Town Elections, November 2
Weston’s municipal elections take place on Tuesday, November 2, with nine offices on the ballot. A brief description of the candidates appears below, after this facsimile of the two-sided ballot and information about where and when to vote:
Where to vote
Polls are open on the 2nd at Weston Middle School from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm. The entrance is at the back of the building.
Detailed information is available on the Registrars of Voters page for those who need assistance with curbside voting, same-day registration, and details of a November 1 session the Registrars will hold for those who became eligible to vote after October 26.
The offices and candidates
Only four of the offices are contested. In one case, Planning and Zoning, a potential complication may exist.
First Selectman
The candidates are Samantha Nestor (D) and Kirby Brendsel (R).
You can vote for one.
Samantha Nestor, a member of the Board of Selectmen since 2018, became First Selectwoman in August, following the resignation of First Selectman Chris Spaulding. She had previously served on the Board of Education. Professionally, Ms. Nestor co-founded a strategic communications consulting firm and has a background in real estate, design, arts, media, and not-for-profit work.
Kirby Brendsel is a former member of Weston’s Parks and Recreation Commission, the Sustainable Weston Committee, and the Lachat Town Farm Commission. Professionally, Mr. Brendsel leads strategic environmental, social, and governance initiatives for a real estate investment trust.
Board of Selectmen
The candidates are Martin Mohabeer (D) and Amy Jenner (R).
You can vote for one.
Martin Mohabeer was appointed to the Board of Selectmen in August, following Ms. Nestor’s becoming First Selectwoman. A former member of the Diversity Equity Inclusion Advisory Committee, he currently serves on the board of the Weston Education Foundation. Professionally, he is a managing director of a privately-held investment conglomerate.
Amy Jenner is a former sales executive and vice president of operations for a major pharmaceutical firm. In Weston, she is a longtime volunteer with Wildlife in Crisis, a non-profit focused on wildlife preservation and land conservation.
Planning and Zoning Commission: 4-year term
The candidates are two Democratic nominees, Megan Loucas and Sally Korsh, Republican nominee Alexander Burns, and petitioning candidate Harry Falber.
You can vote for up to three.
Depending on the outcome, this is the race with a potential complication.
Mr. Falber, the petitioning candidate (meaning he reached the ballot by gathering signatures, not by a party nomination), only changed his registration from Democrat to Unaffiliated this week. But a state statute appears to lock in a candidate’s official party affiliation three months before an election. If it applies, Mr. Falber would still effectively be a Democrat, despite his eleventh hour registration change.
So, again if the statute applies, were the two nominated Democrats plus Mr. Falber to be the top three vote-getters, one of them may not be able to take office. Weston’s Town Charter has a “bare majority” rule.
In the case of P&Z, the bare majority rule means one party cannot hold more than four seats. Two Democrats, not up for reelection this year, already serve on the Commission. There cannot be three more.
Back to the candidates.
Megan Loucas is currently an alternate on the Zoning Board of Appeals and a member of the town’s Building Committee. She is a licensed architect, specializing in energy efficient and sustainable design.
Sally Korsh is a current member of the Planning and Zoning Commission. She is an attorney, specializing in real estate and land use matters for domestic and international clients.
Alexander Burns is a recent graduate of Quinnipiac University. He currently serves as Event Coordinator in his Stamford church.
Harry Falber is a current member of the Planning and Zoning Commission. A retired executive in marketing and advertising and once a restaurant owner, he is an advisory committee member for Lachat Town Farm and the Weston League of Women Voters.
Planning and Zoning Commission: 2-year term
There is also an uncontested seat on the ballot for a two-year term on the Planning and Zoning Commission. James Carlon, a Republican, is the only candidate for this office.
James Carlon, a commercial real estate attorney, was recently appointed to P&Z by the Board of Selectmen to fill a vacancy. He previously served on the Commission from 2013 to 2016 and was once an alternate member of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Board of Finance: 4-year term
The candidates are Democrat Steve Ezzes, Republicans Jamie Zeppernick, K. Rone Baldwin, and Jeffrey Farr, and petitioning candidate Travis K. Worrell.
You can vote for up to four.
Steve Ezzes is currently a member and chair of the Board of Finance. Professionally, he is a managing director of a global capital management firm that serves institutional investors. Recently appointed to the Connecticut Lottery Commission by Governor Ned Lamont, he also serves on Weston’s Facilities Optimization Committee.
Jamie Zeppernick was recently appointed by the Board of Selectmen to the Board of Finance to fill a vacancy. He is co-owner of a healthcare business and serves as a director on the Weston Soccer Club.
K. Rone Baldwin is currently a member and vice chair of the Board of Finance. He also serves on the town’s Insurance Advisory Committee and Facilities Optimization Committee. Mr. Baldwin is a retired insurance industry executive.
Jeffrey Farr is a current member of the Board of Finance. A former civil engineer, Mr. Farr previously served for 11 years as a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, four years as chair.
Travis K. Worrell is co-owner of an auction business and is active in Weston baseball and scouting programs.
Board of Finance: 2-year term
There is also an uncontested seat on the ballot for a two-year term on the Board of Finance. Michael Imber, a Democrat, is the only candidate for this office.
Michael Imber was recently appointed by the Selectmen to fill a vacancy on the Board of Finance. He is a managing director of a financial advisory firm that focuses on fiscal sustainability for municipalities. Mr. Imber served on the Connecticut Pension Sustainability Commission and chairs the Connecticut Democracy Center.
The following offices are uncontested
Board of Education
All seats on the Board of Education are uncontested this year. Columns appear on the ballot for a four-year term and for a two-year term. In both cases, there are three candidates and you can vote for up to three. All but one of the candidates are incumbents, some by appointment.
For the full four-year term, the candidates are all incumbent Democrats: Taffy Miller, Bernadette Kingsley, and Tony Pesco.
Taffy Miller recently retired as the executive director of the Trust for Learning. She and her husband own and operate a farm. Among other community organizations, Ms. Miller serves on the Weston Community Fund board.
Bernadette Kingsley has ten years experience as a classroom teacher. Previously, she was an education data analyst for Morgan Stanley. Dr. Kingsley has served on Weston’s Survey Research Committee and on the Hurlbutt Elementary PTO.
Tony Pesco is currently the chair of the Board of Education. A former scientist at AT&T Bell Laboratories and 25-year finance industry professional, Dr. Pesco also serves on the board of the Norwalk/Stamford Grassroots Tennis and Education organization.
Candidates for the two-year term are Democrat Sharon Ferraro and Republicans David Felton and Peter E. Gordon. Ms. Ferraro and Mr. Felton were recently appointed by the Selectmen to fill vacancies on the Board of Education.
Sharon Ferraro is an officer of the Weston Women’s League and has served in PTO fundraising roles. Professionally, she was a director for sales development at a major technology firm.
David Felton is the owner of a managed IT service provider and an analyst of technology industry trends.
Peter E. Gordon is a veteran of the photonics industry, a field involving applications of light technologies and improving optical fiber transmission.
Board of Police Commissioners
All seats on Police Commission are uncontested this year. There are four candidates. You can vote for up to all four.
The Democrats offer Dawn Egan, a current member of the Board who is involved in a number of civic organizations, including the Warm-Up Fund and Kiwanis, and John Dembishack, who is new to seeking elective office but is a long-serving member of the Weston Volunteer Fire Department. Professionally, Mr. Dembishack is an executive at a technology consulting firm.
The Republicans offer Peter J. Ottomano, an attorney and 20-year member of the Commission, and Woody Bliss, who has served on the Board since 2013. Mr. Bliss is a former First Selectman and the treasurer of the Friends of the Weston Senior Activities Center.
Board of Assessment Appeals
There is one open seat on the Board of Assessment Appeals and one candidate, Anne Kendall, a Democrat who is currently a member of the Historic District Commission. Professionally, she is Technical Director of Theatre Fairfield at Fairfield University.
Zoning Board of Appeals
The Zoning Board of Appeals has a column on the ballot for two full-term seats and one column for an alternate member. Neither are contested.
For the full term, the Democrats nominated incumbent William Macleod Snaith, whose professional experience is in residential design and construction management and supervision.
Republicans nominated John D. Moran, who is currently an alternate member of the ZBA. Mr. Moran is an attorney with a specialty in labor and human resources relations.
For the alternate position, Jim Low, the Democratic nominee, faces no opposition. Mr. Low, formerly a corporate attorney, is now in private practice.
Additional information
More about the candidates and their views can be found in the League of Women Voters 2021 Voters Guide, available here.
Video recordings of the League’s forums are viewable on YouTube for the Board of Selectmen, Boards of Education and Finance, and Planning & Zoning.