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More than 100 voters at the Wilton Library on Tuesday night wanted to hear the candidates for the 143rd House District in the General Assembly, Democrat incumbent Peggy Reeves and Republican challenger Gail Lavielle, address the issue of working with the other party.
Reeves said she worked with members of both parties in her first term in the state House, voting for what she thought was best for her constituents, pointing to her vote against the Democratic-supported state budget that called for about $1 billion in borrowing. She also said the two parties work together better than people may think.
"There are no Republican ideas or Democrat ideas, there are just good ideas," Reeves said, assuring her constituents that she would continue to reach across the aisle.
Lavielle, who is on Wilton's Board of Finance and Energy Commission, among other positions, said she had not had an opportunity to vote on such issues. But she said she would do what is best for the people of the 143rd House District, which serves Wilton and Norwalk. She said voters want to see action and not just talk from their representatives.
"I would have no problem standing against my party because the constituents are more important," Lavielle said of bipartisan politics.
The forum used a question-and-answer format, not a debate. Moderator Catharine Kempson, president of the Wilton League of Women Voters, had each candidate give their views on issues attendees submitted before the session without responding to what the opponent said. The League of Women Voters, the Wilton Library and the Wilton Chamber of Commerce sponsored the forum.
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