Newsletter Volume 4 • Number 4
Joe Huley and Bill Grad can tell you
Deep in the bowels of Town Hall there are a couple of elected positions you would be forgiven for not knowing about. Rushing through your day, maybe trundling kids to school, flipping the lights on where you work, or walking the dog while balancing a cup of joe, it’s hard to keep track of the national picture, let alone local government.
But Joe Huley and Bill Grad would suggest your attentions are misplaced. “If there ever was a time to be aware of who’s running for local office and what their values are, now is the time,” Grad says. “Many people pay more in property taxes than state or federal taxes. Many move here for the schools. They should follow what’s happening, and vote!”
Joe and Bill are longtime practitioners of some of the less visible roles in Greenwich officialdom. This November, both are running for re-election to the Board of Assessment Appeals (BAA). “Often new taxpayers and sometimes even people who’ve lived in Greenwich for a long while don’t understand how their assessment is calculated.” Huley explains.
Grad says the work of the five officials on the BAA is to hear residents’ and businesses’ cases to have their property assessments reduced. “Even though we get elected on a partisan basis, there is no partisanship in our work. We have open, collegial and comfortable discussions.” It’s the way he wishes other branches of town government still operated. “I believe government should make a positive difference in people’s lives. I want to elect someone who looks at what our community needs and how the town can best meet those needs.”
Joe Huley has lived in Banksville since the day he was born, the grandson of immigrants from Czechoslovakia. A real estate broker by trade, he’s a veteran of critical local roles, elected and otherwise, including Justice of the Peace, volunteer firefighter, EMT, Deputy Registrar of Voters, and always a Democrat. “A Greenwich Dem today is like a Republican from our parents’ era,” Huley observed. “Dems are focused on improving our quality of life.”
“Democrats have heart,” Grad remarked, an American flag emblazoned on his T-shirt. He admits the first two decades his family lived here, he paid little attention to local politics, while building businesses and working in commercial real estate. But in 2000, he got involved. He’s twice run for Tax Collector. He also volunteered as a loaned executive to the United Way.
The nuts and bolts of local government is where it’s at in Grad’s mind. “We need to elect people who are well trained and can run a department competently. We need down to earth, straightforward people.”
Joe Huley and Bill Grad will be on your ballot this November for the Board of Assessment Appeals.Remember them when election season comes around.
Trump cuts come to Greenwich
In April, town finance board Republicans cut $4 million from the Greenwich Public Schools budget. Now, the Trump administration is joining the attack on our town schools, clawing back almost $300K in already approved federal education funds. Across Connecticut, the loss of education support totals $53 million.
State Attorney General William Tong announced Monday he is suing President Trump and Linda McMahon, Greenwich resident and Secretary of Education, over their “unlawful and arbitrary” decision to freeze education funding. They are “stealing from Connecticut schools to fund tax cuts for billionaires,” Tong asserted. “It’s our kids and teachers who are paying the price.”
Local Republicans and Trump are defunding Greenwich schools
This is happening while the Greenwich Republican Party pretends that questions about national politics are off limits for local elected leaders. But, there’s no avoiding reality—what’s happening at the federal level impacts us right here at home. And many of Greenwich’s own are enabling the hits—from Greenwich Republican Town Committee Vice Chair Steve Warzoha helping to dismantle the Department of Education, to Republican State Senator Ryan Fazio trying to make it easier for ICE to round up Connecticut residents.
People legitimately want to know how their leaders will help. Democratic State Representatives Steve Meskers and Hector Arzeno have been vocal about the need to step up and fill in the gaps where federal support will now be missing, particularly in the wake of drastic Medicaid and SNAP food assistance cuts. The Connecticut General Assembly will likely call a special session to determine how to mitigate fallout from the Trump Administration’s brutal budget bill.
Town elections are November 4. It matters, now more than ever, who represents and stands up for us. Make sure you’re registered and vote Row A.
What we’re reading
The Greenwich Republican party IS the national Republican party
On Monday, First Selectman Fred Camillo stood in front of the Board of Education to announce his campaign for yet another term. The irony of the First Selectman announcing his run in front of our public school headquarters, that his party—both local and national—is working to gut, was not lost.
In his editorial, OG resident Brian Raabe writes, “Smart residents deserve fully funded education. Smart residents of a coastal town deserve to know that risk is being mitigated. Smart residents of Greenwich deserve smart policy. Not the curved sword of vendetta. But the local Republican team is the national Republican team.” Read the full editorial here.
Action Calendar
July 26. Meet.
Come meet the candidates with the fresh ideas and the know how to usher Greenwich into the 21st century. Private residence. 4:00-6:00 p.m. RSVP for location details.
July 31. Learn.
Legislators’ wrap-up and tapas, hosted by the League of Women Voters. $25. Burning Tree Country Club, 120 Perkins Road. 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Tickets.
August 7. Relax.
Save the date! Join fellow Democrats and others at beautiful Greenwich Point Park (Tod’s Point) for a fun and relaxing gathering. Rain date August 14th.
| Volume 4, Number 4 • July 17, 2025 |
| Paid for by the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee. |
| Greenwich Democratic Town Committee P.O. Box 126 Greenwich, CT 06836 |