Opinion: Fairfield First Selectwoman Urges Support For Charter Reform

The following opinion essay was written by Fairfield First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick:

The Town Charter is Fairfield's governing document, our towns "constitution."

Unfortunately, our town charter has not received a thorough and meaningful review since the 1970's under long time and beloved First Selectman John Sullivan.

Since then, our community, government and technology has changed significantly.

When I was elected as First Selectwoman after the largest public corruption scandal in Fairfield's history, I pledged I would open up the charter for review and implement other much needed oversight and reforms.

The bipartisan Charter Revision Commission began meeting in September of 2021 hearing from elected officials, other municipalities, experts in the field of public administration, as well as residents. Initially there were significant changes considered including proposals to modify Fairfield’s form of Government.

What ensued over this year long process consisting of 37 public meetings, facilitated by an outside expert attorney on municipal charters, was open discussion, compromise and consensus building on the part of citizen volunteers, three of whom are attorneys.

I can definitively state that no one got everything they wanted, including me managing the 11th largest municipality in Connecticut.

However, this year long process is a result of collaboration and compromise.

In politics today, sadly it’s seems compromise is viewed as a dirty word and is preventing good governance on all levels.

The result of this Charter revision process is moving our town government into the 21st century by incorporating best practices and removing antiquated processes.

I am a third generation Fairfielder and I care very much about the past, present and future of this Town. I continue to feel honored to have the trust of Fairfield’s residents as I was when I was elected to be your First Selectwoman.

Every day over the last three years I have come to Town Hall with enthusiasm and determination in managing our town while restoring the public’s trust that was broken by the actions under the prior administration, and to make substantive changes to ensure accountability, oversight and access to town government.

Since being elected to serve our community I created the Town's first newsletter update to share timely information with residents in an effort to ensure communication and transparency are a top priority.

I’m asking our citizens to provide the necessary tools for the people who work for our town so that our government can operate efficiently and effectively for the residents it serves, not just for today, but for many years to come.

I sincerely hope you’ll read the information provided by the town clerk per state statue: https://www.fairfieldct.org/news/?FeedID=5325 and consider casting a yes vote on November 8 to do what’s best for Fairfield’s future.

For more information, residents can read this helpful Q&A here:
https://www.voteyesfairfield.com/faq