In contending for a seat on the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) this September 9, Greenwich voters confront not merely a choice of names, but a profound test of temperament and civic intent. Tuesday, September 9 marks an unusual contested primary for the BET, the all-important body tasked with stewarding Greenwich’s half-billion-dollar budget.
In this contest, Joe Kelly stands as a measure against the partisan rancor too often seen in contemporary politics—especially with the party’s endorsement split between rival slates. One slate, endorsed by RTC leadership and local officials like First Selectman Fred Camillo, supports candidates including Kelly who have pledged “more bipartisanship and town unity”. Kelly himself cites a need to “bring back stability” to the BET—lamenting that in the last budget cycle, “they didn’t get along and they didn’t represent our party very well”.
What sets Kelly apart is not his ambition, but his record. As one of the Sentinel’s Award Recipients Kelly was dubbed the “Man Who Shows Up;” recognized not only for leading the Board of Education with universal support, but for galvanizing community projects—from the safe reopening of Cardinal Stadium to fostering girls’ rugby and serving as a volunteer firefighter and mentor. His leadership stance was clear: “People think they have to fight. But if you bring everyone together, your productivity becomes exponentially greater”— a refrain that sounds like a corrective to our fraying civic discourse.
But this hour is not solely about Joe Kelly. It’s about the tenor of local governance. Greenwich is not Washington. Our stakes—roads, sewers, school buildings, parks, snow-plowing—are intimate. They aren’t chess pieces in national culture wars. They are the infrastructure of daily life. As Kelly illustrates, progress emerges when local officials collaborate, not when they posture.
We are a town of neighbors. Our civic energy should flow into repairing our schools and clearing our streets, not stoking partisan fire. Instead of whispers of “outsiders” or coded allegiance claims, we need honest, constructive dialogue. We need this election to be a mandate for less division and more deliberation. A reaffirmation that our government works best when it listens more than it shouts.
As the Sentinel’s coverage reveals, this primary has cleaved the local GOP along lines of unity versus fragmentation. Yet Greenwich can rise above. This year’s primary offers a chance: to prioritize competence over controversy, community over conflict, results over rhetoric.
Let our BET be a board that governs—not one that grandstands. Let September 9 be about more than ballots; let it be about behavior. Guided by the example of public service leaders like Joe Kelly— who show up, stay calm, protect others so they can act—Greenwich can chart a course back to a politics rooted in problem-solving, not polarization.
Our children deserve schools built through cooperation, not confrontation. Our residents deserve roads plowed by teamwork, not tantrums. Let this election begin that quieter, saner chapter. Let civility—and collaboration—triumph.
