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Letter To the Editor: A Real Leader Shows You Exactly Who They Are

September 15, 2025
–
Barbara Smyth, Democratic candidate for mayor

Much has been said about me as a leader and as a person after one of my campaign flyers was mailed to Democratic households last week. My opponent seems to think it was a negative campaign tactic, but in fact, the graphic on the mailer was meant to remind Norwalk residents of his longstanding and well-known support of Donald Trump, the most divisive, hate-inciting president our country has ever seen.

Vinny wants us to think that national politics have nothing to do with Norwalk, but we know better. 

Federal ICE raids trample Fourth Amendment rights to due process that apply to all Norwalk community members. In terrorizing some of our friends and neighbors, these ICE raids make our entire community less safe by making our immigrant neighbors reluctant to report actual crime.

The President has overridden Congress to enact federal cuts to funding for public education and social services that help our children, the elderly, and vulnerable citizens. Norwalk residents are losing Medicaid and SNAP benefits, access to immunizations that save lives, the arts, and cuts to green infrastructure that we need to fight the effects of climate change and leave a planet to future generations.

This is not just some abstract political stance. These are real attacks on real people right here in Norwalk.

Norwalk needs a leader who has the courage to fight for them.  I have publicly stated on many occasions that I will stand up to Donald Trump and fight for our students and teachers, our police officers and firefighters, our working class, our vulnerable residents, and immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities.  I will work to balance the different needs of our diverse community, no matter what your cultural, religious, racial, or economic background, and make Norwalk safe for everyone.

Vinny is a nice guy, and I respect that he is a successful businessman. But he is not being forthright with Norwalk voters. In attacking me for what he calls negative campaigning, he is trying to distract us from his open support for Donald Trump. I have personally seen the shocking posts he has scrubbed from his social media and the campaign contributions he has made to WINRED and other MAGA PACs. His own customers have reported seeing a display honoring Trump in his business office that he has since removed. 

Rather than assaulting my character, I would encourage Vinny to just be honest with Norwalk voters. Can he publicly disavow his support of Donald Trump and assure Norwalk residents he will do everything in his power to keep them safe? So far, the answer seems like No.

This year’s mayoral race is not just about national politics, but national politics have a huge impact on our lives in Norwalk. I’m just asking Vinny to be honest with the people of Norwalk. You can tell a lot about someone by the company they keep…

Here’s my honest promise to the people: I am not afraid to fight against Donald Trump’s authoritarianism, and I stand committed to fighting for the safety and future of Norwalk.

Barbara Smyth, Democratic candidate for mayor

Editor’s note: NancyOnNorwalk accepts candidate op-eds and statements for publication as part of our commitment to informing voters. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of NancyOnNorwalk. Candidate submissions are published as received, aside from minor edits for style and clarity.

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23 responses to “Letter To the Editor: A Real Leader Shows You Exactly Who They Are”

  1. Bryan Meek

    Property taxes are going up 40%. Your trash collection too, if you are lucky enough to get it still.

    Your car will need $1000s in suspension work if you drive on East Avenue with broken traffic lights that just cost millions to install. 8 more years before it’s finished. 5x longer than the whole length of I95 took to build is the current forecast

    Bone crushing traffic with 10000s of apartments added with infrastructure as an afterthought. It can take you 45 minutes to drive from Cranbury park to Bailey beach now.

    Brown tap water routinely due to an aging, crumbling water system designed for 30000 fewer apartments. The foulest the treatment plant has ever smelled as a bonus. Beaches routinely closed for swimming if you can find a place to park amongst the out of town residents we sell out to.

    Giving away our waterfront for developer profits while ignoring flood prone streets.

    A mall that should have had a conference center as originally designed that is seeing another store shut down every month.. worth half what it cost to build just 7 years ago.

    A collapsing commercial office market even with many companies demanding return to full time work.

    A city hall that five years later still has empty offices from people pretending to work at home. Remember the assessor who was valuating our real estate from his house in Vermont? The one who spent our money on a system that doesn’t work from a company that donated to the mayor? We still have no idea how many more of the 300 lawsuits brought against that botched reval cost us. Add that to the list of things we have zero transparency on.

    The new Norwalk high we didn’t need and can’t afford is running $10s of millions over budget. We had budgeted $4 million for new tennis courts and press box to replace the brand new ones we just bulldozed so we can pay to bulldoze the old building after the new building opens some year. It won’t have furniture because we had to take that money to help pay for the cost overruns they are hiding. See the July land use committee meeting minutes for more details. The single largest project ever in the city’s history and 18 months later we still do not have a simple report telling us how much has been spent to date, how much is left to spend, what % completion is, and how much we’ve been reimbursed. They call this being transparent.

    Dozens of teachers while we spent $1.4 million on a skate park.

    I could go on. But all of this happened under the supervision of some telling you they will fix it.

    Whoever it is, our next mayor will be jumping into a big hole dug by some of the very people, who right here, not Washington DC, ….the very people right here who helped to dig it.

    1. Liz Conti

      Well said Bryan. Barbara distracts with “national” issues to turn attention away from her weak platform and obvious bias in seeking to represent all of Norwalk.

      Vinnie is the common sense candidate who wants to focus on local issues that are of concern to all Norwalkers. He is the only viable choice in this race. The fact that Barbara wants to turn the focus on national in her piece here shows how weak she is on issues. She seems to be running for president, not mayor!

    2. Carl Dickens

      Well said, Bryan, and I agree. My question to the Democratic candidate is this: What job are you running for, and who are you running against? You’re going to stand up to Donald Trump, really, on what issues? You have been on council and even served as President, yet look at the mess this town is in. The roads are overcrowded and overbuilt, with crumbling infrastructure. Just buy a new car, and within less than 6 months of driving on these so-called streets, it starts rattling and shaking. We’ve even had to spend over $300 on a new tire. What headlines will you create about fixing Norwalk and making it like the city I chose to move into 24 years ago? Be the Mayor of Noralk. Be a good Mayor if you win. I hope the voters wake up this time around. Republicans can make a real change and tangible difference in this town. My plea is to the undeclared voters, urging them to make a change and vote Republican for all the seats the Democrats are trying to win.

  2. Bryan Meek

    I meant to say dozens of teachers were fired but we had $1.4 million for a skate park. Different decision areas for sure, but kind of sums up our current governance nicely.

  3. Jordon Hensley

    Well said, Barbara! I am proud to support your candidacy! I passed Vinny on the street the other day and he is absolutely still sporting a Trump sticker on his car. Any attempt to disavow his support the Trump should fall on deaf ears.

    I am an independent but I cannot support anyone who supports the divisiveness that Donald Trump has brought to our cherished institutions.

  4. David Muccigrosso

    1. What’s your stance on pushing for reforms to state law so that Norwalk may be allowed to adopt positive-sum, progressive changes to our voting and elections, such as Ranked Choice Voting and Multi-Member Districts?

    2. What’s your stance on the superiority of RCV and MMD relative to Minority Party Representation, which would merely only serve as Affirmative Action For Norwalk’s Republicans? (Ironic for the party that supposedly hates AA!)

    3. What’s your stance on putting a crosswalk on Water Street in front of the Grit Ninja to help avert the inevitable tragedy of some child getting hit by the speeding Saturday morning traffic? Moreover, what can we do to make our streets more walkable and friendly to businesses without having to wait for interminable traffic studies or red tape?

    4. What’s your stance on forcing the East Ave Dunkin to relocate so that we can eliminate the absurdity of having the entire morning breakfast rush taking a left-in-left-out during rush hour? Why was this location ever allowed in the first place? Do you think that the excessive number of curb cuts on East Ave contributes to its infamous traffic issues, and if so, do you think that reducing these absurdities would starve anti-growth organizations like ENNA of the anger over traffic that they thrive on?

    1. Adam Blank

      David – with respect to #3 – As part of the approval of 108 Water Street development the City ordered the developer to put in a midblock crosswalk at Grit Ninja.

      1. David Muccigrosso

        That’s good to hear from a human perspective, because of the sheer threat to human life.

        But this whole tradition of forcing developers to do XYZ is INSANE and should be stopped. Why didn’t the City do it in the first place?! Why has it taken several years? If it’s worth doing now, WHY WAIT?!?

        Moreover, it’s a hidden tax on developers. Sure, there’s always going to be SOME amount of “cost of doing business”. But it’s just fundamentally insane to always be outsourcing a core government function — building, maintaining, and making safe our fundamental street infrastructure — to developers just because we have a bunch of angry NIMBYs who want their pound of flesh.

  5. David Muccigrosso

    Also, what do you think about the Abundance agenda? How do you think Norwalk can play its part in building Abundance for America?

  6. John O’Neill

    A couple of thoughts as I think about this note:
    On one hand Barbara says Vinny is a nice guy…But, then she calls him a liar…?? Interesting.
    Yes, National politics is a piece of any election. BUT, so are local issues…Minor things, like
    our taxes. Ms. Smyth hasn’t been a protector of the taxpayer while serving on the Common Council.
    The Democratic Playbook of distracting local voters with Trump, Trump & more Trump is getting a little old.
    And yes, while okay in politics these days your ad was of questionable taste. It seems like that came right out
    of a long time State Senator’s material. Which makes one wonder who actually is running for Mayor this year?

  7. Drew Todd

    Funny, how you read and post right from the Duff & DNC talking points. And it really shouldn’t shock anyone because that’s exactly what your entire campaign is about. But hey you and a lot others in this City do take their orders from the puppet master himself Duff and you are defiantly no different. Bryan Meek is 100% correct in his post. And you have ZERO defense which isn’t surprising. And YES Vinny is a great guy, business owner and someone for the last numbers of years has been involved in Norwalk and most recently was at EVERY School Budget Meeting and Spoke up!! Where were you?!!? The Superintendent uses the BOE Budget as her own piggy bank and you have sat quietly and done???? Or are you still taking your order from the NFT which is part of the UFT and supports HATE & Anti Semitism. And what about condemning the Pro Palestine rally on the Green on Sunday and these HATE signs that have popped up. How many apartments did you or will you approve before your time on the CC is up?!?! Please explain why the residents CAN’T get an Extra mandated garbage can first without approval and a fee of $300!!!!! And in the meantime what am I and many others supposed to do with the new cans we purchased to the tune of around $80 just a little over 2 years ago? Will the see be deducting that from the $300?
    I know you’re a nice person and have served the City for a very long time but qualified to be its next Mayor..Yeah Not! It’s time for new leadership and direction and someone that has the best interests in the city at heart. We don’t need tha National Rhetoric or Opinions…We need LEADERSHIP and that is why. Norwalk will be electing Vinny as their next Mayor!

  8. Alan Kibbe

    I think Norwalk residents would like to hear what Ms. Smyth will do to improve our lives in our community now and lay a foundation for the future. She is not running for National or State office, so it is not clear to me how or why she intends to take on the President of the United States, rather than addressing head-on the myriad problems that confront our Community. The solutions we need aren’t in Washington or Hartford. They are right here.

    1. Liz Conti

      Spot on!

  9. Lewis Pennell

    The writer appears to be trying to inject national politics into our local Norwalk election. I can only assume this is a diversion from talking about Norwalk. Are we the voters satisfied with the direction our city is going? Or, are we mot. What direction would we like to it heading. Those are the issues the candidates should focus on. Speaker Tip O’Neal once said “all politics are local”. He was correct. So I suggest the candidates stop the diversions and smearing tactics. Lets hear from them about Norwalk’s future.

  10. Priscilla Feral

    Barbara Smyth is superb, entirely capable to be Mayor, and the minute she speaks about anything relevant to our city and politics, anyone with open ears and clean hands catches on. Integrity defines Barbara Smyth. She’ll fight for us and our great city of Norwalk.

  11. Liz Conti

    Is Barbara running for President or Mayor? Seems her focus on national political rhetoric is a distraction from the common sense representation Norwalk needs to represent all residents of Norwalk. Vinnie Scicchitano has expressed on every occasion a clear message that he is the change candidate, the common sense candidate that seeks to represent all residents of Norwalk.

    It is pretty clear where he stands, not so much where Barbara stands!

  12. Liz Conti

    Spot on!

  13. Mike Mushak

    Barbara is absolutely right, and she will be an excellent mayor as she has proven herself to be responsible, effective, and equitable towards ALL Norwalkers in her many years of experience as a teacher and as an elected official.

    MAGA Vinny is a talented auto mechanic that has never sat on any city board or commission and has zero experience in government. Yet he now wants the whole enchilada as mayor without paying his dues or proving himself with a voting record voters could examine. That sounds just like entitlement. No thanks.

    And MAGA Vinny continues to refuse to talk about what parts of the Trump agenda he supports, and what parts he doesn’t support (if any), with detailed reasons why. We know where Barbara stands, which has always been for the people, and not for the corrupt fascist tyrant who 90% of Republicans approve of. Trump really could shoot someone on 5th Ave and his cult would still support him, just as he said.

    For just one example, the Republican Party’s Big Ugly Bill cut trillions from Medicaid and ACA healthcare to pay for tax cuts to billionaires. You won’t see that on Fox, which means Vinny probably doesn’t even know this. The Medicaid cuts kick in after the midterms because the corrupt Republicans figured their MAGA supporters are either too stupid to notice or they wouldn’t care how expensive everything is as long as they keep the visceral and dangerous hatred of the culture wars going. Vinny has a long record of posting this MAGA culture war garbage, a record he now wants to run away from.

    To be clear, these drastic Medicaid cuts against seniors, the disabled, and children happened after Trump promised he wouldn’t touch Medicaid during the campaign last year, when he also promised to bring down grocery prices (he hasn’t), and he promised he was going to end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine within 24 hours, which he hasn’t . In fact he’s made those wars worse, and his stupid tariffs have increased inflation and prices on almost everything. Thanks for nothing. Just wait until preventable diseases start sickening and killing millions of Americans because of Trump’s deadly backwards vaccine policies. Yet this is Vinny’s hero! I hope Vinny doesn’t know anyone on Medicaid (or who shops for groceries for that matter), as he’ll have some explaining to do.

    Unbelievable, but there it is as proof of how devious Republicans are. Don’t look at their morally corrupt party, just look at those potholes from the billion-dollar Walk Bridge project! “Dont worry, Vinny will help us stop the Walk Bridge project! Who needs safe trains and bridges and a rebuilt East Avenue anyway? Vinny will save us from all this!”

    It sounds absurd but that’s basically the message coming from Vinny, jumping on every grievance and promising to fix it despite his zero experience in government. Right. Like his support of saving the obsolete high-speed deathtrap on Cemetery Street, throwing the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and car occupants under the bus in order to appease a few loud reactionaries in the neighborhood who don’t want any change at all no matter how sensible or safer it is.

    Vinny took his shocking position on Cemetery Street without even talking to the professional engineers who are redesigning that area to be safer with lower speeds and increased crosswalks, sidewalks, and bike lanes while keeping the volume flowing freely but at slower speeds. Leadership is about improving public safety and saving lives, not saving the ability to drive on 1950’s freeway-style high speed curves through a neighborhood of churches, senior housing, and daycare centers, with no crosswalks. That’s not leadership, that’s just dangerous reactionary nonsense!

    Barbara Smyth has proven her leadership skills through her experience, her character, and her integrity. Vote for Barbara and Democrats, who will help protect all of us from this national MAGA nightmare that Vinny supports.

  14. John O’Neill

    Thank you for the insight Mike — Your points are never dull !
    The one minor issue I have with your comment is bringing up Vinny as a “talented mechanic”. While, I’m
    sure that was a well meaning comment, it strikes as condescending. One of the issues the many Americans
    have had over the past 10 years or so is being talked down to by those from the political class. While not all of
    us are sophisticated about the inner workings of gov’t, the majority of both Dems and Republicans are not stupid,
    as is suggested above. I just read Romney Donald’s note on Darlene Young’s candidacy. I think she hit the right balance
    and we can all learn from that.

    1. David Muccigrosso

      John, I disagree with one of your statements.

      The majority of *people* are stupid, including both parties, and that’s why we have a representative republic (albeit one that’s abominably bad at actual representation, but that’s another story).

      What we have today is a Lake Wobegon/Dunning-Kruger problem, where a lot of stupid people are too stupid to understand that they are NOT above average intelligence.

      1. John O’Neill

        David: That’s pretty good….I’ve never heard of that before but that will definitely go into the file…

  15. David Tattersall

    It’s not “nationalizing” the race, though, is it? Claiming so is just distracting. It’s about a candidate’s personal judgement which is something they will carry with them every day they are mayor.

    For me, at least, denouncing the Trump administration is the absolute bare minimum hurdle that every mayoral candidate should be able to jump through easily. It’s such a low bar, it’s barely off the ground. If any candidate doesn’t want to jump it, I would ask why.

  16. Liz Conti

    See facebook response on Barbara’s opinion piece from Vinny for the people. This should be published on its own.

    https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=775029948846166&set=pcb.775030102179484

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