decisions will help Wilton be a great place to live.”
Wilton Democratic Town Committee Chair Tom Dubin noted that Nabulsi has been “an essential part of all the major happenings in Wilton for well over two decades” and the DTC was “honored to endorse him at every step along the way.”
“He has brought professionalism, perspective, and real diligence to local governance, and he has done so with a smile and committed nonpartisanship. Wilton’s Democrats will miss his contributions to the town and we will miss his warm and steady friendship,” Dubin wrote in a statement from the DTC.
Another Nabulsi Will Be Missed
Multiple officials responding to our request for comment about Bas Nabulsi chose to also mention his wife, Kim Nabulsi. After many years of her own dedicated service to the Town and local organizations, Kim has earned the same admiration and respect her husband has.
As Tartell noted, “Kim Nabulsi, while possibly not as visible as in the community as Bas, has made very important contributions to the community that have made Wilton a great place to live.”
Kim served several years as a Wilton Deputy Registrar of Voters and as an election moderator. She has also volunteered as treasurer of the Wilton League of Women Voters since 2012 as well as treasurer of the nonprofit Wilton Playshop for 12 years.
GMW will miss both Kim and Bas Nabulsi. Thank you for all the GOOD you have done in Wilton and best wishes in your next chapter!
Inspired by these exceptional public servants? Check the Town website for ways to volunteer on Wilton boards and commissions. Open positions are routinely updated.
Update: After this story was published, GMW received the following statement from Selectman Josh Cole: “It has been a pleasure serving with Bas on the Board of Selectmen. His collaborative and thoughtful approach to serving our community over his many years of service on the Board of Selectmen, the WPCA and the Planning and Zoning Commission has made a lasting and meaningful positive impact on our town. He will be missed but I wish him all the best as he begins this new chapter.”