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Peggy Lyons Ready for Second Term

First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons (D) maintained her office with a convincing win over the Republican challenger Nov. 2 and, in keeping with Madison’s generally civil nature of politics, the board appears set to advance a number of important projects. Lyons said that she is eager to move these projects forward and, with the pandemic era inching towards the new normal, finally address some of the more pressing issues that have been stagnant.

Lyons said she and her campaign workers were confident going into election night, but with the history of recent elections, both national and local, outcomes are becoming more difficult to predict.

“We were certainly pleased with the results,” said Lyons. “You never want to assume anything when it comes to elections, and though I felt confident coming in to the election, you never know, right? So we were happy with how residents voted. Sometimes you just don’t know how engaged voters will be, but it really seems they are engaged now.”

Lyons said that the main issues for her remain the Academy Building/Senior Center project, the plan for the Island school, and how the most recent school renewal plan will be received by residents.

“I think the first thing will be getting these three projects to referendum,” said Lyons. “These have been talked about for a long time, and I just want to shepherd them through the process and ultimately to a referendum this February. That will be the primary focus here over the next two to three months. Making sure everyone has the information they need, that questions are being answered, and that public is aware of what is possible.”

Most of the upcoming Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance, and Board of Education meetings through the end of year will be discussing these projects and Lyons encouraged residents to attend these important meetings to stay informed on their progress.

According to Lyons, there are other issues she is hoping to tackle sooner rather than later as well, including a consensus on retail legal cannabis in town, and how best to use federal funding.

“Ideally I want to move forward with the strategic planning process for the town,” Lyons said. “The Plan for Conservation and Development is also an important one. We’re also eager to push this forward. There are two committees being formed.”

The first committee, the American Rescue Plan Funds Committee, is slated to begin work in December.

“There are still over $4 million of funds available for the town, and we obviously want to prioritize that,” Lyons said.

The other is the Marijuana Advisory Committee.

“That should get launched soon. These committees are important and important for public input,” she said. “[The] Planning & Zoning [Commission] had put in a temporary moratorium on any type of retail sales, but what we’re really trying to do is come up with a broader regulatory framework for the town and that is what the committee will be undertaking.”

Lyons also said that as part of the charter review process, the BOS will look at the possibilities of changing the term of first selectman. There is growing calls for the selectman term to be increased from two to four years, which is the length that many local towns currently have in place.

Lyons said that she does not foresee any issues with the incoming Republican board members. All have known and worked with each other for many years.

Recent disagreements on the BOS between the parties usually center on the process for dealing with issues and projects, and not necessarily the issues themselves. In fact, Republican challenger, Bruce Wilson, who lost the election for first selectman to Lyons but retained his seat on the BOS, is also interested in most of the same issue as Lyons (see “Wilson Ready to Tackle Issues” on page 8).

“Those of us who are professionals and dedicated to public service understand that when the election is over, the election is over and we set disagreements aside and work together,” said Lyons. “We will continue to work together moving forward. I’d like to highlight that this is a very experienced board [BOS], so it though it looks like we’re tackling a lot, we have the respect to manage through that.”