Sunday Afternoon Talks
Stratford Library
March 19th
Lovell Room
The Stratford Library Sunday Afternoon Talks on Sunday, March 19th at 2 p.m. will feature Stratford Registrars James Simon and Lou DeCilio and their presentation, “Early Voting in CT – What Does it Mean?”. The talk will be presented live in the Library’s Lovell Room. It is free and open to the public.
In last November’s election, Connecticut voters had the chance to vote on the state referendum question: “Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to provide for early voting?” The referendum passed by just over 60% of all votes on the question. Guest speakers Lou DeCilio and James Simon, with the Registrars of Voters, are responsible for the administration of all local, state and national elections; the registration of all eligible voters and the conduct of primaries and referendums. At the Library program they will conduct an open forum answering questions from Stratford citizens.
Lou DeCilio attended Stratford High School and went on to the University of Bridgeport where he graduated in 1991 with a double major in accounting and marketing and a minor in psychology. A believer in the strength of community volunteering, DeCilio has volunteered and supported organizations like Sterling House Community Center, Pony Baseball, Pop Warner Football, Little League Baseball, the South End Community Center and a plethora of other charitable and community driven organizations. He served as Stratford’s Sixth District Councilman from 2001-2004 and volunteered on numerous committees and commissions associated with local government. He served as the Vice President of Connecticut’s Registrar of Voters Association from 2015-2019 and currently holds the position on ROVAC as an Auditor for the last two years. DeCilio also currently serves on Stratford’s Arts Commission, the Boothe Park Commission and as Chairman of the Stratford Republican Party. He has been the town’s Republican Registrar of Voters for 18 years.
Dr. James Simon is in his third year as the Democratic Registrar of Voters in Stratford. He has had a long and varied career. After graduating from Stratford High School, he spent 10 years as a newspaper reporter covering politics and was then hired as Assistant Secretary of the Environment in Massachusetts. Simon also worked in the presidential campaign of Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis. He went back to school and was awarded a PhD degree in public administration at Arizona State. He taught journalism in college for 25 years, including 18 years at Fairfield University, and later he became Dean of Fairfield’s College of Arts and Sciences. Simon was named a national journalism “Teacher of the Year,” and he is the co-author of the book, Environment Reporters in the 21st Century.
The “Sunday Afternoon Talks” series, hosted by Charles Lautier of Stratford, is held from 2-3:30 pm in the Stratford Library Lovell Room, 2203 Main Street in Stratford, CT. For further information visit: www.stratfordlibrary.org or call the Library at: 203.385-4162
