Winslow Nominated To Become Superior Court Judge

By Andrew Gorosko

Heidi Winslow, a longtime member of the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), has been nominated to become a state Superior Court judge by Governor John Rowland.

Ms Winslow, 52, an attorney who has a private practice in Danbury, is one of 13 lawyers whom Gov Rowland nominated February 23 to be become judges. The nominees are subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. Judges serve eight-year terms and are subject to reappointment.

Ms Winslow, a Democrat who has served on the P&Z for more than 11 years, has resigned her position on the land use agency. She also is resigning from the Democratic Town Committee. The Taunton Lake Drive resident has served as the secretary of both organizations. Connecticut judges are not allowed to hold elected office.

P&Z Chairman Daniel Fogliano said of Ms Winslow, “She is tremendously qualified. The commission will not be the same. She will be sorely missed.”

Ms Winslow brought a high level of professionalism to the P&Z, Mr Fogliano said, adding that her background as a lawyer aided P&Z members in their deliberations.

“My heartfelt congratulations,” Mr Fogliano said of Ms Winslow’s nomination as a judge.

First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal said, “I’ve known Heidi for many years. She certainly has served the town.”

The first selectman said Ms Winslow is a person of integrity who carefully considers matters in her decision making.

 “I think she will have a good judicial temperament. She listens carefully to both sides of an issue. I think she would be very good on the bench,” Mr Rosenthal said.

Since 1984, Ms Winslow has been self-employed in a general civil legal practice, with an emphasis on landlord/tenant, divorce, real estate, and probate cases.

From 1977 to 1984 she worked as an attorney for Connecticut Legal Services in Danbury, specializing in landlord/tenant law and unemployment compensation cases for the indigent. In the mid-1970s, Ms Winslow worked as an attorney at Neighborhood Legal Services in Hartford, with a specialty in family and divorce law.

Ms Winslow is a 1969 graduate of Wellesley College, where she was a Wellesley College Scholar.

Judicial Future

In an interview at her North Street offices in Danbury on Wednesday, Ms Winslow discussed becoming a judge.

Although well-versed in civil matters, entering the realm of criminal law will be a new experience for her, Ms Winslow said.

After spending three weeks at a state judicial school, new judges become immersed in the workings of the courts, presiding at criminal arraignments where defendants make their first appearance before a judge after having been arrested.

Ms Winslow said she expects she will spend some amount of time handling arraignments, familiarizing herself with the workings of the courts from the perspective of a judge.

“I enjoy practicing law,” Ms Winslow said, noting that problem-solving is a key aspect of lawyering. Working as a judge will pose interesting challenges, she said.

“It will be broadening,” she said, noting that she will be presiding in court on criminal matters. “There will be learning experiences,” she said.

While lawyers serve as advocates for their clients, judges hold a different role in the legal system, she said.

“The judge will be making a decision consistent with the law and the facts. The judge can only make a decision based on the facts presented and the law as it is,” she said.

Ms Winslow said she expects the long hours she spends as an attorney to continue when she becomes a judge.

“I’ve enjoyed the practice of law,” she said, adding she expects she will enjoy her new post. “I  expect I’ll like the job.”

Ms Winslow expects she will preside in a courthouse somewhere within an hour’s drive of her home. After confirmation, she will begin rotational assignments, in which judges are annually transferred among various courthouses in the state.

P&Z Experience

In her letter of resignation from the P&Z, dated February 27, Ms Winslow writes, “More than any of my other volunteer activities in the last 12 years, I have enjoyed the problem solving and planning for the well being of the town, which this [P&Z] job has entailed. …I have never seen a stronger, wiser and more experienced and caring group of commissioners than those who are currently serving on the Newtown Planning and Zoning Commission. The citizens of Newtown are indeed being well served by the current group of commissioners. It is with some regret that I leave their company, but I know that they will continue to serve the town in exemplary fashion.”

Of her departure from the P&Z, Ms Winslow said, “It really is mixed emotions. I care so passionately about the well-being of the town.”

“I’ve never seen a stronger P&Z than now, regarding commitment and experience,” she said. Mr Fogliano ably leads the agency, she said.

“I really feel this commission will carry on very well,” Ms Winslow said.

Although the P&Z is now in good shape, that was not always the case, she said. Several years ago, amid the tumult generated by wide public opposition to continuing rapid residential growth, the P&Z was not so stable an organization, with a rapid P&Z member turnover resulting in commission members having little experience in land use decision making, she said.

Some P&Z members simply resigned from the agency because they had become tired of vituperative personal attacks, which were made against them by opponents of various development proposals, she said.

It sometimes becomes difficult to serve as a volunteer government official who is trying to do one’s best when unfounded attacks are launched, Ms Winslow said. 

Following his election in 1997, Mr Rosenthal improved the staffing picture at the town land use office, thus stabilizing the situation, Ms Winslow said.

Although there had been sharp public pressure in 1996 to curb residential growth, the picture has now changed markedly, Ms Winslow said, noting “a complete swing of the pendulum.”

In 1996, the Newtown Neighborhoods Coalition had pressured the P&Z to strictly limit development.

During the past year, however, the P&Z has experienced pressure of a different sort from members of the Newtown Property Owners Association, who oppose restrictions on growth, Ms Winslow said.

Of such special interest groups, Ms Winslow said, “You can’t be influenced by people interested in their personal self-interest, in regard to the long-term planning of the town.”

 Being a P&Z member forces one to think about developmental issues in the long term, she said.   

 While a P&Z member, Ms Winslow helped draft many land use regulations, which the agency later adopted.

Ms Winslow pointed to her drafting of the town’s Conservation/Agriculture (CA) zoning regulations as an accomplishment. The P&Z created that zoning designation to preserve the open space at the state’s Fairfield Hills property.   

Ms Winslow said she especially likes the small-town volunteerism aspect of life in Newtown. But the town’s greatest weakness is its lack of racial diversity, she said.

Ms Winslow said she does not see the value of Newtown becoming the site of multiple condominium complexes, as some other area towns have become. She added she does not see the benefit of building high-density, low-cost housing locally.

“To me the heart of Newtown is Main Street. I would like to see more and more property join the [Main Street] historic district. I would like to see very little change to the appearance of Main Street,” she said.