My vision for New Canaan is to preserve the historic charm we all love, maintain our excellent schools that not only create good citizens and future leaders but also protect our property values, all while supporting those services in town like public safety and public works that make this a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire.
If given the opportunity to be New Canaan’s First Selectman, my priorities would be:
1 – Fiscal Responsibility – I am committed to supporting the BOF strategy of keeping bonded indebtedness at a manageable level, maintaining our AAA credit rating and a low mill rate. I will also collaborate with town departments, boards and committees to identify cost-saving opportunities.
2- Finding Affordable Housing Solutions that work for New Canaan – this means partnering with other municipalities and CT169strong to advocate for better solutions from Hartford along with creating housing locally that we develop and control. As First Selectman, I would prioritize working with the newly created Affordable Housing Committee to identify opportunities to mindfully develop affordable housing instead of having to respond to predatory developer projects. Affordable housing will be a priority in my administration.
3- Community Engagement/Collaboration – The community should be updated regularly on what is happening locally. We should not have situations like the West School cell tower where residents are kept in the dark about process and developments leading to frustration and suspicion. I am thrilled that the Utilities Commission has been reconstituted and includes a diverse group of residents. I’d also like to state publicly that I do NOT support future development of cell towers near schools.
We can do BETTER New Canaan! And if elected as your next First Selectman, I promise, with your help, we WILL do BETTER.
