MADISON

After a resounding victory for Democrats in November’s election, First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons said she is excited to propel several long-planned projects and initiate several more.

In achieving a third term, First Selectwoman Lyons will be the first to serve a four-year term. This is because in November 2022, voters approved a revision to the town charter, changing the term of selectmen from two to four years starting with the 2023 election.

Several aspects of the recent election highlight a shift in town politics that has been emerging for several cycles, including Lyon’s margin of victory, which was the largest by a first selectperson in 20 years. Lyons defeated Republican challenger Jennifer Gordon on Nov. 7, receiving 59.22% of the total ballots cast in her 3,453 to 2,378 victory. The recent election also saw Democrats win majorities on all three major boards in town: Board of Selectmen (BOS), Board of Finance (BOF), and Board of Education (BOE).

Also of note, according to town registration records, there are now approximately 1,000 more registered Democrats in Madison than Republicans, which is a complete turnaround from the demographics since 2007, which saw Republicans with that same 1,000 majority.

Lyons speculated on several reasons for Madison’s gradual shift to the left.

“The town has simply changed, but I don’t think I can point to one specific thing. Overall, more and more people have gravitated to the Democratic party here. I think people want to see a more active government that is doing things,” Lyons said.

“Historically, Madison had been much more of a sleepy town, a kind of stay-off-the-radar town, small government attitude. But then, I think we saw that by doing some of that, there was no investment in certain things. We weren’t sustaining things. I think we have more of the population that is wanting to see a little bit more of an active government. Also, we are a coastal community, and we are seeing the impacts of climate change, and so people are trying to be more forward-thinking, and I think that has added to the change,” said Lyons. “We have also seen turnover, generational turnover, in town with newer people moving in from areas like Fairfield County and the New York area that might tend to lean more Democratic.”

According to Lyons, the margin of victory makes it clear that Madison residents are satisfied with town government and want to see a more proactive style from their elected officials.

“I think this really was a historic win for Democrats. It’s certainly the first time in recent history that the Democrats won the majority on all three boards in town,” she said. “I think it demonstrates that people want to continue to see progress. In my view, there was a very strong message from the public that they are pleased with the direction that the town is going and happy to see projects getting completed and were understanding of how we were handling the budgets. By having the majority turned over to the Democrats on the Board of Finance as well, the people were comfortable that we are spending our money wisely and that we are managing our budgets wisely. I think they like to see progress.”

According to Lyons, part of the progress has been in the number of projects completed or underway in town. She expects construction to begin in early 2024 for several projects, including the new community center. She said the new elementary school construction project will be going out to bid next year as well.

“Getting these projects across the finish line is important. There is going to be a lot of construction activity going on in Madison over two to three years,” Lyons said. “Obviously, these projects take time to plan… there’s a design process and an approval process, so I am encouraged about that.”

Lyons said that in addition to major construction projects, there is a plan in place for improvements to several areas adjacent to the Surf Club, including a redesign of the Garvin Point seawall and improvements to the Exchange and Nelson ball fields.

“We will also see construction on Garvin Point next year, which is exciting. That will have a big impact on the community. We were just awarded a contract for the Exchange field project, which is a redo of that field, and a lighting project there funded by ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act],” she said. “I want to keep shepherding these and making sure that we are doing it in a prudent way and doing the best that we can to stay within budgets. We live in a different world now as opposed to when some of these projects were approved, and the estimates were put together, so we need to address that. I know all the teams that use those fields are very excited. It’s been needed for a long time, and everybody is happy to see it happen.”

The Garvin Point projects will head to a public hearing in January. Lyons said she expects updates on the community center and the new school will also become available at the start of the new year.