2 GOP candidates exit school board race

Incumbent Karen Kowalski and newcomer Wendy Vizzo Walsh are now the only two Republican candidates running for two spots.

GREENWICH — Just under two months after the Republican Town Committee solidified their candidates for the upcoming election, two Board of Education candidates have dropped out of the race.

Adele Caroll and Rich Niemynski, who were going to be newcomers to the BOE if elected, were among four Republican candidates vying for two Republican seats on the board.

Incumbent Karen Kowalski and newcomer Wendy Vizzo Walsh are now the only two Republican candidates running for two spots. Since both Republicans

and Democrats will have two open spots on the BOE, Walsh and Kowalski are almost guaranteed to be on the board in November, unless there is some unforeseen circumstance.

Both Caroll and Niemynski did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication. The RTC did not confirm the reasons why both candidates have dropped out, but wrote in a comment that they “are extremely grateful for the courage and bravery displayed by both Adele and Richard in their stepping forward to run for the Board of Education.”

The RTC, in a statement, wrote that they are honored continue to support Kowalski and Walsh as their two BOE candidates.

“We are proud to move forward with Karen Kowalski as an incumbent and true champion of parental rights along with Wendy Vizzo Walsh, a generational Greenwich resident and educator,” the RTC wrote in a statement. “They will fight to regain accountability and common sense in our public education system. They will put the welfare of the children first while listening to our parents and remaining cognizant of our Greenwich resident taxpayers.”

The Democratic Town Committee originally endorsed two candidates and both, incumbent Karen Hirsh and newcomer Sophie Koven, are still running for the party’s two open BOE seats.

The League of Women Voters of Greenwich is scheduled to host a BOE candidate debate at 7 p.m. on Oct 12 in the town hall’s meeting room. Laura

Smits, past president of the Connecticut League of Women Voters, and Greenwich High School student Hanna Klingbeil will moderate the debate.

Participants can attend the debate in-person and remotely.

To register and submit questions, visit https://rb.gy/lz2hq

The election is Nov. 7 and all polling locations will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters can vote for their top four candidates, regardless of party affiliations. Two candidates from each party will be elected. Unaffiliated candidates can run for a BOE seat as well.

To learn more about voter registration, visit https://rb.gy/ n9lky.