Janet Leung Fonss & Jennifer Zonis for Town Council
By Mike Dorfsman
In their campaigns for New Canaan Town Council, Democrats Janet Fonss and Jennifer Zonis bring years of professional experience and a history of volunteering to support various programs backing the schools and civic agencies.
Now, in their words, they want to raise up their commitment to the town. As it is, they start from a high level. Each with long histories in town, they seek to bring their commitment to serving New Canaan in an official capacity, dedicated to using their complementary skills to ensure its schools remain among the best in the state.
Underscoring the need to support the quality of the schools, Fonss said: “Education is the industry of New Canaan. The schools need to be fully supported so they remain among the best in the country.” Zonis is also committed to providing Town Council support for the schools, saying maintaining top-rate schools is “first and foremost” the priority.
Going hand-in-hand with academic success, Fonss points to the need to have strong support in place for students who may need extra help, or are grappling with mental health concerns, having difficulty coping with pressure they may be feeling, the issues which particularly arise in the early teen years.
Finding a workable solution for affordable housing
With their knowledge of the town, they believe affordable housing is linked to being able to attract teachers, police officers, town employees and others who want to work here, but it would be most successful if done in a way that reflects the character of the town, noting that “the one size prescription doesn’t fit all.”
Overall, Fonss and Zonis believe the Town Council serves best when its decisions are made transparently, are derived from civil discussion and are guided by the principal objective of finding solutions that best serve the town, not an agenda. Investing in the town, making sure the roads are well-paved, the parks are attractive and the town is welcoming and attractive aren’t Democratic or Republican issues, they believe.
On affordable housing, they believe the town should be examining various alternatives, investigating ways to implement a plan. “All agree that we need to address affordable housing concerns so we can continue to attract employees who want to serve the town in various ways,” said Zonis, “but we want to devise a plan that has town buy-in.”
Zonis is optimistic the Affordable Housing Committee being formed will present viable solutions to this complex problem that will have consensus within the community. In agreement, Fonss said the issue, with its effect for the town workforce, has economic implications for the town. “We need to address the issue and find a solution that has common ground because it’s important to maintain the town’s economic viability,” she said. Another issue, improving cell service, needs to be based on science and with input from the community so the towers are as unobtrusive as possible. Resurrecting the utility commission, they said, will help guide the town by being able to examine the needs to determine what’s cost efficient, based on science and economic facts. They want to ensure the town is kept apprised “every step of the way.”
Their desire to promote openness in government is linked to wanting to work across lines on behalf of greater New Canaan. As Zonis put it: “It’s important to sit down with people of diverse viewpoints to innovate and solve problems. Traditionally, local politics has been incredibly civil. Our role on the Town Council should be to work hard to support this kind of synergy.”
Echoing that, Fonss said it was distressing to see how issues coming before the town have increasingly taken on a partisan connotation when they never did before. “We need to resolve our issues in a nonpartisan way,” she said. “We’ve shown what we can do when we come together with volunteerism and community support, as demonstrated by our new library.”
Looking back
Fonss has volunteered in the schools, including time as a classroom coordinator, fundraising chair for various school programs, a special events coordinator, a member of the board and as co-president of the West Elementary School Parent Teacher Committee. She is also a board member of the New Canaan Beautification League and the Organization of Chinese Americans in Fairfield County. Professionally, she was in financial services, working for Chase Manhattan, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, having earned a B.S. in Business Management and Marketing from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management.
Likewise, Zonis, raised in New Canaan, has served on the board of Horizons at New Canaan Country School, a program offering underserved children and youth with year-round programs to bolster their academic and achievement progress. In addition, she has been president of New Canaan Interfaith Council for nearly five years and now serves as co-president, and has reviewed grants for the New Canaan Community Foundation. She is vice president of Schools and Scholarships for the Harvard Club of Fairfield Country, where she coordinated outreach, the speaker series and served as the liaison for Harvard admissions in the region. In her career, Zonis was an assistant producer for CBS News before turning to film publicity for a division of the Walt Disney Co. after graduating from Harvard College.
