By Elizabeth Barhydt
Jill Oberlander, a longtime Greenwich civic leader, attorney, and former member of the Board of Selectmen, has formed a campaign committee with the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission to seek the State Senate seat in the 36th District in the 2026 election.
Oberlander filed her candidate committee, Oberlander2026, on Feb. 27, formally entering what is expected to be an open race for the seat. Her decision follows more than a decade of service in Greenwich government, including roles on the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Estimate and Taxation, and the Representative Town Meeting.
Her career in public service has focused on municipal finance, environmental policy, and civic engagement. Oberlander served on the Board of Estimate and Taxation, the town’s finance board responsible for reviewing and approving Greenwich’s municipal budget, where she became the board’s first Democratic chair in recorded history in 2018.
In 2019, she ran for First Selectman and joined the Board of Selectmen as the lone Democrat on the three-member body. The Board of Selectmen oversees many of the town’s executive functions, including municipal operations, contracts, and appointments.
When her two-year term concluded in 2021, Oberlander reflected on more than a decade of service in Greenwich government during her f inal meeting on the board.
“I am supremely grateful for the honor of serving the people of the Town of Greenwich on this board for two years and other elected positions for an additional 10 years,” Oberlander said at the time. “Public service has been my calling both professionally, and like many in this community, as a volunteer. I thank you for your trust in me.”
During her tenure, Oberlander framed her policy priorities around what she described as the “Three E’s”: environment, education, and economy.
“I’ve talked a lot about our success on environmental issues throughout these past two years, and also about how much work remains,” Oberlander said during her final Selectmen meeting in 2021. “These issues need to be a priority this next budget term, and I hope the First Selectman’s budget will include funding to both add a staff person to cover sustainability and energy, which I might add, will pay for itself through cost savings.”
She also emphasized the need for planning to position Greenwich for infrastructure investment.
“We can’t be shovel-ready for infrastructure improvements if we haven’t done the necessary planning work,” she said.
On education, Oberlander called for community support for educators and students during a period marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened public debate over school policy.
“This was not the conversation on education that I expected to have going into this term,” she said in 2021. “The pandemic changed things, and opened my eyes to the needs of our youth and young adults. Namely, to be in school, in-person, learning with their peers and adults who can identify and address social issues.”
She also urged residents to focus on cooperation rather than conflict.
“Knowing that there are different opinions in how to respond to the challenges of a COVID world, I ask that we not get distracted by divisive tactics, name-calling and threats, but rather band together for the good of our children and our community,” Oberlander said.
Economic development was another focus of her work. She advocated for a pedestrian corridor along Greenwich Avenue and supported expanded outdoor dining during the pandemic as a way to support local businesses.
“I advocated for a pedestrian corridor along Greenwich Avenue, and now, we have outdoor dining and more to come,” she said at the time. “There’s a lot of opportunity to do more to revitalize our community.”
Over the course of her service, Oberlander added a fourth theme to the framework she described in 2019.
“A fourth ‘E’ came about over the last two years,” she said in 2021. “We need equitable systems and situational awareness to how we might experience things differently from others. The work on these issues has only just begun.”
Town leaders recognized Oberlander’s contributions when she left the Board of Selectmen. During her final meeting, she was presented with a Certificate of Recognition from the town and a Greenwich flag by First Selectman Fred Camillo.
Camillo thanked her for her work on the board.
“I’ve enjoyed working with you, and certainly you’ve helped push a lot of things forward,” Camillo said. “Even when we didn’t agree, which was often at times, it was actually good because it showed people that this board wasn’t a rubber stamp for anything. I truly appreciate it, and all your counsel the past two years.”
Oberlander’s campaign for the State Senate seat builds on a record of local service that spans more than a decade. Her work in town government placed her at the center of discussions on budgeting, sustainability initiatives, education policy, and economic development in Greenwich.
She is currently working to secure the endorsements of the Democratic Town Committees in Greenwich, New Canaan, and Stamford, the municipalities that make up the 36th Senate District.
The 36th District seat is expected to draw attention in the 2026 election cycle, and Oberlander’s early filing signals the beginning of what will become a closely watched race.
