Third Party Coalition for Westport Endorses Three for P&Z

[Editor's note: The following information was provided in a press release.]

The new party-designated organization, Coalition for Westport, has endorsed three candidates for the Planning & Zoning Commission in this November's election.

The Coalition's Coordinator and Chairman of its Political Action Committee, Michael Nayor, submitted the candidates' nominating petitions to Westport Town Clerk Patty Strauss on Aug. 6. Each petition had almost double the number of signatures required to obtain a position on the ballot. Strauss certified all three petitions and forwarded them to Hartford on Aug. 7.  

The candidates represent an unusual mix of individuals, with different professional and political backgrounds. Candidate David Press is well-known to Westport voters. He served on the Planning and Zoning Commission from 2003 to 2011, and is a former Republican who is now unaffiliated.

Denise Torve, a registered Democrat, has been a resident of Westport for 16 years. She has a long history of management experience and strategic planning consulting for non-profit and charitable institutions. Torve is a principal in Connections, a local public relations and special events company. She was executive director of The Westport Historical Society from 2004 until 2006 and of First Night Westport/Weston from 2001 until 2004.

Glenn Payne, an Australian by birth, has dual citizenship and is a registered Independent. He is a businessman who has lived in Westport since 2004, with a two-year absence in London as CEO of LMS Capital plc. He is currently the CEO of Switch Energy in Norwalk and is an expert in renewable energy.

The candidates have a positive, not static, vision for Westport. They share the desire to foster open discussion, free of partisanship, on new projects and physical improvements that focuses on the future and enhances the Town's appearance, quality of life and value to its residents.

They support a Planning and Zoning Commission that is receptive to new ideas, while retaining the unique character and reputation of the Town, and an administration and planning and zoning that is proactive in creating a master plan for commercial and residential areas so that developers can be guided to work within a framework that is optimum for the Town.

The Coalition will have its own line on the ballot in November and its candidates will participate fully in all League of Women Voter activities and forums.

The Coalition Treasurer is Howard Lathrop.