ELECTION 2025 — P&Z Candidates Square Off at Debates with Partisan Points, while Uncontested BOE Candidates Round Out More Collaboratively

Six of the eight candidates running for the five open seats on the Planning and Zoning Commission squared off Thursday night, Oct. 16, in a debate sponsored by the Wilton League of Women Voters, Wilton Library and GOOD Morning Wilton.

The three candidates for the Board of Education, all of whom are running unopposed, also participated in a debate forum, which was moderated by Kay Maxwell, prior president of both the CT League of Women Voters and the national LWV organization.

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Check out all of GOOD Morning Wilton‘s coverage of Election 2025 debates: 

• Board of Selectmen debate video clips
• Board of Finance debate video clips
• Planning and Zoning Commission debate video clips
• “ELECTION 2025 — Candidates for Selectmen and Finance Square Off in LWV-Sponsored Debate” (article)
• “ELECTION 2025 — P&Z Candidates Square Off at Debates with Partisan Points, while Uncontested BOE Candidates Round Out More Collaboratively“

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Out of all four debates scheduled this municipal election cycle, the P&Z session was the one with the most obvious politically partisan element. With two of the three Republican candidates absent — incumbent Jill Warren was on her honeymoon and newcomer Jed Englund canceled shortly before the debate began — the sole GOP candidate on the panel, Colin Christ, sometimes sat in contrast to the five Democratic candidates. At times, some of Democrats emphasized that their party needed to get on P&Z in order to reform what they called a Republican-controlled commission that’s been criticized by the public this year because of its operations and decision making.

The Democratic P&Z candidates included incumbent Ken Hoffman, Trevor Huffard, Jessica Rainey, Margit Ritz and Michelle Saglimbene.

“As a Democratic P&Z candidate, it’s important for the public to know that our goal is to increase the accessibility of the Planning and Zoning Commission,” Saglimbene said, including using surveys and technological aids to foster news and involvement of the public.

“The Democratic candidates on P&Z believe there is a transparency issue and we are seeking to resolve it,” she said.

Rainey concurred.

“Yes, we need to do a better job of communicating clearly and concisely to the public … Planning and Zoning does need to make sure that the public knows about things in advance and has the opportunity to comment in advance as well,” she said, rather than after matters have been settled.

The current P&Z, which is chaired by Rick Tomasetti (a Libertarian who was elected on a Republican slate), has maintained that legal counsel advises it to limit public input prior to hearings, unlike the practice is certain other towns, which people believe provide more opportunities for public input.

“It’s my view that this commission has done an outstanding job of really being pragmatic and growing the Grand List and the tax base,” Christ said, praising its work as bipartisan.

He noted that, in order to maintain investment in the school district, the town is going to need to expand its tax base, especially favoring more large companies like ASML.

Hoffman, the lone incumbent on the debate stage, shared criticism of the commission on which he serves, pointing a finger at the Republican leadership and citing the difference between expectation and engagement.

“There’s an expectation that the public is as involved as we are,” Hoffman said, “that they have gone to every meeting and they have been involved in the [Plan of Conservation and Development] document.”

“We need ways for the public to be involved,” he said, while at the same time satisfying concerns from lawyers about risking liability in relation to developers.

Huffard agreed.

“I think we should really try to do a better job of engaging the public in advance of projects,” he said.

Huffard also spoke of more planning driving the development of the town.

“I think we should be trying to get ahead of these projects by understanding what the people want in these areas … and get ahead of the developers,” he said.

Likewise, other candidates spoke to the importance of better planning for the town, including in Cannondale and along Route 7.

“We’re gonna end up with whatever the developers decide to do, piece by piece,” said Ritz, advocating for more comprehensive planning.

Ritz also suggested that the P&Z might be able to be more proactive in engaging with new developers and possibly helping to guide their choices, beginning with ideas about where they might best build.

“Collaboration with developers, where we work with them to guide them toward properties,” she said, with the ideas driven by long-range plans of how resident want to see the town growing over the next 30 to 40 years.

Board of Education

Candidates for the BOE included incumbent Democrats Nicola Davies and Pamela Ely, along with Mark Shaner, an unaffiliated candidate endorsed by the Republicans.

Candidates were queried on the challenge of saving money while providing requisite services for students with special needs.

Ely noted that through programs such as Genesis, the town is able to out-place fewer students, which is an expensive alternative.

“I think there was a point where we had 30 out-placed,” Ely said, with the number now down to 14.

“I think right now we’re trying to think of other ways to keep kids in the district and keep costs down,” she said.

“We’re obligated and so we must do right by them …The bottom line is we’re about the kids and about what their needs are,” Ely said.

Shaner concurred, noting the juggling act of curbing costs while meeting legal obligations.

“I think we should continue to look for creative solutions that minimize our cost,” he said.

Candidates were also asked about their opinions of the cellphone ban implemented last year.

“I was very much a Doubting Thomas (but) I was won around by the teachers,” said Davies, noting that it freed them up to focus their attention on teaching.

She also praised the chance to take the pressure away from the students to be concerned about social media and cellphone communications throughout the day.

“I think that since we did it there’s been more and more emerging data that cellphones are bad and social media, especially for girls, is toxic,” Davies said.