Brookfield Town Clerk: Andrea DiStephan is the Only Rational Choice

Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 7, 2023, Brookfield heads to the polls for their municipal elections. For Town Clerk, you will see two names on the ballot:

On row A in position 3A, you will see Andrea DiStephan, the incumbent Town Clerk that has done an excellent job for the past six years. She provides great, friendly customer service to our town as well as a great working environment for her employees. She has improved the Town Clerk’s website and organization over time. She has improved processes over time such as getting minutes up and available quickly and putting dog registration online to save a trip. Overall, any interaction I have had with the Town Clerks Office has been professional, prompt, and effective. I have heard the same feedback over and over again recently as many residents have been discussing the Town Clerk’s race individually and in social media comments.

On Row B in position 3B, you will see Gary Goetz, the current Zoning Commission Chair whose failure to do his role effectively has led to a lawsuit and federal discrimination investigation against the town. He personally faces a civil lawsuit that alleges sexual harassment and assault.

Ms. DiStephan is by far and away the best candidate for Town Clerk. Based on her performance and personal qualities she would be hard to beat. But the election isn’t selecting one of seven people to be on a Board that meets once a month to collectively vote on agenda items. The Town Clerk is a full-time job with a salary of approximately $80,000 and they manage two full-time employees and, seasonally, an intern. The two current Town Clerk’s office employees are female, and the intern this year was a young woman.

But elections are about choice, and it’s Andrea or Gary. When you narrow it down, it makes you wonder, why is Gary even on the ballot?

Think about it:

1. In your company, if a resume came through Human Resources (HR) and a quick google search or a background check resulted in an article that quoted the applicant stating, “do you even know who I am around this town?” after being asked to stop leering at a woman where his companion had just responded “He can look at whoever the (expletive) he wants” . . . . where would the resume go?

Ms. DiStephan runs the office in a completely non-partisan manner. How would the “Do you even know who I am around this town?”- guy run the office?

2. Or perhaps a quick google search resulting in a lawsuit and discrimination investigation against the entity he is currently leading, and the court documents referenced a failure to read materials presented for a zoning application . . . for which there were several meetings over a couple of months . . . do you hire that person?

3. Can the actions, allegations, or concerns be excusable because they belong to a particular political party, say like the same one you belong to?

4. Given the assault and sexual harassment concerns, which candidate would you prefer your college age daughter to have as a manager if she were to intern at Brookfield’s Town Clerk’s office? Ask your daughter, or other young woman in your family.

The Brookfield RTC and Tara Carr Should Have Known Better

The Democrat and Republican Town Committees are supposed to vet candidates. They act like HR. They gather resumes for openings, a vacancy committee interviews candidates, and recommends a person to run for each open seat, and the party generally affirms the decisions through a vote of core members (unless challenged).

Despite what the often used picture with the “hang loose” pose in a helicopter might imply, Ms. Carr’s LinkedIn experience shows primarily HR experience in the Army. If anyone was responsible enough to know better, it should be her. She claims a disposition and accomplishments in her career advocating for women in the military and workplace. Ms. Carr will likely claim the Goetz nomination wasn’t her call, but she hasn’t spoken out or acknowledged he is a bad choice of a candidate. She is also claiming, as a First Selectman candidate for re-election, her accomplishments include advocating for security and parental rights in the schools. But her relevant role there is a parent of students. Plenty of people can claim the same.Yet somehow, she will shrug and say, “not my role,” or just ignore the concern of Goetz as a potential Town Clerk. As the head of her slate, Goetz’s election would affect employees’ safety and work environment at town hall. She is absent, and she has a much more relevant role to say Mr. Goetz is a bad fit.

From what I understand, the RTC did not originally plan to run a Town Clerk Candidate until a competing slate did so. That is a poor reason to choose a candidate with these rational concerns in his background.

Andrea DiStephan has Bi-Partisan Support because of How She does her Job and Treats Others

On social media and in discussions there are many Brookfield voters concerned about not only Mr. Goetz’s baggage with the lawsuit and discrimination investigation against the town as well as the personal allegations. But the fact he was even nominated, or no corrective action was made as the facts unfolded, is even more concerning. Additionally, most members of the RTC slate won’t speak out or even address the issue in any way.

Many Republicans have expressed they plan to vote for Ms. DiStephan. I am one of them.

The vote count for Mr. Goetz will show the total of how many people generally vote Republican but are unaware of this issue, plus, sadly, those that either accept the alleged behavior or are willing to take the risk because they are more loyal to a party than the town.

I encourage Brookfield voters to, at the very least, reduce the risk of another lawsuit and vote for our Town Clerk that does a great job and preserve the positive work environment for her employees.

When you go into the booth tomorrow, 3A, Andrea DiStephan for Town Clerk is the only rational, adult way to vote.