Correction, 1:19 p.m.: Lisa Nuzzo’s daughter’s name is Taylor DiSpirito; technically, not a District C “endorsement” but a “recommendation.”
NORWALK, Conn. — It’s time for a change on the Board of Education, according to a Norwalk woman who was recommended by District C Democrats to take on BoE Chairman Mike Lyons in this fall’s election.
Former Wolfpit Elementary School PTO President Lisa Nuzzo was unchallenged for the position at Wednesday’s meeting, where Democrats also recommended former Republican Fairfield First Selectman John Metsopoulos to run for Common Council and Taber Hamilton to run to be Third Taxing District treasurer.
Common Councilman John Kydes and TTD Commissioner David Brown, both incumbents, were also recommended.
Mayor Harry Rilling also was recommended for re-election.
All the recommendations will be voted on by the Democratic Town Committee in July. Metsopoulos might face a problem there, as he won his district’s endorsement with only one vote more than Attorney Doug Stern, but a majority of the DTC members present at District C voted for him.
Nuzzo has lived in Norwalk for 20 years and has two children: Taylor DiSpirito, 23, a 2010 Norwalk High School grad, and James Nuzzo, 12, a Nathan Hale Middle School student.
“I think Norwalk is ready for a change, a new face on the Board of Education,” Nuzzo said. “My goal is to strengthen communication between the Board of Ed and the educators. I’d like to help the superintendent, help with the communication and make it stronger, and I’d like to uphold the Board of Ed’s mission statement. Let every child have the tools necessary to help them succeed in the future.”
After the meeting, Nuzzo released a more strongly worded statement:
“If elected, I will work hard to enforce the BOE’s mission statement that every child will receive the support they need to graduate with the skills, knowledge and experiences necessary to ensure their highest potential for success. Unfortunately, with tensions high amongst Board of Education members and the loss of several high quality Administrators, I’ve seen Parent confidence steadily decline for the Norwalk public school system. Causing families to move out of town or not move here to begin with because they want the best school system for their children. Civility, respect and professionalism is what I will bring to the Board of Education if I have the support of the voters in November.”
Lyons responded with this statement:
“Lisa will be a good candidate and I expect that we can have a civil campaign, as I did four years ago with Mr. Poruban. I am glad that she sees ‘civility, respect and professionalism’ as key values to bring to the Board of Education. As I have practiced these values consistently during my time on the Board, they should not be a matter of contention between us.
“She is correct that there have been high tensions on the Board the last couple of years, caused by the behavior of three BoE members who are members of her party; hopefully she will be forthright enough to join other prominent Democrats in denouncing that behavior. Their actions, along with those of recalcitrant old-line administrators in the school system, have indeed contributed to the loss of some top administrators. The bipartisan Board majority is working to bring in a top-quality new superintendent who can overcome the ‘old Norwalk way’ and keep the momentum of reform moving forward. I don’t agree, however, that parent confidence in the school system is in a steady decline. While I can agree with parents concerned by the behavior of some of Ms. Nuzzo’s fellow Democrats on the Board, I think many parents have been encouraged by the tremendous improvements we have made in just a few years.
“Where once we had financial chaos and marches on City Hall, we now have three-year budgeting and calm budget cycles. Although Manny Rivera departed, he was here long enough to, with the Board majority, adopt an extremely well thought-out long-term Strategic Plan, and to start implementing it. Implementation has continued under interim Superintendent Connelly. The first big steps to high school reform, including approval of block scheduling for 2016, have been approved. Approval of new Common Core curricula for foreign languages and social studies is one week away. Salvaging of the Norwalk Early Childcare Center project for 2016 to improve Pre-K special education has been achieved. Brien McMahon got accepted for the prestigious International Baccalaureate program. A new school bus contract was signed that will provide us with new busses AND save us over $1 million. Opening of the After the Bell program for underprivileged students in South Norwalk was successfully completed. There is steady movement forward in the search for a new superintendent. The Facilities Utilization Study is nearing completion. Over $2 million of security improvements are being installed. I think parents who look at this record of achievement just in the last few months – on top of what we’ve done before (summarized in my speech and the linked articles here (https://nancyonnorwalk.com/2015/04/norwalk-boe-assailed-by-some-offered-assistance-by-others) have an increased sense of confidence in the school system, despite controversy caused by the Board dissidents.
“My hope would be that whichever of us wins – Ms. Nuzzo or me – would become or remain a part of the bipartisan Board majority that has kept the Norwalk’s schools improving even in the face of the tensions caused by some of Ms. Nuzzo’s fellow Democrats (two of her fellow Democrats have been part of that positive-oriented majority). There is much work that remains to be done, but the comparison of where we are today to where we were four years ago is night and day.”
Brenda Penn-Williams had expressed an interest in running for the seat months ago, but later backed off and did not make a move for the endorsement Wednesday night
Council candidates
The group needed to pick two Council candidates. Kydes got 11 votes for the recommendation; Metsopoulos got six and Stern got five.
That latter margin is much wider when you tally the District C DTC members who were present: Five of the DTC members who will help make the overall party endorsements voted for Metsopoulos, one voted for Stern. Only Kevin Poruban wasn’t present.
Kydes touted his work as chairman of the Mayor’s Energy and Environmental Task Force, saving the city “millions of dollars” in electricity costs and beginning a firewood program.
“I’ve worked well with the mayor, I’ve worked well with the Council. I think I’ve brought a lot of people together, both Republican and Democrat,” Kydes said.
Metsopoulos defended his switch from Republican to Democrat, saying he has always been a union supporter, a public education supporter and worked hard on social issues.
“What brought me to be a Democrat was the fact that I consider the Republican Party to have become what I consider to be a … party that’s more concerned about waging foreign wars than what is going on in our country,” Metsopoulos said. “I think that I’ve always been a very liberal Republican, he said, but stated the Republican Party has gone so far to the right that he is “much more at home” in the Democratic Party.
“I think it’s a party that stands up for the middle class, a party that stands up for the common folk,” he said.
He was Fairfield’s first selectman from 1999 to 2001 and a state representative for District 132 from 1984 to 1994. Metsopoulos has lived in Norwalk for 2½ years and worked on Rilling’s campaign.
Metsopoulos said he had stabilized Fairfield’s mil rate and got the town its Triple A bond rating back.
“I’m a very straightforward individual. I bring a lot of experience,” he said.
Third Taxing District
TTD Commissioner Deb Goldstein endorsed Hamilton, who she said came “heartbreakingly close” to winning the race for treasurer in the last election. “He works very, very hard,” she said.
Penn-Williams said she had been planning to nominate Johnnie Mae Weldon for TTD Commissioner, but that was a mixup – she had heard that Brown was retiring so she found Weldon. But knowing that Brown was still interested after 18 years as a TTD commissioner, she was backing off, she said.
“We do not have a contentious District C,” Penn-Williams said. “We do not, and I don’t want it to be.”
Brown deserves a lot of credit for TTD’s low electric rates because he is on the Board of Connecticut Municipalities Electric Energy Cooperative (CMEEC) Board, Goldstein said. The district has invested in its infrastructure without going into debt, she said.
“The former general manager saw a dilapidated house. I saw a power station,” Brown said. “He wouldn’t believe me at first because, ‘We could never afford it’; $8 million later it’s up, it’s running, we paid cash for it.”
Someone recently questioned the lack of people with color at TTD, Brown said. He took offense, he said; 40 percent of TTD’s employees are women, he said.
“We take anybody that comes in the door and fits the criteria,” Brown said. “Before that it wasn’t like that. It was ‘who is my friend,’ and ‘how can I get my friend over here to get a job.’”
District C released these statements after the meeting:
Kydes
“I want to thank the members of District C for their endorsement! It has been a great honor to represent my community on the Common Council and I hope that the voters will give me the opportunity to serve them for another two years. There are many projects that I’m proud to have worked on and there are many more that I would like to complete.”
Metsopoulos
“Public service is the highest honor that a community can entrust in you. I am grateful for the trust of District C Democrats. If elected, I will use my extensive public service experience and record of working across partisan lines to get things done.”
Brown
“I’ve been a commissioner since 1997 and want to continue the good work this current commission is doing in perpetuating the low prices and reliable service we have come to expect from my term in office.”
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