Woodbridge Democratic Town Committee

Incumbent Selectman Dr. James Sabshin, 58, has lived in Woodbridge for 22 years. He and his wife Mary Leigh have raised four lovely daughters, all the while remaining active and committed members of our community.

First elected in 2001, Dr. Sabshin is seeking a fifth term on the Woodbridge Board of Selectmen, where he has been greatly involved with issues relating to education, public safety, human services, and open space. Prior to his tenure on the BOS, he served for more than ten years on the Woodbridge Police Commission, where for many years he had served as Vice-Chairman.

A Neurosurgeon, Dr. Sabshin has also been very active in support of our local hospitals. He has served as the elected President of the Medical Staff at the Hospital of St. Raphaels, and currently sits on the Board of Governors for the New Haven County Medical Association. He is also a past President of the Connecticut State Neurosurgical Society. Dr. Sabshin earned his BA from San Jose State University and his MD from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Sabshin describes his involvement in town governance as a way of giving back to the Woodbridge community. He says, "I am deeply committed to our town and to finding practical and fiscally responsible solutions to the many challenges it faces while preserving its small town qualities and the open spaces we love."

Incumbent Selectman Sandra Stein, 57, is seeking reelection to a third term representing the community on the Woodbridge Board of Selectman. First elected to this position in 2005, she has devoted much time to developing an understanding of our fiscal and administrative structures. She has served as the Selectmen's liaison to the Woodbridge Board of Education throughout her tenure on the BOS, and in this capacity she has been instrumental in encouraging greater financial reporting transparency and helping to guide the renewal of trust and cooperation between the town and the school system. She was recently appointed to serve on the Town Building Committee charged with developing an Infrastructure Upgrade Project for Beecher Road School.

Ms. Stein is employed by the Yale University School of Medicine where she serves as the Clinical Administrator and Business Manager for the Department of Diagnostic Radiology. During her tenure with Yale-New Haven Hospital, Ms. Stein has sat on many Committees and Councils for Yale-New Haven Hospital including: the Yale New Haven Health System Quality Council, the Performance Improvement Leadership Group, and the Customer Service Steering Committee. Ms. Stein also spent six years serving on the Board of the Better Business Bureau and was Chairperson of the Marketing Committee.

Ms. Stein received her BA, with honors, in Psychology from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio and her MA in Public Health from the University of Illinois. She and her husband, Dr. Harvey Kliman, have been a part of our Woodbridge community for seventeen years and have raised three wonderful daughters.

Incumbent Selectman Beth Heller has been an active member of the Woodbridge Community for over seventeen years. Prior to her appointment to the Board of Selectmen in 2008, she served for a decade as the elected Democratic Registrar of Voters, after having served from 1997 to 1998 as Deputy Registrar. She has also been a member of the Amity League of Women Voters since 1992.

In addition, Ms. Heller was a member of the Woodbridge Board of Fire Commissioners since 1998, where she served as Chair from 1999 until her appointment as a Selectman. She was a member of the Woodbridge Fire Station Building Committee and is a member of the Woodbrdige Volunteer Fire Association Auxiliary. She has served as chair of the Woodbridge Community Council, Secretary of the Woodbridge Library Commission and member of the Woodbridge Siting Council. Ms. Heller has also served as Treasurer of the Beecher Road School PTO and the Amity Junior High School PTO, and been an active member of the Amity Regional High School PTSA.

She has been married for 32 years to Dr. Allen Heller and they have three children who have graduated from the Woodbridge and Amity Regional School districts. In addition to her civic engagement and family life, she is an active member of Congregation Mishkan Israel, serving on its Board of Trustees, its Executive Committee, and chairing its Membership Committee.