SOUTHBURY – Heather White Rodgers has announced her candidacy for First Selectman of Southbury in the November 2027 municipal election.
The lifelong Southbury resident has served on the Region 15 Board of Education for nine years and is currently its treasurer.
“I would be honored to serve this community and help restore the strong foundation of fiscal responsibility, transparency, and thoughtful long-term planning that has long defined Southbury,” said Rodgers, a Republican.
Rodgers said she has always felt called to public service, and that with her children getting older, now is the right time to take on a larger commitment in town.
Rodgers said her experience as treasurer of the 10-member Region 15 Board of Education has emphasized the importance of collaboration, consensus building and civility while balancing competing interests.
Her roots in Southbury go back nine generations and include her great-great-grandfather, Charles E. Hine, who served as a state representative and first selectman of Southbury.
Ewald Park is named after her grandfather, George F. Ewald, who was an unwavering supporter of youth sports and contributed years of volunteer service.
Her family’s legacy of community service also includes her mother, Jane White, who has taught for decades in Region 15 schools.
Rodgers and her husband, Jason, have raised four children in Southbury. She previously ran the local event planning business, Respond If You Please, for 15 years before accepting a management position at the Ethan Allen Hotel in Danbury.
Rodgers said Southbury’s close-knit community is what she loves most about her hometown.
“I grew up here and I love that there isn’t a day that I am out in town that I don’t see at least one person I know,” Rodgers told The Record. “My daughter jokes that I can’t make it out of the grocery store in under two hours because we stop to catch up with so many people.”
Rodgers said her candidacy has received the support of local leaders, including State Representative Jason Buchsbaum, former First Selectman Jeff Manville, current Southbury Selectmen Holly Sullivan and Jason Van Stone, Board of Finance Chair John Michaels and Region 15 Board of Education Chair Marion Manzo, among others.
“I am incredibly humbled by the encouragement and support from leaders in town who I deeply respect and admire,” said Rodgers. “I look forward to building on that support by listening to residents and earning the confidence of voters throughout Southbury in the coming months.”
Democrat Tim O’Neil was elected first selectman in 2025, succeeding Republican Jeff Manville, who had held the position since December 2015.
Rodgers plans to share additional information about her campaign in the coming weeks and encourages residents to reach out to her with questions, concerns or ideas at heatherforsouthbury@gmail.com.
By Evan Triantafilidis
