Democratic Team for the 5th District RTM
Making Branford Proud
Approved balanced, forward-looking town budgets
Worked to reduce the tax impact of the 2024 property revaluation
Invested in public education including a new turf field at Walsh
Funded an additional 2 police officers & 16 EMTs for improved medical response in our aging community
Created a much needed Harbor Management Commission
Our Promise to the 5th District
Preserve Branford’s long-term financial health
Partner with our state officials for safer streets and walkable neighborhoods
Work to slow traffic on Maple St, Indian Neck Ave, and Limewood Ave
Branford Democrats remain focused on listening to constituents and working together to make this a great town for families, seniors, and businesses.
It is an honor to serve you and we ask for your vote again this November.
RTM Majority Leader Tracy Everson
Meet Tracy
Tracy Everson is the Majority Leader of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) and is seeking her fourth term working for Branford’s 5th District.
As a team, and with public input, the Democratic Majority on the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) approved balanced, forward-looking town budgets, working to reduce the tax impact of the 2024 property revaluation while preserving a strong rainy day fund and Branford’s long-term financial health.
We know constituents value town services, enjoy our parks and senior center activities. We invested in public education, and a new turf field at Walsh Intermediate School with bipartisan support. Staffing and infrastructure money for public safety allowed for the addition of 16 EMT's for medical response in our aging community and two additional Police Officers.
This term, the RTM acted in a nonpartisan way, creating and passing a much-needed Branford Harbor Management Commission. We also created and passed regulations regarding Short-Term Residential Rentals that does not ban them but provides a working framework aimed at preserving everyone’s quality of life.
Branford Democrats remain focused on respectful leadership, transparent policy-making and inclusive governance. Tracy’s constituents know that they can rely on her to listen and take action to address their concerns and issues.
Tracy lives in Branford Point on Mill Creek with her two Jack Russell Terriers. Her family has deep roots in town. She was baptized at Branford’s Trinity Church. The Everson family has summered in the Thimble Islands for four generations. She is a realtor with Century 21 AllPoints Realty in Branford, and is the manager of estate online auctions for Monarch Homes CT LLC. She also serves as the Thimble Islands Association Police and Fire Dept. Liaison and has been a member of the Branford Coastal Vulnerability ad hoc Working Group since its inception.
John Hartwell - RTM 5
Meet John
Phone - 203-216-1425
Email - JohnHartwell@gmail.com
John and his wife Janet chose Branford as the perfect place to retire. They both enjoy watching the mix of commercial and pleasure boats on the Branford River, dining with friends at our great restaurants, and the welcoming attitude of everyone they’ve met.
Since moving back to Connecticut in 2003, John has been deeply involved in community service. He has been active on the non-profit boards of a nature preserve, a private library, a historical society, and a state-wide pro-choice advocacy organization. He was elected to the Board of Finance in Westport, and he has been a leader on Democratic town committees where he has lived.
John is a former banker and financial industry consultant, and he draws on his finance training, marketing, and customer service experience to contribute to a variety of local non-profits. After earning a Masters in Public and Private Management from Yale’s School of Management, he was a Vice President at Chase Manhattan Bank where he led service quality initiatives in the branch system and worked on international business development projects.
Prior to grad school John lived in the Middle East for eleven years. There he met Janet, who was a teacher, and they both were active members of community theater groups. When their two children were young John coached boys and girls soccer, basketball, and baseball teams, and he took a boys soccer team to a national tournament.
John believes deeply in the role of citizens in our local government, and if elected he promises to listen carefully and work collaboratively to make Branford an even better place to live.
Alex Larsson - RTM 5
Meet Alex
Phone - 732-551-6689
Email - AlexLarsson2356@gmail.com
Alex is a recent transplant to Branford with his wife and dog, Chase, who he fosters for Guiding Eyes for the Blind. He chose to move to Branford because of the beautiful landscape, but also the close-knit community feel that Branford offers.
Alex currently works as an Academic Adviser/Credentialing Specialist and History Professor at Post University. Prior to Post University, Alex was an adviser at Western Connecticut State University. He also ran for the 66th District State House seat in 2018. When Alex isn’t working at Post, he helps run his non-profit, Connecticut Crossroads Project, which seeks to document the individual experience of people young and old to preserve the history of community through casual conversations.
Abagail Adams - RTM 5
Meet Abigail
Phone - 860-280-7010
Email - adams5rtm@gmail.com
Long before Abigail Adams and her dog Sheba moved around the corner from Branford’s astonishing Foote Memorial Park, she fell in love with the shoreline communities. Following generations of her mother’s family, she’s made her home here.
She is a recently retired professor and department chair from Central Connecticut State University, where she also founded the university’s award-winning environmental sustainability program and community engagement/civic agency program. Abigail works now in outdoor education and will study this Fall with Connecticut’s Tree Warden Association. She volunteers with New Haven’s Sanctuary Kitchen and is a member of several non-profit boards, including the Friends Committee on National Legislation (a national nonpartisan Quaker lobby to advance peace, justice, and environmental stewardship) and New Britain (CT) ROOTS, which cultivates community connections and equitable food access, urban land stewardship, and agricultural education.
As an anthropologist and lifelong Quaker --and parent!, Abigail has learned to work constructively and respectfully with people of many different backgrounds, perspectives and languages (she is fluent in English and Spanish). She will advocate for Branford’s equitable and smart development, above all protecting its breathtaking natural environment and its welcoming close-knit neighborhoods.