Residents of District 8 have complaints about traffic congestion on major thoroughfares and the speeding on side streets as commuters find alternative routes. Increases in property taxes, a scarcity of affordable housing, and overcrowding in schools are other major concerns. These are not unique to District 8. Nor is the reason for it: our city is being overdeveloped while financial incentives to large commercial and residential properties transfer the tax burden to the people of Stamford.

When residents have spoken out about these problems at public hearings, often their concerns have not been heard. Therefore, if elected, my top priority is to heed the concerns of my constituents and get the Board of Reps to take the feedback from all of Stamford’s residents seriously, and act on it.

In deciding to run for the Board I realized that as just one voice and one vote, my influence would be limited. So I recruited other concerned citizens to join me in creating a REFORM STAMFORD slate of candidates. Five of us ran primaries against Democratic incumbents, many of whom were endorsed by the Democratic City Committee. We won all five of those primaries. Originally there were seven of us, but we have grown to 11 candidates. Our strategy is to create a voting bloc on the board that shifts power from special interests and entrenched politicians back to the people.

It is unfortunate that many Stamford residents don’t know who their representatives are. Canvassing - going out into neighborhoods, knocking doors, and having conversations about people’s concerns - is a great way to get feedback. I intend to do this periodically, not just during campaigns.

There are many ways to improve two-way communication between elected officials and their constituents, and I will work with others to implement as many as we can. I’ll do this not only in my district, but with all Board of Reps members, the city administration, and especially my constituents - they know best how we can more fully inform them and engage them. I want the residents of District 8 to know that I will always be available and responsive by phone or email. I will participate in neighborhood association meetings - I believe this is an essential responsibility for every member of the Board of Reps. In fact, I’ll push for more “Town Hall” type meetings, not just for the city and each district, but for areas like the Cove that encompass several Districts.

Finally, in the NEWS section of the REFORM STAMFORD website, we have been posting articles from the Stamford Advocate about our campaigns. After the election, we’ll broaden the scope of this to keep our readers informed on important issues related to their city’s government. And we’ll start a mailing list through ReformStamford.com to disseminate information and learn more about our constituents‘ concerns.

Leading up to the Democratic National Convention in 2016, where I was a Fairfield County Delegate for Bernie Sanders, I lead a group of activists and volunteers to six different states. After the DNC, I continued to lead volunteers to work on political campaigns, rallies and demonstrations for national healthcare, local environmental cleanups, women’s rights and immigrant rights. We worked on issues including banning fracking waste storage in Connecticut, and offering sanctuary to our undocumented neighbors in Bridgeport.

In Stamford we lobbied for the Democratic City Committee to expand from 2 members per district to 3, making it more democratic. However, the measure was voted down by the committee. Their main argument was that sitting members were doing a good job, Stamford was in great shape, and there was no need for “new blood.”

It became clear that no one person could have an adequate impact, hence, REFORM STAMFORD was born. I spent months researching and talking with current and former Board of Reps members and elected officals. The goal was to understand how the Board operates and how our group can make it more responsive to the needs of the people.