First thank you to all the citizens that came to the session this evening and thoughtful questions. Although I wasn’t asked a lot of questions, I certainly learned a lot about the other candidates; which will be valuable on election day March 9th.
Here is my introduction notes:
Good Evening; and Thank you for invitation to participate tonight. My name is John Brunelle; and I have lived in Litchfield since 1998, with my wife of almost 25 years; Cathy and our four children.
I am a resident like everyone in this room, the only difference is that
I am looking for your support and vote for a seat on the “Board of Selectman”.
I have been asked why? Questions like are you conservative or liberal, and republic or democrat.
Well first, let me address the why? I believe in giving back and as a member of this community; I have been volunteering for many different jobs. I have served on the Zoning Board of Adjustments, Solid waste Committee; which was responsible for developing the pending conversion plans, I have worked with the past and current boards to revamp the town website; with the goal of becoming a source of information and open communications. For better or worse, this town doesn’t run without the employees, volunteers or the support of the residents. So I am just continuing my efforts to pay back; to lend my experience from my professional career, with the hope to make this a better community for everyone.
So to the question of my beliefs; I am not conservative or liberal. I like to think that I am open minded; and someone that consider every case, request, need or issue for their merits and impacts. I believe that we must invest to save; we need to support our valued infrastructure, resources and employees. We need at look everything and consider the short and long term impacts, and develop a plan. But we also need to educate everyone as to the importance and why as leaders we are requesting your support.
I am not running to rule, but to be a voice for my family and yours; to make an impact and to leave our community just a little better then it is; I want to work with the community and not against.
We must respect our past, but we also need to move forward. We need to be transparent to our community as to what is happening and how we are approaching the issues. We need to do a better job at educating everyone as to our decisions; but we also need a plan that maps out the town’s direction and why.
We need to continue to be mindful of our fiscal matters; and look for ways to improve our services without impacting our families.
So I ask you for your support on Election Day and I Thank you again for your time tonight and I am looking forward to any questions you have.
John Brunelle 