Hang in there, folks! The parade of scary characters at your front door is almost over. Halloween is behind us and those of us running for office will soon be finished with the door knocking. Please bear with us just a little bit longer. The stakes are very high in Stamford and your vote could very well be the deciding factor.
It has been my honor to meet so many of you since February and hear your concerns and ideas about how we can improve our quality of life in Stamford. Listening always has to be step number one with any elected official. I have encouraged every Stamford citizen to ask me the tough, specific questions that you deserve an answer to. I have not insulted you with meaningless word salad responses and vague promises of rainbows and prosperity. Whether or not you agree with my platform, at least you now know where I stand. Please allow me to summarize my plan of action, should you choose me to be Stamford’s next mayor.
My first goal will be to surround myself with an all-star team of individuals who have a long and respected track record of dedicated service to our beloved hometown. Those that have been conflicted by outside influences and personal agendas must be shown the door. They have done enough damage already.
The current “holdover” mayoral appointees to our Planning and Zoning Boards must be the first to go. They were never elected and were even rejected by our Board of Representatives many years ago. I will immediately reach out to our dedicated volunteers who have led our many neighborhood associations to assist my transition team to recruit honorable citizens that will put Stamford’s housing needs first. It is not our elected leaders’ job to manage the current and future exodus from New York City. We must focus on the affordable housing needs of our current residents.
As an ex-officio member of the Board of Education, I will attend their meetings and do all within my power to fast track the replacement of our current Superintendent. Many of our students are currently being shortchanged as they are pushed through and allowed to graduate high school with less than a fifth grade English and Math level. The days of no mid-term and final exams must end. We must first measure our students’ progress accurately, if we are ever going to close the achievement gap. Our graduation rate may plummet as a result of honest assessments, but chasing misleading statistics must take a back seat to preparing our students for gainful employment in the real world. I would also encourage annual audits of our Board of Education expenditures, as their budget accounts for more than half of our City spending.
I will meet with the Directors of Administration and Operations, to hear firsthand why our audits have consistently been years late and we have not been responsive enough to improving our road conditions. Up until now, no logical explanations have been presented. If they do not present a new, winning strategy that I have confidence in, they will also be replaced.
In addition, I would put a stop to spending hundreds of thousands of our taxpayer dollars on “independent outside consultants”, who are not independent at all. We have plenty of knowledgeable people locally. We did not need to spend $460,000, as we did with the 2035 Comprehensive Plan. We also didn’t need to spend $74,000 on an Arizona company to prioritize our paving schedule. Stamford residents know what Stamford needs!
As I prepare our budget, I would initiate a conversation with residents about the role of the mayor in relation to increasing taxes, so that he or she can divert over $16,000,000 to non-profits, as we did this year. Should it be the role of government to decide for us which non-profits our tax dollars support to such a large degree? Is it purely coincidental that many of the non-profits that we fund are led by the local Democratic Party faithful? I firmly believe that we should partner with our local non-profits to some degree, but we must take a much closer look at how the non-profits spend our tax dollars. I would require those dollars to be spent locally and not fund out of town branches that are not as successful with their own local fundraising efforts. Again, it is not Stamford’s responsibility to solve the problems of other municipalities. We are struggling enough with our local issues.
These are but a few of the issues that my campaign will address immediately. Once we tackle these issues, we will focus on the rest. I plan to be very busy, prioritizing my daily schedule based on your biggest concerns. Please do not feel slighted if I do not attend every ribbon cutting, testimonial dinner or photo opportunity. I will certainly send a delegate, as I focus my efforts on addressing your concerns and my positive vision for Stamford’s future.
In closing, I will point out that in our last mayoral election, only 41% of Stamford’s registered voters participated. Please encourage your friends, family and neighbors to show up and exercise their right to vote. Let’s create a day of celebration, once the votes are tallied. Regardless of who gets elected, please help them to be successful in managing the issues that you are in agreement with them on. Volunteer for a board or commission and insert some new blood into their efforts.
Thank you all for hearing me out, today and throughout my campaign. I would be honored to lead my beloved hometown on your behalf!
Loughran is a write-in candidate for Stamford Mayor