At tonight's caucus, a noisy and enthusiastic group of Ridgefield Democrats endorsed a slate of eleven candidates for town offices in preparation for the upcoming election on November 4th. This represents the largest field of candidates from the Democratic party since the late 1970s when Democrats controlled the First Selectman position.
Leading the slate is Rudolph "Rudy" Marconi (photo),
a Ridgefield native and local businessman. Mr. Marconi served
on the town's Planning and Zoning Commission for four years and
more recently has been the senior minority Selectman on the
Board of Selectmen. He was gratified with the Party's
endorsement, noting that, "after almost twenty years of
Republican control of the Town Hall, it's time for a fresh look at the issues facing the town. The answers that worked when Ridgefield was a sleepy rural town are not going to be the right answers for a modern, sophisticated town facing tough challenges." Rudy, as he likes to be known, runs his family's business, is married and has one daughter attending the East Ridge Middle School.
Also endorsed for the Board of Selectmen was one of the town's leading citizens, Barabara Manners, a praticing lawyer who has served on a variety of community boards and commitees. While many Ridgefielders may know Barbara from her 1995 campaign for First Selectman, she also has been active in education, the town's symphony orchestra, ABC, and the Ridgefield Performing Arts Center. She is on the Board of the Women's Center of Greater Danbury, the only domestic abuse and rape crisis center serving our area. Mrs. Manners is married, has a young son, David, and raises prize Golden Retrievers.
The third Selectman candidate is Michael Jones, a relative newcomer to the town who was raised in Avon, Ct. Mr. Jones, who likes to be known as "Jonesy", has been involved in Democratic party activites almost from the first moment he moved to town from Seattle, where he ran a software company. Now he is the senior vice president of his family's business, working with his brother on global environmental issues. He was recently a finalist in the prestigous "Entrepreneur of the Year" award given by Ernst and Young, the multinational business consulting firm. Mr. Jones is married (to a Republican!) and enjoys spending time walking his dalmatian, Pepper.
The other endorsed candidates include:
Mr. Joseph Heyman, a well-known and highly regarded Democrat who has served on a number of Ridgefield boards, also sought a candidacy for Selectmen. A number of persons spoke on his behalf, citing his independent thinking, history of service to the town and eloquence in both the spoken and written word. Ultimately, the caucus voted to limit its endorsements to the number of candidates who could hold seats on any board or committee. Since the Board of Selectmen is restricted by the Charter to only three members from any one political party, the caucus opted to conserve valuable campaign resources and nominate only three candidates.
Click here to see profiles of the candidates.
GO TO
Campaign News
Brought to you by the Ridgefield, Ct.
Democratic Town Committee, John Kukulka, Chairman.
This site hosted by
Web-Connect of Ridgefield
