Tag Archives: candidate forums

TOP STORY: Lyme Republicans Hold Forum As Democrats Take Message to Streets

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LYME–On Saturday, Oct. 4, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the Republican Town Committee (RTC) will host an Open Candidate Forum at the Lyme Public Library while the Democratic Town Committee knocks on doors.

Republican Town Committee member and First Selectman candidate Tom St. Louis in a Monday email said the candidate forum is open “to any and all municipal candidates and Lyme voters.” 

The Republicans said Town Engineer Don Gerber will moderate the forum.   

The race for first selectman, which is contested for the first time since 2017, pits St. Louis against Democratic Town Committee-endorsed unaffiliated candidate Christy Zelek. 

Selectmen candidates are Republican Mary Powell-St. Louis, who is Tom St. Louis’ wife, and incumbent Democrats John Kiker and Kristina White. White is running as a petitioning candidate with the Democratic endorsement.  

The Democrats and Democrat-endorsed candidates running for the Board of Selectmen will not be participating in the Republicans’ forum, according to a letter from Kiker to forum organizer Stephen Buccheri. Kiker also serves as the DTC chairman. 

Kiker said they’ll be knocking on doors instead. 

“This way of reaching out to and connecting personally with Lyme residents is important to our candidates and, based on the responses we’ve been receiving, it’s meaningful to voters as well,” he said. “So we are declining your invitation and will continue to focus on creating more opportunities to have these rich, one-on-one conversations with constituents.”

The DTC took to social media on Tuesday to inform voters they’ll be making house visits on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

“Ask questions. Get answers. Meet the candidates. Talk one-on-one about the issues that matter to you,” the message reads.

The DTC previously declined to participate in a candidates’ forum hosted by LymeLine and the Greater Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce for the same reason.

The proposed format for the Republican forum includes drawing straws to determine response order, followed by a 3-4 minute introductory statement from each candidate. Questions from the audience will be addressed to an individual or panel response as warranted. 

St. Louis in his email to LymeLine said it is unfortunate that the opposing candidates would not participate in an “open public forum,” which he described as much different than one-on-one door knocking.

“Town leaders must be able to make decisions and respond to critical situations…and to stand before their constituents to bear responsibility for actions taken and outcomes realized.” 

Letter to the Editor: Lyme Democrats Choose Conversation Over Confrontation

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To the editor:

It was disappointing to see Tom St. Louis resort to mischaracterizing recent events and conversations about the approach our Democratic Town Committee (DTC) is taking to connect voters with our candidates in advance of the upcoming election. His letter seemed intent on instilling drama and creating controversy where there is none. 

That’s not how we operate. The Lyme DTC is going to continue our efforts to meet with voters individually and in small groups to present our team of Democratic and Unaffiliated candidates to them, and facilitate productive conversations between our candidates and constituents that give us the opportunity to both listen and learn.  Lyme is a small enough town where we can make those kinds of connections happen.

In the world we live in now, we have all repeatedly witnessed that debates and forums too often result in generating public conflict between candidates and political parties, rather than forging personal conversations between candidates and voters.  These are not “unfounded” concerns, as characterized in Tom’s letter.

We believe voters should have an opportunity to speak personally with our candidates and express their ideas and concerns, and that our candidates have an obligation to listen and act on those concerns once in office. 

Our experience in the last municipal election demonstrated that we can connect powerfully with constituents when we meet with them for candid, one-on-one conversations about our town’s future … listening, answering questions, asking questions, understanding their concerns, and discussing what they want from town government. This approach results in rich, personal conversations that give us the opportunity to listen to and understand the issues that are important to voters as individuals and families. 

After engaging personally with constituents like this in the 2023 election, Lyme voters turned out in force at the polls.  We believe this type of personalized voter engagement is the foundation of our democratic electoral process.

Our goal is to knock on as many doors and meet with as many residents as possible between now and November 4. The goal of his letter, however, appears to be to instill a spirit of divisiveness into the campaign, which is something we have all seen take place with increasing frequency in other communities across the country. We think Lyme deserves more than that.  We think Lyme deserves better than that.  

It’s unfortunate that Tom and his wife Mary, who are running for First Selectman and Selectman respectively, have chosen to pull our community in that direction and it’s a decision we hope they will reconsider. We’ve had voters from both parties tell us they are uncomfortable with the idea of community divisiveness in Lyme and with the possibility of a husband-and-wife team making decisions for the entire town.

We’re not interested in fostering divisiveness.  We’re interested in fostering community.  

We’re not interested in confrontations between candidates.  We’re interested in conversations with voters.  

Lyme has always been a place where people of all political affiliations can work together on our boards and commissions in the best interests of our town. That’s certainly been true for the eight years I’ve served on the Board of Selectmen – and it’s a tradition that goes back much farther than that. It’s a tradition I hope we can continue.

To the voters of Lyme, our candidate team – which includes Christy Zelek, Kristina White, myself and others – look forward to seeing you in person for an open and insightful dialogue, and to seeing you again at the polls.

Early voting starts October 20; Election Day is November 4.

Sincerely,

John Kiker

Editor’s Note: i) The author is the chairman of the Lyme Democratic Town Committee and a candidate for selectman.
ii) Here is a reminder of our Policy on Letters to the Editor and our Policy on Comments.

Letter to the Editor: Residents Deserve to Hear From Candidates in Open Forum

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To The Editor:

I am writing to inform the residents of Lyme of the recent dismaying development in the election campaigns for our town offices.

For the past month, I and the Republican Town Committee (RTC) have been planning to participate in a Lyme candidates’ debate, suggested in an email on Thursday, August 14 from olwenonline.com/ reporter Ms. Elizabeth Regan to the chairs of the Democrat Town Committee (DTC) and RTC. That same day, the RTC agreed to Ms. Regan’s suggestion and further proposed a split debate event that would include a First Selectman candidate forum followed by a Board of Selectmen forum. No DTC response was received.

After a morning town meeting Friday, September 5, while leaving the Center School building, I was approached by Mr. John Kiker, DTC Chair, who declared emphatically that his Democratic slate of candidates would NOT agree to meet in any public debate or voter question forum. I replied by suggesting multiple options to address Mr. Kiker’s numerous (and I believe unfounded) concerns about having his candidates face questions from all Lyme voters. Mr. Kiker threw up roadblocks to each, including a “Meet the Candidates” forum hosted by non-partisan reporters; Mr. Kiker just wouldn’t budge.

Notably, Ms. Christine Zelek, the DTC-supported First Selectman candidate, was present throughout this discussion yet failed to utter a single word, wholly deferring to Mr. Kiker. The DTC Chair’s troubling and puzzling refusal to permit his slate of candidates (especially his top candidate, Ms. Zelek) to be engaged by Lyme’s voters in an open forum is antithetical to the foundations of our democratic electoral process.

On Wednesday, September 10, I, Ms. Zelek, Mr. Kiker, Ms. Kristina White, and Dr. Mary Powell-St. Louis received a follow up email from Ms. Regan proposing a Candidate’s Forum sponsored by the Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce, OPEN TO ALL SELECTMAN CANDIDATES AND VOTERS. A response was requested from each of us by Friday, September 12. As with the August email exchange, the RTC response was quick and supportive of participation in such a forum.

This afternoon Ms. Regan expressed her sincere disappointment to me in a phone call that the Candidate Forum would not move forward because Mr. Kiker stated that Ms. Zelek and his DTC candidates for Selectmen will NOT participate in olwenonline.com/’s proposed open candidates’ forum to inform and benefit all Lyme voters.

I believe voters deserve to hear directly from their candidates on issues including: 1) what skills and experience does each candidate possess and how will they use their skills to execute the role, 2) how does each candidate’s record of public and/or organizational service demonstrate their commitment to sustain performance in the role, 3) the “why”…what motivation brings 1) and 2) together for this candidate at this time for this particular role, 4) what does the candidate view as the most pressing issues facing Lyme, and 5) what actions does the candidate believe Lyme should take to address these issues?

Fellow residents, I believe we are fortunate to finally have choices this November for important contested town board and commission roles. It’s crucial that everyone be fully and transparently informed about each candidate, their position on issues, and what is at stake. I encourage us all as voters to have open conversations about the experience and motivation of the candidates that we will elect to our important municipal boards and commissions: for you, for your family, and for Lyme.

I sincerely hope Mr. Kiker will have a change of heart (very soon) and permit his DTC slate to join us in a Candidates Forum to speak to Lyme’s voters directly.

Respectfully,

Thomas St. Louis

Editor’s Note: i) The author is the Republican candidate for Lyme First Selectman.
ii) Here is a reminder of our Policy on Letters to the Editor and our Policy on Comments.