Westfield Candidates Forum a Lively Event

(Left to right: Matt Lesser, John Szewczyk, Paul Doyle, Joe Serra, David Bauer, and Dom Mazzaccoli)

All of the candidates running to represent the Westfield portion of Middletown turned out to make one of their final public pitches for votes on Monday evening, at a candidates forum hosted by the Westfield Residents Association. About 40 residents heard them discuss issues quite similar to those being discussed in statewide races in Connecticut and elsewhere: creating jobs, balancing the budget, and the value of previous government service.

Dom Mazzacoli (R), running to unseat Senator Paul Doyle (D), opened the forum by saying, "I'm running because we are moving in the wrong direction." Doyle countered by listing his experience and accomplishments over the past 4 years of serving his district, he said that he was most proud of the work he had done to help persuade the Army to move a training facility from Boardman Lane to its current site on Smith Street.

In the 33rd District, challenger David Bauer (R) promised that he would work harder to get Middletown a higher amount of Educational Cost Sharing revenue from the State, he would exert an effort to bring appropriate development of the Aetna property, and he would fight during the upcoming redistricting to get Middletown more favorable district lines. Joe Serra (D) touted his roots in the city, "I was born and raised in Middletown. I spent 37 years at the Public Works Department... I'm the senior member [of the delegation] in terms of time and age, and so they listen to me."

In the 100th District, John Szewczyk (R) is challenging one-term incumbent Matt Lesser (D). Szewczyk told the audience that if elected he would cut the budget by consolidating duplicate state agencies. In a departure, he said that the role of the government was not to create jobs, but rather to invest in infrastructure which would in turn promote economic growth. Lesser said that his first term was not an easy one, having started at the beginning of the economic downturn, but he said, "At the end of the day we were able to protect the city of Middletown [from significant cuts in funding]."

Jim O'Rourke, running for reelection in the 32nd District, spoke of issues on which he had worked with Westfield Residents in the past. Referring to a Dainty Rubbish landfill, he said, "We worked together on the Mt. Trashmore on Newfield Street." He expressed pride in endorsements he has received from environmental groups, "Environment has been one of my key things."

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Disclosure: I am vice-chair of the Westfield Residents Association.