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08/01/2017 12:00 AMThe Shoreline Greens, a chapter of the Green Party of Connecticut, announced its slate of candidates for the 2017 municipal elections for the towns of Madison. Candidates were endorsed at a special meeting on July 16 at the Ivoryton Public Library.
In Madison, the Shoreline Greens will run two candidates.
Owen Charles, who served on Madison’s Board of Finance from 2007 to 2009 as a Democrat, will be running for Board of Finance as a Green Party candidate. Two decades in corporate budget management have taught him to analyze spending carefully.
“There are often areas where we can find cost reductions that enable us to invest in other areas,” said Charles.
His goal is to bring to the Board of Finance a forward-looking vision—to investments in the future, such as the best public use of historic Academy school, and cost-effective investment in green energy and technology. “Democracy is not a spectator sport,” says Charles. “Often people are encouraged to feel that it is ‘us against them’—that it’s the special interests of seniors versus the special interests of children and schools, or the interests of taxpayers, or Democrats versus Republicans. This approach is unfortunate as there are many issues on which people coming together can unite in mutual interest. Thus I will support transparency and ethics in town government, and opening up public input to more people around town than just a vocal few, through social media and outreach.”
Michael Abbondandolo, who has attended six of Madison’s seven public schools, and is currently a senior at Southern Connecticut State University, will run for a seat on the Board of Education. Having experienced all levels of Madison’s public education, Abbondandolo will offer a firsthand perspective on matters that come before the Board of Education. And, as a current university student, Abbondandolo has insight into the challenges students face today. Abbondandolo’s candidacy provides the opportunity for important cross-generational insight to help steer the future of Madison’s public schools.
The Shoreline Greens chapter, formed in March, comprises Shoreline towns from Branford to Niantic, and the lower Connecticut River Valley towns of Chester, Deep River, and Essex.
For more information, visit shorelinegreenparty.org.