It is an honor to serve on our Board of Selectmen in Old Lyme, one of the oldest continually meeting democratic institutions in the world. It’s a wonderful experience meeting and working with so many of you, and I am struck by the immense talent and commitment of our townspeople. It has deepened my faith in our town meeting form of government, and I am respectfully asking you to entrust me with another term.
While two years is a relatively short period of time, especially when it comes to government, I believe I’ve made a difference in the following ways:
1. Actively worked to address flooding issues during significant storms, and successfully applied for and obtained a resiliency study grant under Long Island Sound Partnership/Sea Grant Connecticut/UCONN Sustainable and Resilient Communities program. This grant will cover 100% of the cost for a study to assess our vulnerability and risks to coastal and inland flooding during storms and help us develop a prioritized mitigation strategy.
2. Diligently taken on the sewer issue to ensure fairness and keep the public fully informed of the ongoing process.
3. Engaged cooperatively with the Board of Finance to set a historically low mill rate by encouraging the transfer of excess surplus to tax relief, resulting in our town’s lowest mill rate in 34 years.
4. Worked with the Harbormaster to draft and enact a jet ski ordinance that has greatly improved safety and quality of life at the shore.
5. Proposed the formation of the now active Road and Public Safety Committee to address speeding and safety on our roadways.
6. Successfully obtained grant funding for educational signage at the Solstice Stone at Sound View Transit Hub.
7. Helped get Old Lyme’s America250 campaign underway to celebrate our vibrant history.
8. Encouraged and supported renewed funding for our Open Space Commission.
9. Never feared taking on the toughest issues facing our town. I have consistently listened to and engaged people on all sides of difficult issues to seek equitable solutions, even when it may not have been politically expedient.
10. Always worked to rise above partisanship and show our town in the best light.
I plan to diligently continue this work, and focus on the following over the next two years:
1. Continue efforts to build sidewalks and aesthetic improvements in our commercial districts. I personally drafted the application for an $800,000 Community Connectivity Grant for a sidewalk and landscape improvements at Halls Road, which is now under consideration by the state.
2. Hold the line on the budget and keep taxes low.
3. Address water quality issues and restore safe swimming at Hains Park.
4. Support open space and preservation efforts, with particular attention to our vulnerable marshlands.
5. Continue defending local control for our town.
6. Pursue every possible grant opportunity focused on infrastructure improvements and environmental preservation to save our taxpayers’ money.
7. See the sewer issue through to a logical and fair conclusion
8. Work with the Resident State Trooper on increasing overnight policing and identify funding sources.
9. Work with concerned citizens and zoning officials to find solutions that preserve our town and encourage responsible development, including housing options for our seniors and young families.
10. Continue engaging with all of our residents and listening with respect to those who don’t necessarily agree with me, keeping an open mind as we work together to chart the best course for our town.
Thank you to the wonderful people of Old Lyme. I’d be honored to have your vote again on November 4th.
Sincerely,
Jim Lampos, Old Lyme.
Editor’s Note: The author is an incumbent Old LymeSelectman.
Republican John Mesham is challenging incumbent Democratic First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker in Old Lyme.
OLD LYME–In a rematch for the town’s top spot, this year’s election pits Democratic incumbent First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker’s record of flooding fixes and open budgeting against Republican John Mesham’s calls for “common sense” improvements that don’t alter Old Lyme’s small-town identity.
Shoemaker is running on the Democratic ticket with incumbent Selectman Jim Lampos. Mesham is once again teamed up with Jude Read, the incumbent Republican selectwoman.
Shoemaker declared victory last time around with 51.8% majority. She brought in 1,820 votes compared to Mesham’s 1,697.
The first selectwoman last week at the Town Hall said she’s been accessible to residents and has worked to keep them informed through public meetings and email communications.
“I’d just really like to continue to serve the people for another two years,” she said.
From the Republican headquarters on Halls Road — a flashpoint in this year’s election — Mesham said his campaign is driven by opposition to a now-defeated proposal that would have allowed hundreds of apartments or more in the commercial zone.
“I hear from a lot of people that they’re just kind of ready for a change,” Mesham said.
Shoemaker, a retired 35-year teacher and 12-year union president, was selectwoman from 2021-23 before being elected first selectwoman. She is not running again for the regional school board, where she is finishing her second term.
Shoemaker cited solutions to multiple flood-related concerns as key accomplishments over the past two years. She said she held up a 2023 campaign promise to address flooding on Cross Lane at the Amtrak bridge underpass, where numerous closures that summer affected the ability of first responders to get to Route 156 from the Cross Lane fire station.
Town crews brought in a vacuum excavation contractor to clean out the storm drains and underground drainage lines to restore proper flow into Swan Brook, according to the first selectwoman.
“Within two days we corrected a problem that had existed for years and we’ve only had one flooding situation since then,” she said.
The town also engineered an improved drainage structure at Hawk’s Nest Beach that had been costing the town time and money for years as sand continually clogged the pipes. Voters at a town meeting last year approved the $144,500 project to rebuild the sluiceway.
She acknowledged the structure still floods at extremely high tides, but said the problem is now short-lived instead of perpetual.
She counted resurrecting the Flood and Erosion Control Board as another significant step. She said members are working to become part of FEMA’s Community Rating System, which can qualify residents for a discount on their flood insurance premiums in towns that prove they are taking steps to manage their flood risk. The board had been dormant since 2019 before meetings resumed early last year.
Transparency in the budget process is also a hallmark of her administration, she said. The Board of Selectmen now discusses budget planning with department heads in public meetings rather than having the finance director and first selectman draft the preliminary town budget without the opportunity for public scrutiny and input.
She was proud of working with department heads, at the Board of Finance’s request, to find an additional savings of $171,350 during this year’s budget planning process.
“Everybody was willing to find – whether it was $50,000 or $2,000 – something that we could eliminate that wouldn’t affect our services but would certainly help the budget. And that’s teamwork,” she said.
She cited the creation of the Road and Public Safety Committee to address speeding and other traffic-related concerns as another accomplishment. She keeps residents up to date on those and other issues in a weekly newsletter that goes out to about 500 subscribers and is posted on social media.
She said coming up with a plan for sidewalks on Halls Road will be a priority in the coming term. She also cited the need to look at the idea of dredging the Hain’s Park section of Rogers Lake that has deteriorated since her grown sons used to play there as children.
“It definitely wasn’t as shallow as it is now, but it was a great place to go in the afternoon after naps to just sort of hang out for an hour and a half and splash around,” she said. “So hopefully we can bring that back without causing too many environmental issues.”
Slow Growth, Transparency and Public Access
Mesham, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, retired from the Connecticut State Police in 2020 as a master sergeant after 29 years in law enforcement. He is a member of the Inland Wetlands Commission and a deputy registrar of voters.
“I’m running because I’ve really been in public service my whole life, and this is an extension of that,” he said. “But specifically, I wasn’t happy, like a lot of people, with the direction of Old Lyme seems to be going, especially with overdevelopment.”
Mesham also called out Shoemaker’s administration for making what he’s called a “closed door agreement” in a years-long dispute involving a spit of land bisecting a Tantummaheag Road property that has been used by generations as a public landing on Lord Cove.
A draft agreement struck by Lampos, as selectman, and George Frampton, the owner of the surrounding property, would have allowed people to use the road on foot from 8 a.m. to sunset while limiting cars to the paved cul-de-sac at the entrance to the landing.
“We’ve had access to that property for hundreds of years, and I don’t really see a reason to try to make a deal,” Mesham said.
The town going back to previous Republican Old Lyme First Selectman Tim Griswold’s tenure has claimed ownership of the landing amid opposition from Frampton, a prominent litigator and government official with more than a half century of experience, who has signaled his intent to take the case to federal court.
Ultimately, the draft agreement failed when Read and Shoemaker voted against it, leaving Lampos as the only supporter. Executive sessions to discuss the potential lawsuit have continued.
Shoemaker refuted Mesham’s description of the draft as a closed-door agreement.
“That is a lie,” she said. “It wasn’t a backroom land deal.”
She said the draft agreement with Frampton was created through a transparent process, with all three selectmen regularly briefed in executive sessions. Once attorneys finalized a draft, Lampos shared it with the Harbor Management Commission, neighborhood representatives, and the public before selectmen voted it down.
Mesham said he has made open government as a central campaign tenet.
“Town Hall needs to definitely be transparent. I think there’s been less than transparent things going on, especially with Freedom of Information,” he said. He cited a state Freedom of Information Commission (FOIC) fine lodged this summer against Shoemaker as an example.
Shoemaker continues to take responsibility for the $250 fine after FOIC members agreed with a complaint from the Connecticut Examiner that she withheld public records related to alleged misconduct at the local ambulance association.
She said she acted in good faith when she provided all relevant information to state police within 36 hours, and went above what was required when she provided membership rosters maintained by the independent fire and ambulance companies.
She said she did not initially disclose March incident reports, which ended up at the center of the FOIC case, because she forgot about them while compiling numerous information requests in June.
She acknowledged making a mistake in not providing the information.
“As far as the FOIA is concerned, we’ve changed the process here,” she said.
Mesham, citing his experience handling public information requests as a state police sergeant and master sergeant, described himself as “dismayed as to why it was such an issue to get information out about a very public concern.”
The Sewer Question
The highest profile issue left to be resolved in the coming months revolves around a years-long effort to bring sewers to several beach communities in response to demands from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Shoemaker earlier this month told selectmen that state elections timelines and scheduling for the registrars of voters will require pushing the public Sound View Beach portion of the sewer project to at least January. Separate parts of the total $70 million project involve three private beach associations.
She said the town is close to reaching a cost sharing agreement with the private beach associations and has a better idea how much individual Sound View users, who will be funding the town’s share, will have to spend over the 20-year life of the project loan.
Shoemaker in her election interview said approving a referendum date requires approval from selectmen and then the Board of Finance.
“Now we have to analyze it and say, ‘is this affordable for people?’” she said. “That’s something that all three of us have to decide: Jim (Lampos), Jude (Read), and I. It’s not just me.”
Meanwhile, the state has warned delays could cost millions in promised federal funding and a forgivable loan.
Mesham said it’s time to have the referendum “and let the town decide.”
“If it’s a no vote, then we need to show that we’re taking steps to address the issue. And that would be a sewer avoidance program, at least in part,” he said.
He said the state’s pressure for Old Lyme to install sewers is undermined by reports of raw sewage being introduced to the Connecticut River from treatment plants in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
He said the state agency should realize it’s “viewed right now as being pretty hypocritical with the amount of sewage coming down the Connecticut River that affects us and Long Island Sound and the communities around us,” he said.
A sewer avoidance program could involve inspections and an examination of non-conforming systems to ensure septic systems are not polluting the area, according to Mesham.
He said it’s premature to address questions about whether the town as a whole will ultimately be required to foot the bill if the state continues to push a project that is not affordable to Sound View residents alone.
“I don’t wanna get too carried away with ‘what ifs,’” he said. “I like dealing more with what’s ahead of us.”
We are writing to express our support for the re-election of the team of Martha Shoemaker and Jim Lampos on November 4th.
Our Town has been in in good hands during their tenure; and Town services are operating at a high level.
Old Lyme’s AAA bond rating “reflects the town’s financial stability and ability to manage its debt effectively, with a healthy surplus and manageable long-term liabilities.”
Martha makes herself available in the office and around town. She is willing to meet with residents and listens to their issues or concerns.
We were very impressed with the coordination of community resources that enabled the Lymes’ Senior Center to continue their programming during the more than a year of construction of the wonderful new facility.
Martha is an educator and serving on the Region 18 BOE. She is not seeking reelection. We feel that those experiences have been essential in acting as a savvy advocate for residents in maintaining our schools’ infrastructure, operating budgets, and recognized quality of education.
Jim is an author and local historian and is also out in the community; — sometimes acting as a trouble shooter for the more pressing issues.
We will continue to need their compassion and common sense as CT reacts to the massive cuts to Medicaid, support for education, nutrition assistance (SNAP), and school lunch programs that are resulting from Trump’s so called “One Big Beautiful Bill;” — clearly impacting our neediest.
Governor Lamont said that “We’re going to do everything we can to protect the most vulnerable.” “I think that’s sort of a core responsibility we’ve got.”
While the actual costs will not be known for months or what impacts, if any, will be placed on Old Lyme, it is estimated that CT will be required to pay tens of millions extra in SNAP benefits, alone.
There is opposition. It seems that the local G.O.P. is featuring the defeat of the Halls Rd. project in their campaign. Current third selectwoman, Jude Danenhower Read, and her husband, Zoning Commission candidate, Sloan Danenhower, highlight their roles in spearheading the effort that led to the rejection of the vision for Halls Road, proposed by the all volunteer Halls Road Improvements Committee.
In short, Martha and Jim have served us well and we believe that it is in the Town’s best interest for them to continue in their leadership roles.
Sincerely,
Thomas D. Gotowka, Christina J. Gotowka, Old Lyme.
Editor’s Note: i) This letter was updated to correct the headline. ii) This letter was updated to correct the spelling of Jude Read’s last name.
OLD LYME—Animal Control Officer Lynn Philemon told the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting on Monday that the weeks following the July seizure of 20 dogs, five birds and two chinchillas have been exhausting but important.
“I have no sleep at all, no vacation … and I’m glad I did it because I’ve been trying to get those poor animals away from those people for two years,” she said.
Her job over the past few months has included writing a search warrant, seizing the animals from the small home on Miami Avenue where they were allegedly hoarded, taking them for extensive and frequent medical appointments, and lining up foster homes where they can recuperate before finding their permanent families.
It’s a job she takes home with her.
Among the animals living with Philemon currently are a dam (the female parent of litter of puppies) and a couple of older dogs seized from the property. The latter all require medical attention and the mom is “going to pop any minute” with an expected litter of four puppies, she said.
The 27 animals were seized after concerns were brought to Philemon in late June about an animal hoarding situation in Cheshire with ties to the Old Lyme house, according to civil court documents. Repeated welfare checks conducted at the beach area bungalow went unanswered before resident Nancy Guest allowed Philemon and a local police officer to come inside.
The documents described officers finding up to 20 dogs covered in urine and feces amid “deplorable” conditions.
After the search and seizure warrant was executed on July 28, court documents show the Ledge Light Health District deemed the residence unfit for habitation.
No arrests have been made yet in connection with the Old Lyme case. In Cheshire, the state’s judicial website shows Guest and two others were arrested and charged Sept. 10 with 19 counts of animal cruelty.
When Shoemaker described Philemon’s new skills compiling search warrant and arrest warrant as a resumé builder, the animal control officer agreed.
“That was the first time I’ve ever had to do that in my 21 years, believe it or not,” she said.
Five of the dogs initially signed over to the town have been adopted, according to Philemon. The remainder of the dogs are in foster homes because of severe medical needs that need to be addressed before they can be adopted.
There are also three five-week old puppies and two three-week old puppies from two dams.
“A lot of them are not housebroken. They were let out twice a day. There was 20 of them in a small house,” she said.
Though she recounted hundreds of calls coming in to the animal control facility from would-be adopters, she told selectmen many of the animals aren’t ready yet.
“They need time to decompress and everything,” she said. “I’m not going to put them in a bad situation.”
Two of the birds have been placed in new homes, while one remains hospitalized. The two chinchillas on Monday went to stay with a veterinarian for exotic animals who she said is in the process of adopting them.
First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker said medical bills amounted to roughly $11,000 to $14,000 before Guest surrendered the dogs to the town. The town will look to recoup the costs through the legal process.
“If we have to do a lien, we’ll do a lien,” she said.
Now, Philemon is coordinating donations from concerned individuals and organizations and is planning an Oct. 4 fundraiser to cover ongoing medical expenses. She cited heart issues, mammary tumors, hernia removal and extensive dental treatments as some examples.
“Every single one of those poor dogs had black teeth. Even the young ones,” Philemon said. “It’s bad. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
She said coverage during the shelter’s most crowded period following the seizure required three shifts of two people each, including the assistant animal control officer and temporary help hired by the town.
Then there were the day-to-day situations, such as roaming dogs found in the streets, that tested the already strapped operation as staff members looked for space in the hallways and back room surrounding the kennels.
“It was nuts,” she said. “Just nuts.”
The Oct. 4 PAWtoberfest fundraiser from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Machnik Drive animal shelter includes a live band, Lyme-Old Lyme Lions Club food tent, local vendors and raffles. Application forms to adopt some of the dogs will be available at the event.
Dogs are invited to attend the event, which will also benefit the Presents for Paws nonprofit organization distributing pet food and supplies to animal shelters across the state.
Editor’s Note: This article has been corrected to reflect information received from Lynn Philemon regarding where some of the dogsare currently housed.
She Was Proud Owner with Her Late Husband of Groton Pizza Palace for Many Years
Christina Lampos
GROTON—Christina Lampos, 83, of Groton, passed away peacefully in her sleep on the morning of Sept. 4, 2025. She was born Feb. 6, 1942, in Kastori, a mountain village near Sparta in the state of Laconia, Greece and raised in a traditional farming family. Christina was fiercely proud of her Greek heritage and considered herself “a “true Spartan.” Her experience witnessing the horrors of the Nazi invasion of Greece and the subsequent civil war as a child gave her a lifelong abhorrence of war and formed her progressive political views which she held her entire life. She was especially committed to women’s rights, civil rights and equality.
She married Theofanis “Teddy” Lampos in 1961, and emigrated to the United States. They lived first on the West Side of Norwich, and then in Greeneville before settling in Groton. She became a U.S. citizen in 1968, holding on to her traditional Greek values while simultaneously embracing the American social movements and music of the 60s.
Christina was the proud owner with Teddy of Groton Pizza Palace since 1965, and until her final year came to work daily, first thing in the morning to set up the kitchen, making the salads and her beloved specialties: the tuna and the meatballs.
Christina was also a staunch defender of children with special needs at a time when there were no services, programs, or treatment options apart from institutionalization. She cared for her son Lampros at home, at great personal sacrifice, and advocated for him throughout the 60s and 70s, until advances in medical science and social reforms led to day-treatment programs and the establishment of group homes where those with special needs could receive the care they needed.
She is predeceased by Teddy, her husband of 62 years; and survived by her son James “Jim” and his wife Michaelle Pearson of Old Lyme; and her grandchildren, Phoebe and Theodore “Van” Lampos. She is also survived by her son Lampros Lampos of Waterford; and her nephew Ulysses Sakellarides of Norwich; and numerous family members in Greece. She was dedicated to her family and loved by all. She will be dearly missed.
There will be a private funeral service with burial at Maplewood Cemetery in Norwich.
