Joseph N. Spillane came to the Groton Public Library earlier this month like a man on a mission.

The 100-year-old former Groton town mayor, who won a Bronze Star and a Distinguished Service Medal in the Army during World War II, responded to a column in The Day asking people to offer their views on the top issues facing America today as the nation approaches a presidential election in November.

And he was there the morning of April 16 to unequivocally state his view that the threat of losing our democracy is by far the biggest issue, and one he experienced firsthand in Germany as a witness to people left to die in Nazi concentration camps.

“To me, there is only one true issue on the ballot,” he said. “Will you look at your kids in the eyes on Nov. 5 and say, ‘I elected a dictator that you're going to have to live under’?”

Wendy Bradford of Mystic, who attended the same voter forum in Groton, agreed about the need to protect democracy.

“Those of us who think that a strong man is going to be the answer to their problems, they do not know what they do not know,” she said, “because a strong man will take their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness from them.

Bradford and Spillane were not alone in their views. During a series of election forums sponsored by The Day at libraries in Norwich, Groton and Waterford that attracted more than 50 participants, the top national issue identified by local residents was preserving democracy with 29 votes, followed by foreign policy (25), immigration and border policy (24), environment and climate change (23) and misinformation and disinformation in mass media (22).

The Top 5 local issues were affordable housing (21 votes), development/environment (20), guns and taxes (18 each) and education (13). All issues identified were supplied by participants rather than being suggested during the course of the meetings, and residents all had a chance to explain in depth the reasoning behind their top issues either at the events or on survey forms.

During the meetings, participants were given a survey in which they listed their top five issues, and then were asked to contribute their concerns to a growing list compiled on a whiteboard. After the issues were all listed on the board, participants had a chance to vote by hand for any that made their top five list. They then were asked to talk about the reason behind their top local and national issues during sessions that were videotaped, as long as the participants were OK with it.

During the forums, concerns over the future of Ukraine appeared to be the top foreign-policy focus as Congress debated a bill to fund more arms for the country in its battle to fend off an invasion by Russia to preserve its independence as a democratic nation. Other major concerns revolved around the war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel and support for Taiwan, which is under threat by China.

For Jack Gilbert, who attended the session in Norwich, one of the top policy concerns revolved around the border.

“There's just an enormous number of people coming in that are illegal,” he said. “I am for legal immigration, and I think a decent number of people that we could establish ― Congress could establish ― would be good. But the number of people that have come in illegally is double the number of people that live in Connecticut. That's way too many.”

Dianne Dinnean of East Lyme agreed, saying in her survey that Democrats and Republicans alike must “get a better handle on this issue to make (the) border safer for all.”

Others disagreed, downplaying the immigration crisis by pointing to the humanitarian needs of many of those seeking asylum and the United States’ history as a harbor for immigrants.

“My father came from Europe. He came and learned the language. And he took care of his family,” said Martin Rutchik, a retired attorney from Mystic. “You think for one moment that the people who are coming over the border don't want the same thing as we had?”

“Ninety-nine (percent) of everybody that is here came as an alien and then worked hard to be in the promised land,” said Spillane. “They didn't come here to take our country, they came here to enjoy it.”

Mass media and the misinformation and disinformation being disseminated on social media and elsewhere also got residents fired up, especially in Groton and Waterford (it was never mentioned in Norwich until the group was informed it had been one of the top issues in a previous session).

“Too many opinions by newscasters,” wrote Dinnean. “Get back to in-depth, factual reporting.”

“Allow equal coverage and time for conservatives as well as liberals,” added Michelle Clements of Ledyard.

The environment was another top concern, both nationally and locally, as climate change has started to affect people’s daily lives, and local folks worry about overdevelopment and flooding.

“Heartbreaking to see the destruction wrought by pure greed,” wrote Lynne Marshall of Groton in her survey. “Towns do not enforce some important regulations ... (and) do not coordinate well across town boundaries.”

“Do not want to see the town overdeveloped,” stated Dinnean, who added in her survey that she hopes her town can avoid development of East Lyme’s Oswegatchie Hills.

Yet housing, and the lack of affordable places to buy or rent, was one of the top local issues.

Kathleen O’Beirne of Mystic said she was worried about “housing expansion across socio-economic strata ― aggravated due to expansion of EB (Electric Boat).”

Others were concerned about Connecticut’s high taxes and high cost of living.

“Solving budget deficits is not about increasing tax revenues, it is about controlling costs,” said Robert Hagar of Groton. “If costs are not addressed in a long-term manner, the financial future of local communities is bleak.”

“Politicians need to manage my money better,” added Lisa D’Abrosca of Groton, the gun rights advocate. “They take too much out of my paycheck, and I get very little in return. I’m not advocating for more services. I’m advocating for lower taxes.”

Bill Sheehan, a member of Waterford’s finance board, said one way to keep down taxes would be to implement more regionalization of services.

“It will provide better services at less expense,” he said.

Although gun control and gun rights didn’t make the top five list nationally in The Day’s informal survey, it was one of the top local issues. Several people had gun control on their list of top issues, but D’Abrosca said she supports gun rights and the Second Amendment because a firearm may have saved her life when a threatening man trailed her from an eatery to a dark parking lot.

“He followed me all the way to my Jeep,” she said during the Waterford forum. “And when I asked him where his car was he pointed at mine, so I opened up my jacket a little bit and I went to draw my gun and he turned around and ran as fast as anyone I've ever seen in my entire life. So if I was not able to protect myself at that time, I don't know. Well, actually, no, I do know what would happen, so that's why I believe in gun rights.”

One of the top local issues revolved around education, but the exact controversies appear to vary from town to town. For instance, in the Norwich meeting Jack Fields mentioned concerns over the city’s burden to educate scores of new non-English-speaking students, while an anonymous Stonington resident mentioned the issues of school attendance and teachers quitting, and Bill Belluzzi of Old Lyme addressed the need for education equality and the desire for more community college funding.

Sometimes residents who attended the forums found relationships between two different issues. Phil Mayer of Griswold said he believes the region’s housing shortage affects “the quality and preparedness of my students.”

Other issues that didn’t make the Top 5 list included abortion/women’s rights, the economy, LGBTQIA+ rights, mental health services, crime and punishment, partisan politics and voting rights.

Bobbie Seebeck of Groton, for instance, decried all the political infighting.

“We need more across the aisle nationally and locally,” she said.

According to the surveys, the average age of forum attendees was 72, and there were more retirees than not. Of those who attended and responded to a question about their likely presidential vote, five said they would vote for Joe Biden, two for Donald Trump, one for “anyone but Trump” and three either undecided or leaning toward a third party.

The three voter forums, attended mostly by concerned citizens but also in Norwich by Democratic state Sen. Cathy Osten and Waterford RTM member Nick Gauthier, were not intended to be a scientific survey, but are expected to help set the agenda for The Day’s future election coverage.

So what happens next? We are planning a series of stories over the next few months leading up to the November elections addressing each of the Top 5 national stories that our readers have identified as most important to them. The stories will be a mix of your opinions and factual information from reliable sources, and will include a more diverse group of voters as we reach out to younger people and minority communities.

If you have suggestions about people to talk to or resources to tap, send them along to election2024@theday.com. Or, if you have thoughts on our Top 5 issues ― preserving democracy, foreign policy, immigration, the environment and where the mass media are going wrong ― you can also send notes to the same address.

Look also in the coming weeks for announcements about other forums The Day may be conducting either on Zoom or in person where you can weigh in about both local and national issues in a more in-depth way than we were able to address in our first round of meet-ups.

l.howard@theday.com