LTE: Why We Are Running For Greenwich Republican Town Committee

The following was submitted to Greenwich Patch by Janet and Mike Freiheit, Lisa Becker Edmundson, Mike Erensen, Caren (Vizzo) St Phillip, and Dina Urso.

The Republican Town Committee (RTC) has one purpose: to find and support ideal candidates that represent a majority of our citizenry and get them elected.

This upcoming election cycle is particularly important for the RTC. They must re-gain the State Representatives seats recently lost after a century and a half of Republican control.

The RTC must re-elect our outstanding State Senator Ryan Fazio, of whom we have fully supported.

And the RTC must re-elect Republican town leadership, we hope led by Fred Camillo, as well as a Republican BET. Fred is a close friend and he led this town with a steady and experienced hand. He has been particularly close to our own District 8 – a place he grew up.

The current RTC leadership has failed Republicans in Greenwich. In 2022, this leadership team lost two House seats. That year Senator Fazio’s race was far too close. It was the worst performance of a Greenwich RTC in a century.

This year, the Republican BET slate barely won a close race with 51% of the vote. Fred Camillo and Lauren Rabin won big but that was not because of RTC leadership but despite it.

Unfortunately, the current RTC leadership, and the current District 8 RTC slate, has had a pivotal role in this decline They are not getting the clue that their politics are not working. They have fallen into the common misperception of a losing cause that everyone else must be wrong and that their opinions and beliefs are the only ones that we should follow. After losing again in the recent RTC caucuses they started a primary process in Districts they wanted to dominate.

We believe in a different model. We believe we should represent the party, not dictate to it. We believe in a unified, collaborative party, not a divided one. We believe in ethical personal interactions, not abusing the rules of decorum and civility. We believe in transparency and legality, not behind-the-scenes abuses of the election rules. We believe in supporting our local Republican leadership, not holding them accountable to an extreme view. We believe in a conservative view that reflects our local issues with the entire community in mind, not a national narrative designed to seek higher office or control.

For the past twenty-six years we have raised our family of four children, all of whom attended our excellent public schools, in one of the best managed towns in the nation. We are cognizant of the saying, “To whom much is given, much is expected”, and we seek to provide all residents of our town the respect to be heard and be led by leaders who have their best interests in mind.

There is a reason our town elected Republican leadership team (Camillo, Rabin, Budkins) fully backs our Row B ticket. They recognize that we need to change course to win all elections. Call them and ask them directly who they support rather than believe the current RTC leadership group masquerading as supporters of theirs. We need to change course to get things done together.

We respectfully ask for your support March 5th at Cos Cob School for our full ticket. Absentee ballots are available for those who cannot be in attendance. You can go into the Town Clerk’s office any weekday to cast your absentee ballot in person until March 5th.

Please feel free to contact any of us, the endorsed candidates for the Republican Party in District 8.

Thank you in advance,

Janet and Mike Freiheit

Lisa Becker Edmundson
Mike Erensen
Janet and Mike Freiheit
Caren (Vizzo) St Phillip
Dina Urso