Features

Tooker and Moore plan to improve Westport, listen to residents

Genevieve Frucht ’24, Editor in Chief|November 16, 2021

Jen Tooker and Andrea Moore have recently been elected First and Second Selectwomen and will take office Nov. 16.

Jen Tooker has recently been elected as Westport’s First Selectwomen with Andrea Moore as second Selectwomen. They will be sworn in on Monday Nov. 15 and will take office on Tuesday Nov. 16. Tooker and Moore have many goals to help shine a light on the great opportunities Westport already has to offer, while also improving the community.

The two women have already heard feedback from residents that they would appreciate more communication from the town hall. Tooker and Moore have a few ideas on how they can increase communication.

“We have talked about different ways that we can be better communicators with our residents,” Moore said. “That could involve maybe like a periodic newsletter [or] potentially podcasts about the town in general or on specific topics.”

Throughout the past few years, hundreds of new families have moved into Westport; one of Tooker and Moore’s goals is to make sure that these families feel welcome in the Westport community.

“We want to make sure we’re welcoming those people to town, understanding what their interests are, [and hope] to see they are getting more involved in the town,” Moore said.

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We want to make sure we’re welcoming those people to town, understanding what their interests are, [and hope] to see they are getting more involved in the town.

— Andrea Moore

As green space is important to them, they are working on a plan to better utilize the space Longshore has to offer along with additional locations.

“[We also want to] spend some time looking at all our other parks in town,” Moore said. “And, making sure all our residents know where they are, what you can do in them, not building on them, but just making sure we utilize them because so many people are spending more time outside in our green spaces.”

They recognize that there will be some challenges along the way, one of which is planning and zoning. They believe that they are going to have to work on the state level to deal with this challenge.

“We have challenges from the state around housing and zoning which could be problematic over time.” Moore said. “They have been in the past [and] they’ll continue to be so. We’re going to have to be advocating at the state level to keep control over local zoning decisions.”

Tooker and Moore hope to create a community in Westport where all residents and those who work here feel like their voices are heard. They hope that the community’s wants and needs are considered.

“We believe that our first job,” Moore said, “one of the most important things we can do, is listen to people.”