By The Stratford Crier Editorial Staff
It is common place to vote for people you don’t know. In fact, you don’t have a clue as to how they think about issues, or to their priorities. Yes, we can all do more individual research (and I know I should), but most of us usually don’t.
The Stratford Crier would like to make the process easier, and hopefully a little more effective and revealing. Over a 7 week period, from September 23rd to November 4th, the Stratford Crier will be highlighting ALL Stratford Candidates running for office.
Each candidate will have been contacted and asked to submit information for publication based on the questionnaire below.
Responses to each section will be a maxim of 300 words, and the Crier will run weekly features leading up to the election. The first will share general bio information on the candidates. Then, weekly we will highlight each candidate’s thoughts on areas of interest and importance to the future of Stratford, including zoning, education, and environment—all issues core to the health of our community.
Stratford Crier Election Questionnaire
• Please submit a brief Bio with photo (jpeg)
• Why are you running for office?
• What are your qualifications for this position?
• What is your vision for Stratford’s future? Please be as specific as possible.
• What do you consider to be the most important issue needing to be addressed in Stratford?
• What are your thoughts pertaining to: (your responses will run weekly to these questions)
1. What solutions would you contribute to improving our Public Education System?
2. Do you see a need for change in our land use and zoning regulations? If so, what do you recommend, and why?
3. Town Council has historically been divisive with the republicans and democrats not getting along. What are your thoughts on this, and how would you address it?
4. Stratford was recently listed as a distressed community. How do you think we can grow revenues rather than cutting services?
5. Large parts of our town are at high risk for flooding. A plan was put forth in 2016 to diminish this risk. How would you address the problem?
6. Climate change is seen by many as a significant threat to Stratford. What steps can Stratford make to help mitigate the impact of climate change for our town?
We hope you will find this format useful and productive as you consider your choices for the upcoming election.
Your vote is fundamental to an all-inclusive democracy—the only thing that can assure a future with the freedoms we hold so dear.
The information will give citizens something on which to base their vote and also will hopefully be an encouragement for those who might not have planned to vote because they didn’t feel that they knew enough to make an intelligent choice.
Some of the questions, like growing revenue and divisiveness between the two parties, seem to ask for answers on issues that are longstanding and perhaps problematic for those who are running for a specific office for which they have knowledge but are not knowledgeable in all areas.