McMahon Stops in Downtown Fairfield on Listening Tour, Learns of World Series Fever

Liz Lyons, 46, just planned to pick up some clothes at the Snappy Gator, a store in downtown Fairfield, Thursday afternoon, when, all of a sudden, she found herself in a conversation with Linda McMahon, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate.

Lyons didn't miss a beat, though, telling McMahon that one of her concerns was that Connecticut didn't require motorcyclists to wear helmets. McMahon agreed they should have to, saying her husband, Vince McMahon, rides a motorcycle without a helmet and it drives her crazy.

The two chatted for several minutes, and Lyons captured the surreal quality of the moment, saying she had seen McMahon on TV and how odd it was to meet her unexpectedly while shopping at the Snappy Gator. "But that's Ok," she told McMahon.

After McMahon left the Snappy Gator and headed toward the Community Movie Theatre, Lyons said she appreciated McMahon's visit. "She was very nice, very approachable," Lyons said. "She's very approachable and seems like a very together person. Meeting her makes me want to look into more about who she is and what she stands for."

Lyons, who moved to Fairfield from New York two years ago, said she was concerned about the lack of a helmet requirement for motorcyclists in Connecticut because motorcyclists, even if they're safe drivers, have no control over someone hitting them. "Today, everyone's so safety conscious, and it seems crazy to be so careless with something as important as your head," she said.

Lyons then noted that her son was waiting for her outside in the car and must be wondering what was happening, since McMahon, a police escort and several people with cameras walked into the Snappy Gator while she was there. "This has been a fruitful day," Lyons said as she left.

Emma Case, 19, who was waiting for a friend on Sherman Green, was also surprised by McMahon's visit. Case had a similarly positive reaction to McMahon after the two chatted for a few minutes in front of the Sherman Green Gazebo.

"I think she's honest and straightforward. I like that. She's very open. I really like her," Case, a Darien resident, said after McMahon left to go to the Firehouse Deli on Reef Road. "It's good to know who you're voting for."

Noelle Angers, 35, a cashier in The Pantry, a gourmet food store on the Post Road in Fairfield, said McMahon was the first candidate to stop by the store. She said she recognized McMahon from her TV ads and that it was exciting to meet her.

"I am going to vote for her. I like to support women candidates, and she seems like a dynamic candidate, and I like what she's been saying," Angers said.

Over at the Community Movie Theatre, McMahon talked movies with Alejandro "Lex" Ulloa, one of the theater's volunteers, mentioning that she liked "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial," and she then went on a tour of the landmark movie theatre, which included a visit to the theater's balcony.

Ulloa, 28, a Fairfield University film student, said he mostly knows McMahon from radio advertisements because he drives from Orange to Fairfield to volunteer at the theater. He said he had a favorable impression of McMahon before she stopped by. "It sounded like she's a kind person on the radio, and that very much reflects in my conversation with her," he said.

Unlike Lyons, Case and Angers, Ulloa had some advance notice McMahon was coming. He said he heard about a day ago that a representative of McMahon's campaign planned to stop by Thursday, and then heard a half-hour before she arrived that the representative was actually McMahon.

McMahon didn't make a speech during her meet-and-greet in Fairfield. After she met a handful of supporters at Sherman Green, she visited three downtown businesses and the movie theater and then returned to Sherman Green and left.

McMahon was peppered with questions from an NBC cameraman outside the theater and drew contrasts between herself and her Democratic opponent in the November election, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, saying she, unlike Blumenthal, wasn't a career politician. She said that wasn't a criticism of Blumenthal, just a contrast between them.

McMahon, former CEO of Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment, told Fairfield Patch she was happy with where her campaign stood and that she viewed herself as the underdog in her race against Blumenthal, but added that she was the underdog in the race to gain the Republican Party's nomination as well. She said she was working very hard and was pleased at the extent to which she was closing the gap in polls between her and Blumenthal.

Jodi Latina, McMahon's press secretary, said the candidate has visited about 40 towns and cities so far on her listening tour and hopes to visit all 169 before the general election. "It's a way to get out and listen to voters. It's a way to touch base with voters and see and hear what's on their minds," Latina said. "We're trying to hit every town in the state."

Len Benton, the father of Brenda Kupchick, the Republican nominee for state representative in the 132nd state House District, chatted with McMahon on Sherman Green and said he was going to vote for her. "I'm 73 years old, and, for the first time in my life, I'm scared for my kids and grandkids," he said.

Benton said Blumenthal prosecuted businesses and was a "jobs killer," while McMahon was a "jobs creator."

"Regulations - that's what's killing business. They're sending so many businesses overseas. I'm 73 years old and I'm still working," Benton said, adding that he was a salesman at Honda of Westport.

Former state Rep. Jack Stone, R-Fairfield, was McMahon's guide on Thursday afternoon's walking tour and said she was impressive. "I've had the opportunity to spend several hours with her personally, and there is no question in my mind that she is very bright. She's knowledgeable about the issues," Stone said. "I have been with her in various meetings where people came away saying she knows the right questions to ask and she's got ideas about how to solve the problems."

McMahon's stop in Fairfield didn't go off without a hitch, though. As she walked from The Pantry to the Community Movie Theatre, the candidate noticed a sign in a storefront window wishing "Fairfield American" good luck. McMahon wondered what that meant, and several in the group said Fairfield American Little League was playing in the World Series.