OPINION: Deny Stonington First Selectman Chesebrough another term, please
Jun. 24—I still remember my delight when Danielle Chesebrough, back in 2019, became the first female first selectman in my town of Stonington, joining two other women on the Board of Selectmen for an historic all-female governing body.
It didn't take long for me to regret my vote for Chesebrough, though, and it's been all downhill since.
I am glad that the town's two major parties, which both lazily endorsed then unaffiliated candidate Chesebrough for her reelection campaign two years ago, will be able to field their own candidates this year.
Chesebrough is running for reelection as a candidate for the new Forward Party.
It's hard to choose which of my disappointments in Chesebrough is the most disqualifying for me in considering voting for her again, because there are so many.
The one that made me angry was her defense of the police commissioner caught posting hate speech on social media, tirades against immigrants and gay people.
He's a good guy, Chesebrough responded during the controversy, saying people offended should reach out and get to know him.
She should know that this constituent, a gay man, was not going to try to get to know her mean-spirited police commissioner, as he posted homophobic slurs.
She lost me there. She didn't have to attack the commissioner. Saying nothing would have been OK. Defending him was not.
But, really, even if I could have swallowed her unrealistic, let's all-get-along, kumbaya spirit, Chesebrough went on, through two terms, to prove herself thoroughly unprepared and unqualified for the job.
Who can forget, as we all remained locked down for COVID-19 and followed the rules of isolation, that our first selectman chose to help a Pawcatuck "Make Haircuts Great Again" barber defy the governor's pandemic restrictions and open her shop before all the other law-abiding hair salons in the state.
Chesebrough even loaned the Trumpist barber some town equipment to let her open in defiance of pandemic restrictions. Yikes.
And who can forget Chesebrough's failure at finding a solution to the short-term rentals dilemma in town, summoning voters to a proposed useless ordinance, which inevitably failed at the polls.
She said after the defeat that a new solution would have to wait until after the election. She got that right. Voters can now choose a candidate who might do something.
It's hard to blame Chesebrough for the fiasco of Boathouse Park, which she inherited from her predecessor. But two terms later, as she muses about shovels in the ground, the first selectman has done nothing to address the huge budget shortfall that makes the project seem as impossible to finish as when she took office almost four years ago.
Perhaps the most harm she has done in office was allowing the state to hatch a crazy plan to replace the viaduct into Stonington Borough, closing roads and taking by eminent domain a community center building.
Chesebrough knew this was under consideration as early as January, but never let the public know. It was finally disclosed by another source and made the papers in May.
Now all those opposed ―a majority in town, it seems ― are going to have to hustle to try to stop the state, which got a head start on its disruptive plans because the Chesebrough remained mum about what she knew.
I've never met Chesebrough. She doesn't respond to my phone calls or emails.
My job involves hounding politicians, and most of the ones I have most harshly criticized still respond to my questions. They understand that criticism from the public and press is part of the job.
The thin-skinned ones who don't, like Chesebrough, should probably find something else to do.
She seems like a nice, well-meaning person, in the wrong job.
I suspect, given the stirring to life of Stonington Republicans and Democrats this election season, that I'm not alone in hoping Chesebrough is soundly denied a third term.
This is the opinion of David Collins
