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My history of political involvement is short.
I always hated politics and thought most politicians were liars.
I didn’t vote in 2008 or 2012 because I didn’t like any of the candidates and felt no one represented my concerns. I was registered as an Independent and stopped paying attention to politics long ago.
That changed in 2015.
My neighbor told me Donald Trump was running for President. I thought it was a joke, and expected his candidacy would be a trainwreck.
But Trump quickly won me over. I agreed with nearly everything he said, though maybe only sometimes his delivery. I switched to Republican to vote for Trump in the primary.
I felt excited there was finally a candidate who stood for my principles. Trump represented the “forgotten men and women” in the middle class… of which I have always been a member.
I was invigorated and wanted to get involved in politics, something I formerly loathed. I realized folks like me had to get involved to truly effect change.
I started by volunteering for politicians like Fred Camillo, Ryan Fazio, and Kimberly Fiorello.
I work a full-time job and have 2 kids which is another big job. I still found time to volunteer; planting yard signs, writing postcards, attending Republican events and fundraisers. I even stood outside at the polls with Ryan Fazio’s Dad trying to get people to vote for Ryan.
I did as much as I possibly could to help my party!
Then I got asked to run for the Republican Town Committee, the “RTC”.
A friend invited my husband Rich and me to attend Linda McMcMahon’s Christmas Party. We were thrilled at the opportunity and excited to go. But we got COVID and missed the party.
The next day our friend told me he met a woman named Beth at the party, and she was looking for Republican women to get involved with local politics. He told Beth about me, and we connected.
Beth described the RTC, and said she was seeking good, strong Republican women to run for it. I didn’t even know what the RTC was until that point!
Her pitch was interesting, and I wanted to help the party. The commitment seemed manageable, despite my busy schedule, so I agreed to run.
I showed up to the caucus knowing no one. My husband nominated me. I shared some off-the-cuff comments and explained that I wanted to get involved to help my party and my community and that I had no prior political experience.
Amazingly, I got elected, along with Andrea Blume, Diane Roth, Matt Popp, and John Thompson, all of whom I had not met before.
My first RTC meeting was strange.
The only people I knew (just barely) were my new D4 friends, Fred Camillo, Ryan Fazio, Kim Fiorello, and Beth.
The room was full of friction. I could tell many people were upset about the caucus results, but I didn’t know why.
I was elected to the Executive Committee.
John Thompson became the District Leader, but about a year later, he had to move. All the D4 RTC members elected my husband Rich to fill his shoes.
I liked the RTC leadership, including Beth MacGillivray, Jane Sprung, Joe Montanaro, Gail Lauridsen, and Cheryl Resnick. They were enthusiastic to grow and reinvigorate the party – always brainstorming about branding, communications, and outreach. They renewed our webpage, developed a newsletter, and fired up our social media.
It was an exciting time to be part of the RTC!
I met wonderful people, many of whom have become good friends. These are strong Republicans who advocate for efficient government, responsible stewardship, educational excellence, personal liberty, fairness, and freedom of opportunity.
I was impressed with the RTC’s consistent effort, tremendous work ethic, and the support they provided candidates during elections.
The 2023 election season was fast approaching.
While both working full time, Rich and I each volunteered at least 60 hours, nights and weekends, to help all of the Republican candidates get elected.
We knocked on doors, wrote postcards, manned the phones, planted yard signs, hung huge banners, and campaigned – at the dump, the homecoming game, and numerous other events.
The RTC did an incredible job of getting the Republican BET elected, even though Fred gave the BET no support.
We met lots of great people and even tried to recruit people to get involved.
I mention this because Rich happened to knock on Paul Cappiali’s door. We had no idea he was Fred’s buddy, or that he had been appointed HarborMaster. Rich asked Paul if he was interested in getting involved. Paul said no, he had been previously involved, and was done with politics.
We later learned that Paul was Fred’s social media guy. He had previously served on the RTC but quit after a few months.
I was friends with everyone until this point, including Fred.
I was thrilled, honored, and grateful when Fred texted on September 28, 2022, to invite me to meet Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin at the Cos Cobber!
A small group was invited, including Senator Ryan Fazio. But State Representative Kim Fiorello was excluded and didn’t even know about the event. I later learned it was not an isolated snub.
Fred and I traded texts from time to time. It was always pleasant. I liked him and thought he liked me, too. I shared the pictures I took of him and Ryan at the Youngkin event.
Then came 2023 Election Day.
Rich and I set up our polling station at New Lebanon School, and spent nearly 15 straight hours trying to greet every single voter.
After working hard for Republican votes, we headed to Arch Street Teen Center where Republicans were gathering for what we hoped would be a victory party.
I delivered our D4 results. More results came in and the room was buzzing. The entire top of the Republican ticket won. The Republican BET and BOE slates got the most votes they had ever received.
Everyone felt proud – our hard work paid off!
Republicans are now the minority party in Greenwich, which made this an impressive win.
On a side note…
Republicans have not always been the minority in Greenwich.
Currently, there are 11,523 (29.3%) registered Republicans, 11,839 (30.1%) registered Democrats, and 16,006 (40.6%) Unaffiliated & Other voters.
But in November 2019, there were 12,361 Republicans (33%), 10,400 Democrats (27.7%), and 14,727 Unaffiliated & Other (39.3%).
That’s a significant shift.
Nonetheless, we had a high percentage turnout and soundly beat the Democrats.
We also turned out an additional 1,000 votes for each candidate in the BOE and BET elections than in the 2021 and 2019 elections.
Even Fred Camillo gained over 1,500 votes over the 2019 results.
The fact that Republicans had almost 1,000 fewer registered voters in the party now than in November 2019 but received over 1,000 more votes shows an impressive increase in turnout.
I mention this to counter the lies and attacks on the RTC’s performance, especially in the local mainstream media.
We worked incredibly hard and had great results. The numbers prove it!
Fred changed after the 2023 midterms.
The Republicans won, but Fred wasn’t pleased with the RTC.
He got angry and hostile when the RTC tried to take even the smallest bit of credit for the Republican wins. He refused to acknowledge the RTC’s hard work and contributions and suggested he could have won without us. He even publicly attacked RTC members.
Why did he publicly turn on the people who just helped him get elected?
The January RTC Caucus was up next.
I wasn’t expecting the caucus to be much different from my first and only prior experience, but was I wrong!
Several District 4 RTC members up for re-election wanted a break. They are all good people, so I asked again. Matt agreed to run.
Andrea also agreed to run, but unbeknownst to me, it was because Fred and Ryan asked her to run. Fred and Ryan never spoke to Rich or me about running.
We began door-knocking again.
We found about 30 people who agreed to vote at the caucus. I thought that would be enough support, considering how few showed up last time. I was surprised to learn there was a competing slate in my district, and we would need more support. After all, we worked so hard for the RTC, and everyone seemed to like us.
No one had approached our District Leader, Rich, or me to express interest when we had vacancies. We would have gladly welcomed new people, but no one raised a hand. Now we had competition? Where were these folks when we needed help during the election?
Rich went to the Veterans Building in Glenville to campaign for the RTC caucus. He learned that Fred and Ryan had assembled their own slate, and pushed it to Police, Firefighters, Veterans, Town Hall employees, and more.
I didn’t want to believe our “friends” Fred and Ryan, for whose campaigns we had worked so hard, would do this to Rich and me.
I texted Fred the morning of the caucus about his betrayal.
You can read the full, unedited exchange between Fred and me, typos and all, by clicking here.
For brevity, I’ll summarize.
I confronted Fred with how disappointed and brokenhearted I felt by his betrayal of running a competing slate in conjunction with Ryan and Lauren Rabin.
I expressed my frustration over Lauren, an elected official, seeking the place of a citizen in her district when she already had a voice on the RTC as an ex-officio member. Why would she double-dip like that?
I realized the biggest problem with my party was the in-fighting and backstabbing from folks I had worked hard to support.
“I’m a working-class resident with kids and a full-time job, and I’ve devoted countless volunteer hours for this party. Is this really how we’re going to be treated?” I asked Fred.
Fred responded, and said he had “never been more disgusted than the last few days by the actions of certain members of the RTC leadership…”
He defended Lauren’s desire to take out a regular citizen on the RTC, and “double dip”.
He danced around why he did or did not support various RTC slates.
“I know there’s competition in your district too, but because I truly like you and Rich, and I assume you’re both running, I did not get involved,” wrote Fred who subsequently complained that he didn’t receive the respect he felt he deserved from the RTC leadership.
Fred said that, for the most part, he “stayed on the sidelines” because of his “friendship with other people…”
He also said he was angry that the RTC was “claiming credit for things they didn’t do, spiking the football, spreading, rumors, etc.”
Then he pretended not to know anything about our slate and complained about D2.
Joe and Jill Kelly were running in D2, and Fred had said that “the opposing slate has a good friend on it, but also two of the nastiest people” he’d ever met in town.
Why does Fred smack-talk other Republicans like that? Who was he calling nasty?
Fred later admitted he was in fact working on assembling RTC slates, including “a fusion ticket” in his district. Why did he initially lie to me about that fact?
We had the D4 caucus at Byram FireHouse on January 9th.
Rich and I showed up early to set up everything.
Turn-out was low and I only saw a few people I knew. The weather was terrible, and a number of the folks who had planned on supporting us couldn’t make it for various reasons.
Paul Cappiali arrived carrying a poster with 5 names written on it… the slate running against us which included Andrea Blume.
When the caucus started, someone nominated all of the candidates on the opposing slate at once.
Paul stepped forward and said that he spoke for everyone. He confidently said speeches were not necessary since “everyone knew who they were voting for and had a horse in the race.”
I realized at that moment we had lost.
Andrea got the most votes at 20, while Rich and I received only 9 votes each. Just a few votes short of a win.
Someone at the caucus warned us about Paul’s connections to Fred.
Rich remembered Paul from door-knocking as “the guy who said he was done with politics and didn’t want to get involved.”
We realized Fred was lying to us all along.
Fred must have pushed Paul to run. Later, I learned that Fred and Ryan approached Andrea, but she didn’t know there were two slates. That’s how I knew Fred and Ryan were behind the opposing slate.
I got a weird text from Fred after the RTC caucus.
“Paul told me what you said, and I’m disappointed that you would say something like. You need to explain that comment, because I’m not gonna let it go. It is one thing to be disappointed, but to say what you said to him tonight is outrageous,” said Fred.
I didn’t know what he was talking about, but congratulated him for his slate winning.
I told him that sending a slate to take us out was “shameful” and then called him out for not appreciating any of our work.
Fred stopped responding, so I guess we’re no longer friends.
We launched a primary challenge after Fred stabbed us in the back and lied to our faces.
I was reluctant to do it, but the votes were so close and we enjoyed representing our community on the RTC.
We rolled up our sleeves and decided to give it another shot. What did we have to lose?
We printed flyers and doubled our door-knocking efforts.
Over 110 Republicans said they would vote for us, so we felt good about our prospects.
That’s when I started noticing all of Fred’s mailers.
I had hoped that Fred would stay out of it, especially since he insisted he wasn’t involved in the first place.
It was clear Fred was deeply involved in the RTC primaries.
Fred’s side ran a professional campaign, with frequent text messages, robocalls, and full-color mailings. He used the media to launch unprecedented attacks on regular citizens.
Why was he working so hard to keep us off the RTC?
All we had ever done was work as hard as we could to help Fred, Ryan, and the party.
What made Fred turn on us? Does he treat all of his “friends” like that?
Fred even implied that we weren’t “the real Republicans” and that we were bad for the party.
There was no message of unity coming from Fred. It felt more like Fred had a score to settle. He was even making false, derogatory comments about people he didn’t know. It was bad enough that Fred turned against us, but why lie about us?
Voters asked why Fred wasn’t supporting us, but we didn’t have a good answer because we were wondering the same thing!
All I could conclude was that Fred had a secret agenda or an exit strategy for the next term and that he must have needed “his people” in place to ensure success for his plans.
That’s when the news broke about Fred’s paid Board position at S.E. Minor, a local land use consulting firm.
It’s a suspicious appointment with potentially serious conflicts of interest.
Was this a part of his plan? Is this why he worked diligently to get rid of hardworking, honest republicans like us?
Land use approvals and permits are granted or denied by Town commissions, committees, boards, and agencies. Permits are issued by DPW. Members of these entities get nominated by the Board of Selectmen. DPW falls under the direct supervision of the First Selectman’s office.
My mind was swimming with questions!
The Greenwich Democrats asked similar questions about Fred’s new paid gig but went on to essentially endorse Fred’s RTC slates. Have you ever seen Democrats support Republicans for an RTC election before?
I guess they felt Fred’s slates would be better for the Democrats!
It was the day of the primary.
It was cold, raining and the wind was picking up.
Before I even made it into my office, Rich called to tell me that a huge gust of wind destroyed the tent we set up the previous night. He was alone, so I texted some RTC friends who rushed over and managed to fix the tent.
I arrived around 1:00 pm. Rich thought we were doing well since a lot of the people we met from door-knocking turned out to vote.
Then the Fire Marshall showed up.
Fred’s candidates had a propane heater, and had been getting fuel deliveries throughout the day. Someone (not us) complained about the heater, which prompted the Fire Marshall's visit. He told them to stop using the heater.
Fred sent more robo-text messages. Town employees started showing up to vote, including a few with DPW shirts and a police officer. Were their boss’s frequent texts having influence? Of course Fred would know who showed up to vote and who didn’t. Maybe his employees realized this as well?
Lauren Rabin and Andrea Blume worked the last shift at Fred’s tent.
I respected Andrea’s choice to honor her commitment to Fred and Ryan. We remained friends. She wasn’t knowingly a part of what had taken place at the caucus.
Some of the people on Team Fred donated to Democrats and voted for Biden, which was troubling to me.
Then there’s Steve Warzohoa, whom I believe was responsible for the robo-texts sent in the last few hours by his boss, Linda McMahon. Was Linda aware of Fred’s underhanded tactics? Did she knowingly meddle in our primary? Or was she just helping Steve?
Even though I liked Steve, why did he try to trick Trump voters into voting against huge Trump supporters like Rich and me?
We did well after the votes were tallied, but it was not enough to win.
Fred’s expensive text and social media blitz worked.
He fooled and misled voters. He flat out lied about us. He influenced town employees to support him.
This was exactly the kind of dirty nonsense I hated about politics.
Fred hasn’t communicated with me since the caucus.
I still can’t believe that Fred turned on us after we worked so hard for him, Ryan, and the Party.
I’ll continue to help the Republican Party, but I will never help Fred again. I don’t even consider him a Republican anymore. He’s as slimy and resentful as Dan Quigley.
Fred has fooled many people, but not me.
He has shown himself to be an unappreciative user and an opportunist with a personal agenda.
Why did he get upset when the RTC wanted to take some credit for the hard work they did in the midterms? Why did he refuse to promote the Republican BET? Why didn’t he ever work to unite his party? Why did Fred and Ryan send out competing slates and lie to me about it?
Why did Fred take a position on the Board at S.E. Minor?
Why did he run an expensive and comprehensive campaign against strong, hardworking Republicans to install some of his cronies on the RTC? Who paid for it?
Are there appointments coming up to commissions, committees, boards, and agencies by the Board of Selectmen that Fred is concerned about getting through?
Now that you’ve heard my story, what do you think?
Kristy Niemynski is a soon-to-be former member of the Greenwich RTC and a current elected member of the Greenwich RTM, the town's legislative body.
Kristy and Rich are the most awesome people you'd ever want to know!!!
Thank you 😊
I will never vote for liberal republicans (AKA Democrats) again. I realize this will no longer make Freddie’s dirty back room deals transparent as the Uniparty swaps votes like Crowe for Fazio and Fiorello for Khanna. I will never vote for Camillo, Rabin, Fazio, or 4 names, Kittle or new girl Tina Courpas. I will only vote for principled candidates who represent true conservative values. No more fear (Better than a Dem) votes. Camillo sold out Greenwich and in comes the destruction.
YIKES
That poor girl was treated horrible.
Hard to believe the selectman would channel ungratefulness & “hatefulness” at any of his constituents??!
Especially since he developed a Greenwich task-force against hate crimes…
Aren’t We as a Town suppose to stand united against hate?
She deserves a heartfelt apology.
Thank you. I appreciate your comments
Sorry this happened to you. It’s awful to watch good people be slandered when stepping up to volunteer time to better our community. I suspect Fred has higher aspirations, maybe US Congress, and is attempting to widen his appeal to CT Dems/RINOS/Unaffil. by rejecting the MAGA movement publicly. Could be he has a political operator running his social media/PR, as he doesn’t strike me as someone who talks like that horrible X post. So don’t take it personally, politicians rarely make loyal friends
Thank you
Not all of his targets were Trump supporters.
I didn’t say they were all Trump supporters.
Interesting that is what you decided to comment on after reading my experience
I didn't say that you said that.
My point is that Fred and his surrogates don't really care about maga. They care about power and by going after non-maga people, they demonstrate this.
I actually think they are very anti-maga...but also just want control
RINOs all the way
Uniparty, Bipartisan, Uni Slates are 1GOV and censorship, just like Freddy’s & WEF Scott Kalb’s Antihate task force? It isn’t good to have one disingenuous party working in lock step with the state/federal government, resistant to the thoughts, needs and ideas of a diverse body of people. It isn’t American nor Constitutional! Bless this pair trying to do their patriotic duty in a communist state/town. Pray for all hard working Americans trying to free themselves from elitist tyranny.
I get Kristy’s frustration — she and I now have several shared experiences. When asked to pitch in, Rich and Kristy always, smilingly, took time from their busy lives to participate. Kristy, please don’t lose your spark and enthusiasm. There is always more to do in the service of good. You can count on my support! A message to all humans: Lying and betraying those who trust you is indefensible.
Thank you, Gail! I still enjoyed my time helping in the RTC and I’m grateful for all the wonderful people I met and new friends I made (like you). I will absolutely still help the Party.
The point of elected officials of our party is to further the party line and interests. Mandates, immigration, election integrity and fraud, nonsense in schools, 1st and 2nd amendment defense. What have our elected officials done on these key issues?
WHY are they not speaking out or acting on these core issues? Direct the fight at the omnipotent Democrats occupying every federal and state office of significance.
Explain to me why our GOP town and state officials are silent?
Bless you Kristy!
Thank you…and I agree
Fred’s paid seat on the SE Minor Board of Directors says it all. IT’S ALL ABOUT FRED!
Thank you Kristy for all your effort. I know you won’t give up the fight.
Thank you
What in the world happened to Fred? Has he lost his mind? Has someone dangled a fat retirement bankroll in front of him? What else would cause him to act in such a despicable way? It is definitely the deep state way. And RYAN? I AM DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED IN OUR GOLDEN BOY! I really worry this will taint the 2024 election in Greenwich. Will Republicans stay home because a Republican vote now will have no meaning?
Thankyou, Ms. Niemynski, for having courage and to tell the truth. More people in Greenwich should follow ur lead and stop the corruption. Why do we have so many NY cars at drop off at Western? Can somebody tell me?
bc so many illegals live in Port Chester. They are told about the "homeless" (can live in temporary housing or with relatives and be considered homeless) law that they can register their kids in any school district even when they don't live in that town. They don't need to show any documents including vaccines or residency. That's the reason democrats in Greenwich push for larger schools. WMS is rapidly declining. I'm not sure how many people know that the new principal already quit there.
Typical RINO story. We live in a state with a super majority controlled by democrats with an agenda. It’s obvious politics has overtaken practicality and what works for the people. This story could be conflated with the Stamford democrats because what happened in Greenwich is right out of the Stamford democrat playbook. Riding coattails of dems is the new ride to a political win for self interested republicans. Keep speaking the truth. This letter should open up eyes.
Loved your comment
“Riding the coattails of Dems is the new ride to a political win for self interested republicans.”
….or keeping quiet while the Dems pummel us w bad policy
Beth and the RTC you led - thank you for being principled & representing true conservative values. I can only imagine how petty and difficult Camillo made your 2 yrs. Thank you RTC for having the courage to stand up to Greenwich Country Day who was discriminating against whites. We are a mixed family and our children who look like me were invited to the affinity lunch pizza parties but not our children who look like their white dad. Thank you for giving those too afraid to speak up a voice!
Even worse, a majority controlled by 75% radical liberals with a bat 💩 crazy agenda. It’s a 🤡 world.
Thanks Kristy for telling your story, I’d like to do something similar with my own experiences but am a busy dad of two and work full time, so my piece isn’t quite ready, you raise a lot of questions that I hope we can answer by draining the swamp here in Greenwich. Stay strong, you are a true patriot. Greenwich is blessed to have you involved.
Thank you