Anne Santoro Remarks at the Republican Town Committee Caucus

Thank you all for being here and for your vote of endorsement. Like you and so many other residents, I am very concerned about how our Town is being governed by our current First Selectman.

The problem: we are lacking leadership at the top. We need a First Selectman who can make effective and efficient decisions and who has vision. Leadership in this office is absolutely necessary for managing every day operations and taking initiatives to better our Town. Most importantly, the First Selectman’s leadership is essential to navigate significant challenges that arise.

Misdeeds of employees, natural disasters, tragedies—all of these can happen, unfortunately. What matters especially is how the Town, through the Office of the First Selectman, responds to such events and puts us back on a positive path forward. The failure to lead in the matter of our former Police Chief, as one example, continues today, months after his retirement. It’s no wonder that residents have lost confidence in Town government and in our Public Safety departments, and that the Town’s reputation has suffered.

We cannot let this happen to our wonderful Town that should instead be flourishing. Since beginning my service in 2017, I have successfully taken on critical leadership roles many times as a Town official, including as Deputy First Selectman. Importantly, I worked with others of different parties, problem-solved, and got results—a written Town Purchasing Policy; a well-designed Public Safety building; determining the distribution of millions of dollars in federal Covid relief funds; and recommending a detailed short-term rental policy. My past work as a municipal attorney and as an attorney negotiating large scale contracts at the Smithsonian required me to regularly make difficult decisions to keep government operations moving and improving. If elected, I will bring my leadership skills, work ethic, and energy to the Office of the 1st Selectman, and government in East Lyme will not disappoint!

In the weeks ahead, I will share with you the details of my policy priorities and my vision for our Town. I will address public safety challenges, taxes and better budgeting, ensuring excellence in public education, land use concerns, ethics education, as well as greater transparency and public engagement.

It would be an honor and privilege to serve as First Selectman and with our talented Slate of Candidates. The hard work to get there begins now. Campaign 2025 is underway. Let’s provide East Lyme residents with the leadership and government they deserve!