Newsletter Volume 3 • Number 33
Penny wise, pound foolish Republican ‘policy’ is to blame
The Greenwich fire department has struggled for years to provide adequate fire coverage amid repeated funding rejections by Republican members on the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET). That job became harder after a fire engine was totaled last June when a truck crashed into it. Months later, a second engine, No. 51, skidded out on ice and will be out of commission for at least six months. That sent fire officials scrambling.
“Since Engine 51’s accident, we have averaged less than one available spare per day, severely hampering the ability for preventive maintenance to the rest of the fleet,” wrote Assistant Fire Chief Charlie Lubowicki, in a memo to the BET. What’s more, Greenwich’s first responders, serving the wealthiest town in CT, have had to rely on Stamford for backup equipment at least once a week since June.
It’s a manufactured crisis
Republicans holding a majority on the BET have long imposed an unwritten “one-engine-a-year” policy on the fire department, a reckless rule which led to this moment. You just can’t pick up a new fire truck at the dealer when you need one. It takes at least two years for delivery once ordered, and both purchase and maintenance costs have been increasing each year as BET Republicans delayed.
So last week, chastened members approved $150,000 from emergency funds to buy a used, 20-year-old fire truck that’s near the end of its useful life, plugging the gap until a new one is delivered.
Democrats on the BET have been warning that this day would come for years, but were outvoted each time. The Democratic caucus will continue to support first responders with funding not words. On Election Day this November, remember it is Republican-led failures to financially support our fire and police departments which affect your safety and your wallet.
Crowds turn out for ACLU and Indivisible Greenwich town hall meetings
Over 200 people joined a standing room only town hall held by the American Civil Liberties Union last week on how to stand up to the Trump administration’s assault on freedoms and civil liberties. Days later, a large meeting room was packed with people for an event organized by Indivisible Greenwich. Speakers described what each of us can do to support officials who are pushing back on challenges to reproductive rights, voting rights, immigrant rights, and free speech.
Learn more about what the CT ACLU is doing and find out how you can help here. Sign up for action alerts from Indivisible Greenwich here.
Fazio looks to divert cops from police work
Our Republican state senator, Ryan Fazio, just proposed a bill to direct the Greenwich Police Department (GPD) to help ICE on their federal immigration enforcement tasks. At a time when crime in Greenwich is spiking, and local police continue to struggle to recruit officers, why would Fazio propose taking time and resources away from GPD’s actual duties patrolling the streets, cracking down on unsafe drivers, and solving crimes, unless he’s pandering to his MAGA base?
What we’re reading
Increase our birth rate or else? Trump dumps “confusing mess” on CT
Greenwich is a town that fights fiercely to protect local decision making from governmental overreach. Now the Trump administration is taking overreach into overdrive. The White House issued an order last week threatening to withhold federal transportation funds from CT unless our state increases its birth rate (😲), helps ICE arrest immigrants, and meets a string of other conditions. Governor Lamont called it “a confusing mess.” Read about it here.
Meanwhile, CT’s U.S Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal joined 35 Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing their deep concern about the growing chaos at the U.S. Department of State and the Trump administration’s attempt to destroy the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). “The work of USAID is not charity — it is strategic,” said CT Senator Chris Murphy. “Over the past 64 years, the agency has made the United States safer and stronger. As adversaries like Russia and China and non-state terrorist groups use their financial and informational might to curry favor and win allies in the Middle East, Indo Pacific, Africa, and Latin America, USAID is our counterweight.” Read their letter here.
Action Calendar
February 6. Dance.
Grab your cowboy boots, put on your best dancing hat, and come join us for a fun-filled night of Country Line Dancing! 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., First Congregational Church of Greenwich, (108 Sound Beach Ave, OG). Tickets here.
February 19. Get inspired.
Greenwich Democrats monthly meeting. You won’t want to miss this one. Special guest speaker, Patti Russo, Executive Director of The Campaign School at Yale, will get us fired up about the upcoming municipal elections. When Patti speaks, winning doesn’t just feel possible, it feels inevitable. 7:30-9:00 p.m., Greenwich Town Hall Meeting Room.
| Volume 3, Number 33 • February 6, 2025 |
| Paid for by the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee. |
| Greenwich Democratic Town Committee P.O. Box 126 Greenwich, CT 06836 |