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[David Bedell]

Margaret Manion in New Canaan News-Review
Date: Tue, 01 Nov 2005 02:57:57 +0000
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New Canaan News-Review
10/27/05

Manion Runs To Keep Greens Alive On The Ballot

By John Mordecai
jmordecai@ bcnnew.com

Margaret Manion is still relatively new to town, but she's wasted no time 
stepping up for the sake of the Green Party in running for First Selectman 
this year.

Manion is candid that her status as new resident in town--she moved here 
from Anchorage, Alaska at the end of 2003--makes her less familiar with many 
of the key issues facing the town this year, and is running if only to make 
sure the Green Party remains on the ballot.

"I'm running primarily for ballot access," she said.  "If someone doesn't 
run from the Green Party, they get knocked off the ballot.  It's important 
to have an alternate voice--it at least keeps the other two parties honest.

"The major parties weren't always major parties either.  I like the idea of 
proportional representation."

Manion, a substitute teacher in the school system, was nominated by local 
Greens on Sept. 13, the day before the filing deadline.  She is the 
assistant state coordinator for Amnesty International.  She was also an area 
coordinator for Amnesty in Alaska.  She holds a law degree from the 
University of San Diego.

As a Green, she has an interest in the environment.

"Irwin Park is a nice, beautiful piece of land, and could be nice as open 
space, or maybe for a dog park," she said.  "My first preference would be to 
have more parkland--it contributes to the quality of life in town."

She thought the idea of some sort of public transport could be of help in 
alleviating downtown congestion.

"I like that the business area is so pedestrian-friendly:  that's very 
valuable," she said.  "But if everyone's going to drive, you need somewhere 
to put them.  As a member of the Green Party, we favor public 
transportation…maybe small vans…but that may not work here for economic and 
geographic reasons."

She said the south of the leaf mulch area seemed like as good a place as is 
possible for locating the school buses, referring to the Waveny deed 
restrictions as "an arcane bit of law."

In relation to the Charter revision and a key issue of the election of the 
Board of Finance, she felt selecting the right people was as important as 
accountability to the public.

"The Green Party usually prefers to have a group with that much power 
answerable to people," she said.  "I wonder if it could be combined--have 
the administration present candidates to the public to vote on."

She is impressed with and proud of the town for its active stance on 
domestic violence--Manion herself was state president of the Alaska chapter 
of the National Organization for Women, and organized a Stop Violence 
Against Women public forum in Stamford last March.

"I'm impressed with the promptness it is addressed with," she said.  "One 
thing I don't think many realize is that it happens at all levels.  It could 
be your neighbor.

"The Outback is also something many communities don't have.  I think that's 
very valuable and I hope it continues."

She embraces the idea of an all-inclusive government.

"If I were elected, I'd like to have input from many in the community," she 
said.  "Republicans seem to be more top-down than the Greens, which are more 
bottom-up."