Please Follow us on Gab, Minds, Telegram, Rumble, Gettr, Truth Social, Twitter

Last year we told you all about how the Greenwich Democrats orchestrated an illegal takeover of the Board of Education after calling a sham emergency meeting in which they appointed an imposter, and then they subsequently prevented a legitimately-appointed BOE member from participating in meetings for the last 11 months.

The result was a wasted year of mistrust and accusations of bad faith, and a potentially illegitimate series of Board actions that may not have otherwise been taken.

It was one of the boldest and most daring coups we have ever seen — well at least for the Town of Greenwich, that is.

As a reminder, at the sham emergency meeting, the four Democrats appointed Jen Behette, a small "r" republican, even though none of the remaining Republican BOE members wanted Behette in their caucus. That's because the Republicans understood that Behette – who was vocal in the effort to build a mega-sized and expensive new Central Middle School – was going to vote with and caucus with the Democrats, which proved to be true.

First Selectman Fred Camillo called it "the mother of all power grabs" and filed a lawsuit after receiving a legal letter from the Democrats on the Board.

The Democrats on the Board responded to the news of a lawsuit by accusing Camillo of a "blatant power grab" and "flagrantly" violating the law.

Democrat Selectwoman Janet Stone-McGuigan called the legal action "unprecedented" and "harmful to our schools" and even said that, "no process should be used by one board to intimidate another" -- as if Republicans were just supposed to suck it up, remain silent and accept the results of the Democrat-led coup.

Democrat Town Committee Chair and former BOE Vice-Chair Christina Downey borrowed a favorite term from TDS-addled Senator Chris Murphy when she talked about "upholding norms" before she accused Republicans of "rampant cronyism" and "conflicts of interest" and blamed Camillo for wasting taxpayer money on lawsuits.

When Republican BOE member Wendy Vizzo Walsh objected to the power grab, the Democrat Board members repeatedly, rudely interrupted her and tried to belittle her.

When Greenwich Patriots founder Jackie Homan spoke about the power grab at the November 21, 2024, BOE meeting, she closed her comments by simply asking the Board Democrats, "How long do you plan to keep the charade going – the 11 months it will take for the FOI Commission to respond?"

Turns out the answer to that question was a resounding YES.

The Greenwich Democrats DID keep the charade going for the full 11 months it took the FOI Commission (FOIC) to issue its preliminary ruling, which came on Friday, October 10th -- that's three days after the debate where Democrat BOE candidates Laura Kostin and Bob Chaney wished they could just "move on" when asked about the lawsuit; Chaney even complained that, "there is a lot of good taxpayer money being spent on this lawsuit."

The Bottom Line?

The FOIC wrote that the actions taken by the BOE Democrats at their October 21, 2024, special meeting -- the sham meeting used to install the imposter board member into the open Republican seat left vacant when former BOE Chair Karen Kowalski moved out of town -- "are hereby declared null and void."

FOIC will consider the matter for disposition at its meeting at 2pm on Wednesday, October 22nd.

We Read The Proposed Decision.

The first thing the Democrats did was to move to dismiss the original complaint filed by First Selectman Fred Camillo on October 31, 2024, against Acting BOE Chair Karen Hirsh and BOE members Laura Kostin, Sophie Koven, and Kathleen Stowe for "lack of subject matter jurisdiction."

On February 27, 2025, the hearing officer denied the Democrats' motion to dismiss without prejudice, and notified the parties of his intention to take up arguments on the motion at the contested case hearing scheduled for March 20th.

Here Are The Hearing Officer's Key Findings:

• Sometime between October 17th and October 21st, the Greenwich Board of Selectmen (BOS) published notice of a remote special meeting for October 22nd at 9am for one thing: "Discussion and vote on Board of Education vacancy"; the meeting was ultimately scheduled for 3pm on October 22nd.
• On October 21st at 10:48am, the Democrats filed with the Greenwich Town Clerk public notice of a "remote emergency meeting" to be held just 42 minutes later that same day at 11:30am for the purpose of "filling of a Board vacancy (Policy [Bylaw] 9221)."
• The Town Clerk stamped the notice as "received" at 11:21 am, just 9 minutes before the emergency meeting was scheduled to convene.
• The Democrats did not provide notice of the meeting pursuant to CGS § 1-225(d), which Bylaw 9221 references.
• The Democrat-called October 21st emergency meeting had a quorum with five of seven BOE members present: the four Dems, along with republican Michael-Joseph Mercanti-Anthony.
• During the meeting it was found that Acting Chair Hirsh mentioned the "BOS noticed a special meeting for the following day to fill" the BOE vacancy and insisted that it was the Democrat-led board's "statutory responsibility to fill such vacancy" pursuant to CGS § 10-219.
• At the FOI hearings and in their brief, the Democrats alleged that the BOS was using Camillo's meeting to try to "interfere with" and "usurp" the Democrat-controlled board's "authority to fill a board vacancy in less than 24 hours."
• Camillo argued that the Democrats' reason for convening their October 21st meeting as an "emergency" didn't meet the meaning of CGS § 1-225(d) and that the meeting was illegal under the FOI Act; he further asserted that the BOS had full authority to fill the open BOE seat pursuant to CGS § 7-107.
• Under Connecticut Supreme Court Case Ridgefield v. FOIC, it was determined that an "emergency" must be "unexpected or unforeseen" and "must necessitate immediate action"; however, it was found that the Democrats' "predicament was not unexpected or unforeseen."
• Since Bylaw 9221 references CGS §§ 7-107 and 10-219, the Democrats "should have been aware of the significance of those statutes in relation to their duty to fill Ms. Kowalksi's vacancy."
• Plus, the need to dispense with standard notice of a special meeting was also avoidable had the Democrat-led board chosen to act during the 94 days between Ms. Kowalksi's departure and the special emergency meeting.
• As such, it was found that the meeting wasn't an "emergency" within CGS § 1-225(d).

Now the FOI Commission can provide relief that it "believes appropriate to rectify the denial of any right conferred by the [act]" and that includes declaring any action "null and void" that was "taken at any meeting which a person was denied the right to attend."

It was also found that the Democrats "deprived the public of access to the appointment of an official who ... would otherwise have been elected to serve by the public."

It was further found that the Democrats did not act in good faith to comply with the notice requirements of the FOI Act with respect to the October 21st meeting.

The Commission recognizes that nullification "may call into question the legality of any actions by the respondent board in which Ms. Behette's vote constituted a deciding vote."

Nonetheless the FOIC believes the "proper remedy" would be to "declare null and void the action taken" at the October 21st meeting, aka the "sham emergency meeting" where the Democrats attempted the coup.

So Now What?

The next step in the legal process is the October 22nd FOIC hearing at 2pm in Hartford where the proposed final decision will be voted on.

Upon signing the proposed order, the legal effect would be to invalidate the meeting where the Democrats appointed the imposter board member, Jen Behette, and where they arrogantly rewarded themselves with the positions of Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary in what was essentially a rigged election. That was the same vote where Behette breathtakingly voted to install herself as Vice Chair, and where the Dems removed duly elected Secretary Wendy Vizzo Walsh (R) in favor of Kostin.

Then it's up to the Connecticut Superior Court to rule on the effect of the votes, in particular the votes where Behette may have tipped the scale.

What Would We Like To See Happen?

For starters, all of the BOE democrats should resign, and Kostin should suspend her re-election campaign. After running a sham Board for 11 months, these four Democrats have lost all credibility.

Next, the Democrats should be held financially accountable for the coup, and that includes paying all of the legal costs incurred by all parties as a result of the outrageous plan to install their crony into an open Republican BOE seat. Taxpayers should not be stuck with a single dime of any bill caused by these power-hungry control-seekers.

Then all votes and meeting minutes which may have been directly or indirectly impacted by the power-grab should be reviewed, and appropriate action taken, if warranted.

And last but not least, all of the people directly involved in the coup -- Karen Hirsh, Jen Behette, Laura Kostin, Sophie Koven, Kathleen Stowe and their strategists -- should admit their wrongdoing and publicly apologize to taxpayers, students and their fellow Board members for their outrageous and unlawful behavior.

‘NO AD’ subscription for CDM!  Sign up here and support real investigative journalism and help save the republic!‘