Wilton has always seemed like a pretty sensible place to me. My wife and I have been living here since 2001, and we have four children who will forever proudly call Wilton their hometown. But before that, as a young adult I lived in nearby Weston and spent summers and breaks working at the Wilton Sport Shop. Even back then, it always struck me how people from this town seemed to be down to earth, respectful, civic-minded and possessed a sensibility that seemed unique in Fairfield County. As a result, when it came time for my wife and I to drop roots for our own family, there really was only one place we looked.
Lately, however, I’ve become increasingly concerned about some changes I have been seeing in our town. It has been building for a little while, but I think a tipping point for me was the recent vote in September regarding proposed renovations to Miller-Driscoll School and the vocal opposition by a group of citizens calling themselves “Sensible Wilton.” Campaigns were waged by those on both sides of the issue, many articles were written in local and online publications, and public and private debates took place. When the final votes were finally tallied, 17 percent of the registered voters in our town turned out to cast ballots, and the proposal passed by a narrow, but legal, margin.
Both the prolonged reaction by “Sensible Wilton” to the outcome of this vote and the growing ambivalence by voters towards important local issues have gotten me wondering about how things have changed in our beloved town. First, I find it disappointing that supporters of a group called “Sensible Wilton” are spending time filing lawsuits and campaigning outside election locations seeking petition signatures to overturn a vote result they simply didn’t like. We had our chance to officially state our opinions on the matter, we held a vote, and there was a winner and loser as a result. That is how things are supposed to work in a democracy. As they say on the kids TV show “Yo! Gabba Gabba,” “sometimes you win, sometimes you lose” and when you lose, you need to be gracious in defeat, and work to get a better outcome next time. Frankly, if the people associated with “Sensible Wilton” truly cared about sensibility in Wilton, they would understand that they are sending the opposite message to our town’s citizens, especially our young people, by taking a page out of a national political playbook and continuing to contest the results of a vote that has already been decided. To me, such a ploy doesn’t seem so sensible – it just seems like sour grapes.
Shouldn’t the real outrage be that only 1,931 taxpayers in a historically civic-minded community (most of whom live here because of the quality of the schools) ended up coming out to cast their ballots on the measure in the first place? If this was such a hot button issue that “has divided our town” as I have heard some people say (though apparently not 83% of it), why didn’t more people weigh in on it? Were people truly unaware about such an important vote? Apathetic? Too busy running kids around to their scheduled activities on a Saturday? Or maybe those are just empty excuses and people are simply fed up with the vitriol and divisiveness that we see in traditional and social media around national politics that they now tune out issues affecting our local community? I hope this is not the case, as I always thought that Wilton was better than that.
Whatever the reason, I do believe that good can come of all of this, aside from much needed repairs to Miller-Driscoll. Groups like “Sensible Wilton” can positively influence outcomes that benefit the community as a whole. Perhaps, for example, they could use their moment in the spotlight as an opportunity to show some leadership, by waging an equally passionate campaign to get Wilton back to the open minded, respectful, community-first sensibilities from years past. Perhaps, despite the mess that national politics have become, they can promote more healthy, educated, civil, bi-partisan public debate and participation amongst our townspeople before important local votes occur.
In the end, perhaps the best outcome for Wilton is that we all simply think back to the reasons why we moved here in the first place. Remember that it is our responsibility to take ownership and understand the issues facing our town and to treat each other as members of the same Wilton community with respect and civility as we grapple through our differences. Perhaps then we will have more coming out to actually cast their ballots on important local issues, and not resorting to posting their true feelings on Facebook after the fact. I hope that maybe then we will be able to return some real sensibility to Wilton once and for all.