Editor,
Colm Dobbyn is exactly the kind of resident we need on Town Council. He is smart, thoughtful, fair-minded and caring.
As a corporate attorney, currently at MasterCard and formerly at PepsiCo, Colm has experience in analyzing complex problems and identifying creative solutions. He has applied these skills very effectively on the Inland Wetlands Commission, on which he has served for ten plus years—as I have for the last seven. Colm is a very good listener and a thought-leader able to persuade other commission members to support his clear-sighted and balanced point of view. He cares about preserving the town’s wetlands, but remains respectful of the rights of homeowners to improve their properties.
Colm is a 26-year resident of New Canaan, where he raised two children, latterly as a single parent following the death of his wife, Melissa. Maintaining the town’s excellent schools is a priority for Colm. He attributes much of his own success and that of his children to the great education they received.
Protecting the environment and the town’s character are also important to him. His interest in environmental issues began in his college years and led him to join the IWC. He will work hard to maintain the town’s open spaces and to ensure that future development downtown is in keeping with its historic core.
Colm will be a responsible steward of the town’s finances. He believes in investment so that New Canaan continues to retain its residents and to attract young families. However, he will contribute to the careful vetting of proposals to raise and spend money, as well as vigilant monitoring of how such money is spent. Making local government more transparent and accountable is also a priority for Colm. He wants to end the practice of decisions being taken behind closed doors and to see information being widely disseminated to residents, Board of Selectmen and Town Council before decisions are made.
A vote for Colm Dobbyn on November 5 is a vote for better town government.
Angela Jameson