City of Danbury

WHY I'M RUNNING FOR ELECTION AS THIRD WARD CITY COUNCILMAN

 

I have been a resident of the third ward for most of my adult life.  The geography of our ward is as diverse as its residents.  I felt compelled to run in the ward I live in because it's time that someone who represented the ward did just that.  The  representatives of the ward over the course of twenty plus years have served the person running our city more than the residents of our ward.  The era of "yes men" has to come to an end and I'm someone who has no problem speaking truth to power.  Over the course of the campaign, I look forward to meeting with as many third ward residents to earn their vote .  I firmly believe that I'm a part of a strong ticket, led by my friend Roberto Alves.  The time has come for new leadership in this City, I hope you'll share the same views on November 7th.

 

• Infrastructure:  
  • Our roads have been neglected over the course of the last 20 years. Danbury has over 250 miles of road and this administration like the previous one tends to pave more miles of road each election year. Too many of you have told us that you reside on a road that hasn’t been touched in that many years. I will continue to advocate for not only roads to be addressed in a more regular fashion and not just during an election year, but also the publication of which roads are scheduled to be done during each paving season.
• Schools:  
  • Our schools are 169 out of 169 in per pupil spending. They continue to grow in student population while our school buildings have no more space to grow. The City Council majority continues to blindly follow the Mayor’s budget recommendation for the schools while failing to meet the Board of Education’s requested funding. Some City Council Members will tell you that we do increase the school’s budget each year, but they fail to tell you that the Mayor’s school budget proposals are always less than what the public schools need. The Board of Education’s budget request is simply what they need to open the doors and pay the bills and they are consistently underfunded. How do we provide a 21st century education for our youth with a 20th century budget? Investing in our public schools is an economic investment in Danbury’s future. I will continue to be a forceful advocate for more funding!
• Seniors:  
  • Many of our senior citizens are living on a fixed income. The city currently offers a flawed, inadequate, and inequitable tax break for our seniors and for 20 years they have been neglected by the Mayor and City Council. I will continue to advocate for programs and tax abatements that ensure that those who have lived here, worked here, give back here, can afford to comfortably retire right here in Danbury.
• Veterans:  
  • Our veterans are owed not only our gratitude but benefits that make their lives and ability to remain here in Danbury a continued reality. I will continue to advocate for programs and abatements for those who have given of themselves so that we may live in peace.
• Emergency Services:  
  • I believe our Police Department and Fire Department need to be supported in a way that ensures the safety of our citizens and those who serve on the job. I will continue to ask the tough questions and advocate for this.  
  • I firmly believe that our Danbury Volunteer Fire Department is an asset to our Fire Department and will continue to advocate for them to ensure the manpower needed to respond to emergency situations. I’m proud to have led the call for a Volunteer Tax Abatement that could help them retain members, but unfortunately, the Republican Mayor and majority have failed to call the ad hoc committee together to move this forward.  The city of Danbury is losing volunteer firefighters at an alarmingly high rate.  It isn't just to them becoming career firefighters which is normal and expected.  Some volunteer fire companies have lost members to surrounding towns who show they value the volunteers by offering abatements and in some cases pensions to maintain retention of volunteers.
• Health and Welfare of our Citizens:  
  • This pandemic taught us that our Department of Public Health and Human Services needs to be one of the top tier departments in the city that is led by professionals who look out for our citizens. The current team have tirelessly worked over the course of a year and a half to not only deal with a pandemic but to keep other services open and inspected. I will continue to advocate for grant approvals that allow them to do the stellar job they have been doing.