LYME/OLD LYME — In keeping with our now 16-year tradition and in the interests of increasing voter knowledge prior to next week’s important election, we posed three questions in writing to the candidates for the Region 18 Board of Education as follows:
- What are the three major issues in Lyme-Old Lyme Schools that you are currently aware of, which require resolution during your potential term of office? Please list and explain each one briefly in order of importance.
- Regarding Question 1, explain more about your choice of the issue of most importance and how you think it should be resolved.
- What do you see as the main relevant skills and character attributes that you will bring to the position if elected?
We gave a 250-word limit for the response to each question to which each candidate strictly adhered: we are most appreciative of that.
Three of the board of education incumbents representing Old Lyme — the current chair Michelle ‘Mimi’ Roche, Erick Cushman and Stacey Winchell — are not seeking re-election. There are six candidates running for these three open Old Lyme seats.
Mary Powell-St. Louis, who is a board of education incumbent representing Lyme, is running uncontested in that town. We are especially pleased that she chose to respond to our questions since she has no opponent.
We are delighted that all the candidates except one responded to our questions in a timely manner. We understand why Lorianne Panzara-Griswold did not respond to our questions, but as a gesture of our care and concern for her situation, we are publishing a Letter to the Editor written to LymeLine.com by her recently.
We sincerely thank the candidates who responded and are pleased to publish their responses today accompanied by their respective biographies and photos.
Click on the links below to read each candidate’s responses:
Candidates running for Old Lyme seats, none of whom is an incumbent
Lorianne Panzara Griswold (D):
Candidate running for Lyme seat (incumbent)
We should also state that, again in keeping with our long-held tradition, we will not be making any candidate endorsements.