Why are you running for this office?

I am running for town council out of a concern for the state budget and what it may mean for Cheshire. If we're ever going to protect Cheshire's seniors and families from cuts in municipal aid to Cheshire, we're going to have to do three things: 1) Get much more aggressive and proactive about economic development and business retention. 2) Cut our capital expenditures for the next two years and get serious about regionalizing costs and service delivery. 3) Get serious about a long-term plan to renew our very outdated school facilities. If we do all three we can mitigate inevitable cuts to our state aid and perhaps even chart a course for local tax relief.

What is the most pressing local issue facing your community and how would you solve it (within the capacity of the office for which you are running)?

The most pressing issue is state aid cuts and the fact that our schools are in serious need of renewal. We've kicked this can down the road for decades and now state money is unlikely going to be there to help us with our largest ever capital expense. Our Council has been very short-sighted on this issue for years.

With the state's ongoing budget crisis looming over the election, what are your plans for your community's budget? Is there anything you can do make your town less dependent on revenue from the state?

I am running for town council out of a concern for the state budget and what it may mean for Cheshire. If we're ever going to protect Cheshire's seniors and families from cuts in municipal aid to Cheshire, we're going to have to do three things: 1) Get much more aggressive and proactive about economic development and business retention. 2) Cut our capital expenditures for the next two years and get serious about regionalizing costs and service delivery. 3) Get serious about a long-term plan to renew our very outdated school facilities. If we do all three we can mitigate inevitable cuts to our state aid and perhaps even chart a course for local tax relief.

The legislature has been debating various ideas to allow towns to raise revenue locally through something other than property taxes. If you could ease your residents' property tax burden by adding another method of taxation, is there anything you might consider for your town?

As a town councilor it would be my responsibility to fully consider the pros and cons of whatever was on the table.

Are you in favor of regionalizing more services in conjunction with other nearby communities? If so, which ones?

Yes. Everything should be under consideration but let's start with considering public safety, public works and parks & recreation.

Should your school district get the same amount of education funding from the state if your district's enrollment is dropping?

No.

What's one thing most people don't know about you?

After getting my bachelor's degree at UCONN I moved to Washington, D.C. and did Capitol Hill internships with Congressman Sam Gejdenson and Senator Carl Levin before my first post-college job at Greenberg Quinlan Research (a leading political polling firm.)