ISSUES

Taxes

Keeping taxes low while improving quality services. This is how I will do it:

1. I will continue efforts to grow the Grand List

I will hold the line on new spending and keep Shelton predictable.

I will, overtime, work with Boards and Commissions to build a reasonable rainy day fund so we can weather any challenges ahead.

I will support well planned and appropriate development for our city.

I will level the playing field for investors and businesses so we get the best proposals for Shelton, not only proposals from the same favored insiders.

I will work closely with property owners to fill vacancies and address underperforming properties.

I will work closely with the business community to ensure they have a good experience with the city so they stay and grow in Shelton.

2. I will improve management and operations.

I will immediately pursue an internal audit of all city expenses. I will ask those auditors to recommend improvements to our financial policies so the unfortunate theft and questionable practices of the past will not repeat themselves.

I will eliminate no-show jobs and department heads working from out of state. I will require that staff be in city performing their jobs for our residents each day.

I will listen, collaborate and partner with departments, Boards and Commissions, outside organizations, private businesses and other neighboring communities to address city priorities.

I will end costly ego based legal fees and lawsuits that are costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

$250,000 settlement to the former bus company.

Ongoing frivolous litigation against our own Board of Education, including personally suing volunteer and former Republican Board Member Mark Holden.

$400,000 in back pay for 2 former Shelton Police Officers. 5 in total were terminated for frivolous reasons. The other 3 will have their cases heard soon by the Arbitration Board. There is also an ongoing federal lawsuit. When all is said and done these reckless decisions by the Mayor and his hand picked Police Chief may cost millions!

I will set a vision and priorities and communicate it to all city staff so we are working together to improve Shelton.

I will keep an ear to the ground for neighborhood issues so we can work together to make sure our neighborhoods are safe, strong and wonderful places to raise families.

3. I will improve infrastructure and services.

I will divert the savings from no show jobs to hiring a full time grant writer that will bring in significantly more outside money annually to improve our roads, buildings, equipment, public safety, schools, parks, programs and serves.

I will meet with departments to get their ideas on how to improve services with our existing resources. Employees often have the best ideas, they just have to be asked.

I will personally be in the city day in and day out, not off seeking another elected office. I will take note of problems around our city and work with departments to address those problems.

I will hire highly qualified and community oriented staff for my team and we will greatly improve our constituent services out of the mayor's office. We will get back to people.

I will address the school bus situation so parent and children have safe and dependable transportation to and from school.

All of these efforts don’t require new money from residents. We will better utilize our existing resources, bring in new outside resources and/ or reallocate some resources.

We will do all of this and more together!

Public Safety

I will stop the “defunding of our police” that has been underway in Shelton for years. Money gets appropriated in the municipal budget but the department is not allowed to spend that money and the mayor diverts the funding to other things.

I will support our police, volunteer fire department and EMS by ensuring they are respected and receive the training and equipment they need to do their jobs.

I will make sure we collaborate and share information in a preventative way with other communities to get ahead of street crime, drug activity, vehicle theft and any other offenses.

I will pursue all grant funding to support community policing, crime prevention programs, equipment purchases and other first responder needs.

I will work with the private sector to reestablish the police substation downtown that was eliminated.

I will support programs that educate and protect our seniors. One such program will be to distribute wheel locks to residents, in particular our seniors, in areas where car theft is increasing.

I will support initiatives to keep our young people involved in positive activities.

I will be diligent and proactive at all times protecting our residents and businesses.

I will put an end to the outrageous and ego driven lawsuits that are costing our taxpayers.

Our first responders deserve better and so do YOU!

Economic Development

The Economic Development strategy in Shelton amounts to letting the tail wag the dog. In downtown, along the Bridgeport Avenue corridor and more recently even in Huntington, we have poorly planned development projects that don’t fit the area being pushed through to the detriment of our city. When a land use decision is made it impacts the community for decades to come. For example, Shelter Ridge.

As your Mayor, I will:

Keep taxes low and predictable.

Support development that is well planned and of appropriate scale for our community.

Level the playing field for investors and businesses so we get the best opportunities for our city.

Ensure that the infrastructure is properly addressed when development occurs, so we don’t have the debacles we have now in downtown and along the Bridgeport Avenue corridor.

Pause high density apartment development until we have an opportunity to assess how the additional 1,000 units of apartments are impacting our schools, public safety agencies and other city services.

Address the parking, traffic mess and aesthetics in downtown so it becomes a destination spot.

Have an open-door policy to our business community and support their success and growth in Shelton.

Seek public and private partnerships to improve our business corridors throughout the city.

Pursue all grant funding to support small businesses and improve our roads, sidewalks, parks, and other amenities that improve the business environment.

We have great opportunities to grow our Grand List into the future in a balanced and responsible way that respects neighborhoods and our existing businesses and doesn’t destroy our city for the future.

Education

The Shelton school system has been bled dry and we are financially down to bare bones. For a city that boasts about economic success, our schools do not perform to the level of other neighboring communities. Our school system ranking in Connecticut continues to decline and our children deserve better. That’s why I’m running for mayor.

I am committed to:

Holding the line on spending and maintaining a low tax rate while making strategic investments in our schools.

Resolving the Shelton school bus debacle so children are safe and parents can be at ease and get to work on time every day.

Eliminating pay to play sports so young people and their families are not stigmatized or deterred from participating.

Working in partnership with city departments and community organizations to create opportunity and support for our young people.

Ensuring grant funding opportunities support our classrooms, school safety, and the social/emotional wellbeing of our students are pursued.

Creating an environment of bipartisanship, decency, and respect so the best ideas win.

Fixing Downtown - My Plan

The downtown is a mish mosh of what Shelton used to be with large uninspired apartment buildings crammed in-between. New development projects have been approved without adequate on site parking or infrastructure planning. This is creating problems for businesses, residents and visitors. In particular, our small businesses have been advocating for more parking for years to no avail. I represented the downtown as an Alderman for two terms, and was a resident and small business operator i6n the downtown for decades. This issue is near and dear to my heart. Downtown Shelton can be a destination spot for residents and visitors alike. My Plan:

Work with both the public and private sector to increase our free, public parking stock in Downtown.
Re-establish the Shelton Parking Authority, and work with this important volunteer commission when creating more Downtown parking, along with designating timed parking in front of small businesses to keep these spaces accessible during peak business hours.
Perform a “Walk Audit” to assess the walkability and pedestrian safety of downtown. Locate and begin to address areas without adequate lighting, sidewalk, and ADA compliant infrastructure.
Connect Canal Street East directly to Howe Avenue, either by re-opening Wooster Street, and/or by working with the public and private sectors to establish a pedestrian bridge to encourage foot traffic and less vehicle congestion on Howe Avenue.
Designate a Police Officer to “walk the beat” in downtown to build relationships with residents and business owners. A routine police presence will help deter crime, and an officer who is a friendly, familiar face that folks trust will help solve it, too.
Work with the private sector to reestablish the police substation downtown that was eliminated.
Work with public partners such as Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments to enhance and increase public transportation options in the downtown, so folks have other transportation options besides just taking their vehicle.
Apply for and utilize grant funds to construct public amenities for residents to enjoy so they have a reason to come downtown besides just to eat or shop. Some examples of what this could look like is constructing a splash pad at Veteran’s Memorial Park, or bringing back the Shelton Skatepark, which Skaters have been advocating for for years to no avail.

Shelton Student Bus Transportation - My Plan

Our parents and children need and deserve safe and dependable school transportation. The problems we face go way beyond driver shortages. Who knows what this mess is actually costing us?

As your Mayor I will:

Address this debacle with some short and long term actions.
I will improve the work environment while we are stuck running the bus company in order to retain and attract good staff and to deliver dependable service to our community.
I will settle the union contract so workers know what to expect as they make choices about which community they come to work for. The workers have been without a contract for 4 years.
I will treat our workers with more dignity and respect, not as a disposable commodity.
As for longer term actions, I will reach out to Joseph Carbone, President and CEO of The WorkPlace, Inc., this region’s regional workforce development board. They are charged with addressing workforce needs through recruitment and training. They have the funding resources to help Shelton and other cities to build a worker pipeline for this industry. We just need to seek the resources and collaborate.
I will also work toward turning the business of running a school bus company back to the professionals. I would seek to get the best financial arrangement through competitive bid and productive negotiation.

A major concern that no one speaks about, is that some of the buses are nearing the end of their service life, yet no plans for purchasing new buses have been discussed. Where will the money come from? The purchase of brand-new business is millions of dollars.

Safety, honesty, thoughtfulness, and care is what is needed going forward.

Our young ones and our taxpayers deserve better. I will not let you down!