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To the Editor:

Since July, the Republican candidates for Town Council and Board of Education have been hard at work across West Hartford – meeting residents, listening to their concerns, and sharing real solutions to strengthen the community. While residents agree that West Hartford has much to be proud of, they also recognize that the town can and must do better.

The difference between the Republican slate and the current Democratic majority is clear. On the Republican website, the candidates outline a Four-Pillar Platform. The plan details specific, actionable steps to improve governance and fiscal management, strengthen the schools with parent involvement and accountability, and bring sanity back to housing development.  In addition, the plan offers ways to address traffic and pedestrian safety without wasting time, energy and tax dollar grants that have done nothing but make matters worse with failed ideas of confusing traffic infrastructure. Fortunately, the Republican team brings a broad range of professional backgrounds and exceptional intellectual capital – leaders who are ready to serve with integrity, competence, accountability and a strategic action plan.

By contrast, the Democratic majority that has controlled the town for several years has governed without clear direction or discipline. Their “throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks” approach has led to unsustainable tax increases, overdevelopment that strains infrastructure, poor contract negotiations that have hurt both taxpayers and teachers, policies that distract from academics and have led to declining test scores in local schools, and deteriorating road conditions made worse by unchecked traffic growth.

Equally troubling, the Democratic slate has offered no clear plan for the future. Instead, they have relied on national political rhetoric to distract residents from the local issues, which they caused, that matter most—affordability, education, and quality of life. Their so-called “affordable housing” developments have done little to make living in West Hartford truly affordable or to create lasting opportunities for residents to build wealth.

Even former Democrats have taken notice. John Lyons and Dr. Jason Wang, both once members of the Democratic Party, recognized the failures of their former party’s ideology and found a home among West Hartford Republicans who believe in individual liberty, fiscal responsibility, and community-based problem-solving. They joined a team united by the conviction that government should empower individuals, not control them, and that meaningful progress is achieved through open dialogue, respect for the rule of law, and service to all residents.

The Republican candidates – Al Cortes, Dr. Gayle Harris, Ben Lewis, John Lyons, Dr. Jason Wang, and Kyle Zelazny for Town Council, and Miriam Bleich for Board of Education – offer a clear vision and a credible plan to move West Hartford forward. They believe residents deserve leadership that listens, acts, and delivers results.

On Election Day, West Hartford voters have a real choice: continue with the same directionless leadership that has burdened taxpayers and diminished local schools—or elect a team that stands for accountability, affordability, and common sense.

It’s time for real leadership in West Hartford.

Vote Row B for the Republican team that’s ready to lead.

Shawn Daly
West Hartford
Chair, West Hartford Republican Town Committee