Last Updated on August 26, 2026 by Matthew Hallock
For the third time in two months, the multitude turned out to express their disapproval of Fairfield’s governance: twice over the new speed camera program and also over the just-minted “election security” laws. These limit local police to 250’ from the polls on Election Day, among other unexplainable provisions, creating what law enforcement called “an unbelievable risk to public safety” at the Police Commissioner’s meeting a few weeks ago. At both the Town Hall last month and most=recent RTM meeting, the white-hot topic of speed cameras was on everyone’s lips. Half of the room was occupied by about half of the 40 elected officials who bothered to attend in person as part of the town’s legislative body. The other half of the room was the better half: the rest of Fairfield. It was an SRO night, filled with a surprise motion to pause the whole thing to sort it out; hours of turns at the microphone for an unrivaled surfacing of the issues; and suddenly, defeat.
Speaking were residents from all ages, ethnicities & nationalities; occupations, from doctors to a stand-up comedian; public servants and elected officials, including current village elders and former RTM members; soccer moms, business owners, senior safety & security professionals, and more, as individual as the human species. They spoke eloquently, personally & passionately. The spontaneous applause for speakers against the program was the common thread. And while the energy overwhelmingly favored pausing or even abandoning the speed cameras, about 1 in 7 people spoke in favor of them: They make me drive more slowly; My busy street road feels safer; They save lives, etc.
The end recalled the famous fight scene in Star Trek, when the giant lizard tells Kirk, “I shall be merciful and quick” in dispatching him. In the episode, Kirk makes a one-shot bazooka and kills him. Here, nobody present could fashion a weapon in time to defeat the opposition, which is the distant Democratic machine and CT Department of Transportation. DOT, sitting on an incomprehensible $16.7-billion construction budget, is pulling the strings. It has sought to profit by rolling out this national program into CT’s 169 towns with a false advertising campaign (paid to an upstate ad agency at public expense) and sketchy contracts, like this one.
The amendment to Pause was defeated as quickly as 29 RTM reps could say No. No. No. No. No. – the only contribution during the night from most of them. About half of the elected reps attended remotely; and the moderator even had to implore some to turn their webcams on when voting. This is Fairfield’s legislative body. Their apathy and 29-9 party-line vote said This is all predetermined before the meeting starts.
The net net is that the RTM is forming a committee to review everything. This means they’ll take it behind closed doors and wait till the timing is right, like when they are not defying Gov. Lamont’s call for a pause. Then, push it forward. The alternative is to operate transparently.
Despite this legislative setback, the passionate pushback highlighted a stark divide between the officials’ actions and the community’s clear demand for change. Few if any of the dozens of people that spoke identified as Democrats or Republicans. Party Central made it a Dem vs GOP thing. And while CT’s Super Majority party (2:1 dominance) won the day, they cannot control the tide. From the turnout and volume at the RTM, Police Commission meeting and last month’s Town Hall, it is clear that there is a groundswell in Fairfield that is not going to take No for an answer.
