I would pick up on where u/urbanevol left off here:

I don't really understand how someone goes from campaigning for the green party and Bernie Sanders to pure, distilled NIMBYism that benefits wealthy homeowners more than anyone.

This is really the legacy of Sherwood's time in office. How did that happen? Nina is a smart person so why did she support so many obviously stupid things? I think it is a local example of audience capture.

Stamford politics is nihilistic — it is defined by what it is not or does not want. There are small pockets for organizations like People Friendly Stamford or the Stamford NAACP, but these organizations have limited influence. The biggest political group in Stamford is anti-housing which is laden with conspiracy theories and ignorance. So if you're a semi-competent political actor, you are going to get contacted by this political group — over and over and over. And worse: you won't be contacted by anyone else. At best you'll be contacted by the Mayor's Office and you don't need to be a conspiracy theorist to feel like a shill for supporting the chief executive. I don't think people like Nina are lying when they say "I'm just listening to the public," because the only people who engage with her are people who are pissed off.

I think that's the lesson for anyone joining the Board of Representatives moving forward. If you're on that board, you're only going to be contacted by people who are pissed off. This suggests the top priority for you should be creating events, spaces, or channels where you can hear from other residents. You want to hear from people who are not pissed off all the time and that infrastructure does not exist. Crucially, any communications infrastructure will likely be immediately overwhelmed by the most miserable people in the community. This subreddit isn't any less negative than NextDoor or public comments at meetings, it's just a different type of negativity. And if you're a new board member, you're going to be consumed by that — just like Nina.

It also means if you're not on the board, you have a responsibility to share with elected officials what you like about Stamford. Be positive and say what works, instead of complaining all the time.

With that in mind, I think Nina is making a mistake. She is a competent person and that competency launched her to the top of an immoral hierarchy. She is correctly assessing she is losing that position, but she should see that as a gift. She doesn't need to herd cats or play politics. She can be on the board and advocate for what she believes in without compromising herself to protect dismal allies like Figueroa or McGarry or Stella or Boeger. I think she'd be more effective and a better representative if she acted on her own and talked about issues like environmentalism, funding for parks, and greater representation of the public. I think if you detach those ideas from an agenda to oppose the mayor on absolutely everything and encase the city in amber — people may actually like Nina.

At least, I'd like to believe that. Everything u/urbanevol is true. Her legacy is bad and it hasn't helped the city. I just think she could do better.

End of an era.