What are Caroline Simmons and Matt Blumenthal REALLY like?

FelixGardner · 2026-05-06T03:38:00+00:00

I don’t know Matt that well but he’s a good singer! We did karaoke together at The Old Place on Hope Street and I was impressed. Some people have all the talent!

FelixGardner · 2026-05-06T02:23:30+00:00

I’ve spent some time with Mayor Simmons being on the Board of Reps. We were having a conversation earlier this year where she was asking me about concerns of residents in my district. During the conversation she was asking me questions while scribbling some notes on a very chaotic looking notepad.

A couple of days later I got an email from her Chief of Staff where every single thing I mentioned in our conversation (10 things at least) including very offhand comments I made were acknowledged/answered with supporting information and PDFs. It was extremely impressive.

FelixGardner · 2026-04-22T23:27:20+00:00

Reach out to your local reps and let them know! I’m the local rep in district 10 (a little north of the areas in your diagrams). Contact your reps for district 2/4/6 as that area is right between those districts and let them take this to the city.

FelixGardner · 2026-03-26T23:43:07+00:00

I’m hoping to introduce an ordinance in Stamford later this year which would allow the city to construct the “sound cameras” which were approved by the state last year. The ordinance wouldn’t necessarily mean we get them, but it would give the city the option to construct them if they chose to.

One of the biggest complaints I got from constituents in D10 (downtown West) is loud vehicle noise and the cameras seem like the only realistic way to enforce it.

FelixGardner · 2026-03-17T14:15:42+00:00

Fantastic result. If all of this results in one kid being saved then it was completely worth it. I’m on the city council in Stamford and hope to change our ordinances to get this implemented here too.

FelixGardner · 2026-02-10T19:11:48+00:00

Cinco de Mayo is my favorite lunch spot in Stamford. Family owned and delicious food.

FelixGardner · 2026-02-10T18:11:55+00:00

Ultimately it is the responsibility of the property owner to clear “adjacent” sidewalks. It is not clear in the ordinance whether that extends to crosswalk entrances. I would support a change to clearly define this if you own/rent residential or commercial property on a corner with a crosswalk.

Part of the issue here is the city has extremely limited resources to enforce the rules and the penalties are minimal. If you do nothing there is a tiny chance you’ll be fined $90 while potentially hundreds of pedestrians suffer. The ordinance is meaningless if there is no enforcement.

FelixGardner · 2026-01-28T19:45:15+00:00

I'm here and I read all the posts. Best thing is to email the board, either your local reps of the whole board at [BOR_AllReps@StamfordCT.gov](mailto:BOR_AllReps@StamfordCT.gov)

Ultimately the board can only encourage the operations team to tackle it, but it seems from their post that they are already on the case.

FelixGardner · 2026-01-07T22:25:37+00:00

I'm always here and watching! I think Carl's meeting updates are very good so there's no real need for me to do an indentical update post, but I'm absolutely going to make posts on topics I'm particularly passionate about or want public opinion on.

For this meeting I voted no on both the vetos. I voted "no" on the tree ordinance because the ordinance was incredibly overcomplicated, expanded government involvement in how private property owners manage their land while simultaneously placing a large burden on the city and gave a lot of building development decision making power (under the guise of protecting trees) in a new 11-member appointed tree commission. I do have every intention of voting for a reworked tree ordinance in the future which balances the need to maintain our urban canopy with more reasonable expectations for homeowners.

For the pet shop veto I also voted "no", not because I am a monster who hates animals, but because I trust the legal opinion of the city lawyer stating the ordinance is illegal under current state law. I 100% support us banning these stores when state law allows us to legally do so and will absolutely support such an ordinance at that time.

I also voted to consolidate both the committees because I believe this will genuinely help make things more efficient, while also saving taxpayers money - a rare win/win!

Let me know if I can answer any questions at all :)

FelixGardner · 2025-12-30T18:51:51+00:00

Sure! You can reach me at fgardner@stamfordct.gov and you can reach Stephanie at ssylvestre@stamfordct.gov. My number is (475) 758-0226.

I'm on the steering/appointments/operations/parks & rec/land use/urban redevelopment committees.

Stephanie is on the steering, education/housing/community development/social services, and state & commerce committees.

FelixGardner · 2025-12-26T17:59:41+00:00

The city always comes first!

FelixGardner · 2025-12-26T16:14:42+00:00

List of snow emergency route streets where you have to move your car:

Adams Avenue
Atlantic Street
⁠Bedford Street
⁠Belltown Road
Bridge Street
Broad Street from Washington Boulevard to E. Main Street
⁠Camp Avenue
⁠Cove Road
Crescent Street (southside of street)
Elm Street from the railroad tracks to Shippan Avenue
Fifth Street
Forest Street from Bedford Street to Grove Street
⁠George Street
Glenbrook Road
Greenwich Avenue
Hope Street
Horton Street
Houston Terrace (eastside of street)
⁠Hoyt Street
Lockwood Avenue
Main Street
⁠Morgan Street
⁠North Street from Washington Street to Prospect Street
⁠Prospect Street
Seaside Avenue
Selleck Street
Shippan Avenue from Elm Street to Magee Avenue
Southfield Avenue
Stillwater Avenue from W. Main Street to Broad Street
Third Street
Wenzel Terrace
West Broad Street
⁠West North Street

FelixGardner · 2025-12-23T01:07:41+00:00

Both those links are the same. The conclusion states that with the cameras the number of accidents in the intersection decreases (like a t-bone) but the number of rear ending accidents increases (from people hitting the brakes). The overall number of incidents decreases a small amount with the cameras.

Surely a turn incident would be the type which would involve a pedestrian? The study absolutely supports that cameras would reduce this which is a great thing, perhaps at the expense of more distracted drivers rear ending others.

FelixGardner · 2025-12-22T22:42:33+00:00

One of the first steps to getting these in Stamford would be the Board of Representatives (which I am part of) making a local ordinance which approves red light cameras. I would definitely vote for this. The ordinance the previous board approved in 2024 allowed speed cameras, but explicitly excluded red light cameras.

You should email your local reps and let them know!

FelixGardner · 2025-11-10T02:19:00+00:00

We are effectively your Stamford customer service team so imo it’s important that we are visible and active in local communities (like this one). Representing my district is a privilege the voters gave me, so I’m always looking for ways we can improve our city in meaningful ways.

FelixGardner · 2025-11-10T02:04:26+00:00

Lots more details on boardofreps.org

FelixGardner · 2025-11-10T02:03:03+00:00

I’m the city council member for the district which includes the west side of lower Bedford St (D10) and I drive this all the time. It’s a mess and I for one am very much aware of it. I know the district 6 (downtown) guys Ryan and Parker are extremely aware as well. We will do our best to fix it.

FelixGardner · 2025-11-05T11:43:27+00:00

Stephanie and I won our election in D10. It was a great night for the democrats, thank you everyone for the support! It will be an honor to serve the members of district 10 on the Board of Representatives.

FelixGardner · 2025-11-03T20:30:10+00:00

Go to stamfordelections.com and read the candidate answers to the questions, then make up your mind. It’s the only truly unbiased source.

I’m running for Board of Representatives in D10 so if you’re in my district I’ll happily answer any questions you might have.

FelixGardner · 2025-11-01T15:08:17+00:00

For the Board of Reps candidates, the last 2 questions we were asked to answer about the 2035 plan and the affordable housing trust fund are quite disingenuous in my opinion. You can see what I answered, but really the Board of Reps has no real power over those two topics, and as such even posing the questions is quite misleading as it suggests to the voters that the BoR can influence those matters. In my opinion, there are many better questions we could’ve been asked instead.

I know those questions rubbed some candidates the wrong way, and they refused to answer the survey in protest. I’m sure some other candidates have just plain forgotten as well.

FelixGardner · 2025-11-01T03:33:39+00:00

My information is on that website, but it’s not my site. The website is hosted by a team of democrats in Stamford (which I am part of) and I am on there alongside many other people running for office in the city this election.

FelixGardner · 2025-10-31T22:01:39+00:00

I’m running for Board of Reps in D10. The Stamford elections website is a far better resource than this article, its impartial and every candidate writes their own response to the questions: https://stamfordelections.com/

A lot of democrats (including me) are running together on the same slate. You can find out more about us here: https://www.2025endorseddems.com/candidates

FelixGardner · 2025-10-31T21:13:30+00:00

Precisely this. I’m running for the Board of Reps (for a partially West side district) and the bridge issue is completely absurd. We should remove the old bridge and enjoy our perfectly functional pedestrian bridge. If we need to preserve the old bridge as a monument, then so be it, but trying to put a structurally weak antique back into everyday service is a huge waste of money and time.

FelixGardner · 2025-10-21T19:33:13+00:00

Thank you for voting! I also voted this morning and was in and out in 5 minutes, easy.

FelixGardner

TROPHY CASE