With almost every chair filled in the auditorium at Stratford High School, Mayor Laura Hoydick and Dr. David Chess, Democratic Candidate for Mayor, stood on a dimly lit stage at the ready for their second face-off. Hosted by the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, and moderated by Stratford Chamber of Commerce Chairman, Bob David, the debate kicked off at 5:30pm on Thursday, October 16th.
The first question, after their opening remarks, went to Dr. Chess. Although he was prepared, his voice continued to give out throughout the debate. Mayor Hoydick fielded the next question, after her rebuttal to the first with an off the cuff answer, which was not the norm for her during the two hour debate. The candidates had both received the questions in advance of debate, and Mayor Hoydick read her responses from what appeared to be her pre-typed responses.
I attended both debates, the first having been for the residents (and a guest) at Oronoque Village. The questions posed to the candidates during both debates centered around what residents seemed most concerned about: affordable housing and building a stronger community, not only for business owners, but for all residents, and the how was of utmost importance.
At each debate there was clear representation and support from our local Fire and Police Departments, both of whose unions have publicly endorsed Dr. Chess for Mayor. Both departments have expressed concerns about retention, safety while on the job, and pensions. In the letter presented by the Stratford Professional Firefighters International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 998, their statement in part reflects on the current administration’s pattern: “There was no compassion. No fair path to rehabilitation. No real options—only termination. This pattern is more than administrative; it reflects an alarming lack of respect for the people who protect this community. Stratford residents deserve better, and so do its public employees.”
Weeks after the endorsement from local firefighters came the endorsement of the local police department, whose statement shares, in part, “This decision was not made lightly. In fact, it marks the first time in over fifteen years that our Union has endorsed a candidate for mayor. We believe this election represents a critical turning point for the future of public safety in Stratford.”
The phrase that seemed to recur within Mayor Hoydick’s responses is that she is “proud of the work” that her office has done over the years.
What came through the night of October 16th during the debate, both from the audience and the candidates, is that there was respect.
Unfortunately, there were many voices not represented in the audience that evening, because the debate conflicted with parent-teacher conferences across all Stratford Public Schools. The state of education in Stratford is of enormous importance, as is the mayoral relationship to the Board of Education, since they work in conjunction with one another. A highly-rated school system is a driving force in the town’s economy. It brings family home-owners to our town, which drives a variety of new businesses to accommodate their needs and wants, including stores, restaurants and entertainment. All of which can reduce the homeowner’s property taxes.
Early voting begins on Monday, October 20th, and Election Day is on November 4th. Remember, whenever you choose to vote, your voice counts! Local elections make a big difference!
I was impressed with Dr. Chess’ passion and ideas for Stratford. I was not impressed with Mayor Hoydick’s snide remarks, made several times. We’re long overdue for a change; with our current leadership, it appears they’re fine with the status quo and frankly, doing the bare minimum. I love Stratford and have grown up here and it’s become clear that our current leadership does not have a clear vision for our town. Under Republican leadership for the past 15 years, we’ve seen Stratford become inundated with apartments that aren’t affordable, multiple storage units, and warehouses– some of which remain empty — and schools that lag further and further behind.
There also seems to be an issue at town hall with safety and security and although the mayor has talked about transparency, she continues to evade questions about the security of town hall when an individual was arrested in August for sleeping in the basement, and allegedly this had been going on for months. I’d like to see some accountability for this incident.
I attended the conversation. The Mayor read from her notes describing her accomplishments esp keeping taxes down without cuts to programs and Dr Chess said that our grand list has down by a million dollars half of the rate of adjacent towns like Milford and Shelton,and Trumbull who have raced ahead. He said that we’ve become the afterthought. He said in the army engine property developers are planning for 3 warehouses and he sees the potential to create a destination, with mixed use, residential,board walk, restaurants,a skating rink to increase the tax base. The Mayor pointed out all the hurdles to jump to bring all these aspirations to fruition. Chess has a vision of vitalization and environmentally friendly improvements for the green and for neglected Barnum Ave and the South End. He said we shouldn’t be giving the town away to storage facilities. Though Chess is no orator , I liked his energy and his vision for a more vibrant town. I believe the audience should have been allowed to ask questions.