Spader Discusses First Selectman Run

In an interview published Saturday in the North Haven Citizen, Democratic First Selectman candidate Walter Spader discussed his upcoming run against incumbent Michael Freda, and ways in which he and the DTC plan to grow the party in the future.

While an official platform for the DTC will not be released until September, Spader outlined some key issues he plans to address in his candidacy.

Overall issues will include controlling the budget. Under the present administration, our taxes did go up two years in a row. We’re in challenging economic times. And there are still a lot of people who are upset about the reduction of curbside bulk pickup. We don’t want to lose the services which the town has become known for. I’m not even sure we could get full curbside bulk pickup back. There is a lot of concern about what else we could lose.

Assisting Spader in constructing the DTC platform will be former State Representative and current Third Selectman Steve Fontana, as well as Billy Leiserson, and Patricia Brown.

Spader also touched on the recent controversy involving the Board of Education's communication and responsiveness to public concerns and opinions.

I think the Board of Education needs to become more responsive to the public. And when the superintendent tried to reassign and change the whole special education system, to do that without discussion with the public is inappropriate. At least it did give us opportunity to discuss special education.

I don’t think those kind of changes should take place without discussion. And the First Selectman needs to be a part of that discussion. It didn’t sound to me like Mike was part of the discussions until late. I think the administration needs to lead and not follow. Of course, no one person has all the answers, the First Selectman, superintendent, senator or state rep. We need to share ideas to create the proper direction for the town.

Finally, the candidate sized up his odds in the run against Freda. Freda, now coming to the end of his first term in office, has made strides to grow North Haven's economy, and to improve public relations within local government.

Spader recognized Freda's accomplishments, but focused on the DTC's long-term plans.

Certainly it’s a challenge. He’s certainly well-funded, and, as he tells us every month, he returns all phone calls to his office, he is at a lot of events and he’s got pure name recognition in town. It’s going to be an uphill battle for me.

The DTC strategy is a long-term strategy. We have to regain the public’s trust. Can we do that in just a few months? I’m not sure, but we’re certainly going to try. We are getting our house in order, and we need to show the public that we are ready to hold the Freda administration’s feet to the fire. But we’re not just going to be the party of ‘no.’

In addition to Freda, Spader will also be contending with the independent ticket comprised of Gary Amato and Mike Mele come elections.

Stay tuned for Spader's interview with North Haven Patch coming soon.