Avon Democrats Honor Shea, Gugliotti and Primeau

Board of Finance member (D) describes Avon's combined town and school board budget as a tree.

That was just one example mentioned of his involvement in his town and the Democratic party at a town committee fundraiser Aug. 22 honoring him, , and former interim Democratic Town Committee chairperson Elaine Primeau. The event was at in Riverdale Farms.

"Many of you may or may not know this, but Tom actually, every budget meeting, he talks about the tree and how we continue to prune and prune and prune and prune so that one day until one day maybe there are no more limbs to prune," said fellow Democrat David Peña, an Avon town councilman and a candidate for state representative of the 17th Assembly District.

Peña said that Gugliotti's analogy has made its way into the vernacular of the Board of Finance and is sometimes referenced by members of the public.

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When Gugliotti addressed the crowd, he said that his role on the Board of Finance spreads beyond his party. He said Democrats on the local boards are not "profligate spenders" and their goal is make things "just a little bit better." He spoke critically about reductions the Board of Finance made to the council and school board budget requests last spring.

"The Town Council came in with a very reasonable budget. The Board of Education came in with a very reasonable budget," Gugliotti said. "We got the same old stuff where never mind what you came in with and never mind how reasonable it is, we're cutting because we can do it, because we can cut."

Primeau was not at the meeting, but Peña described her dogged push to get Avon town meetings broadcasted on 's public access station. He also praised her volunteer work as an alternate on the Planning and Zoning Commission and in various roles on the Democratic Town Committee.

Shea may have been ousted from the Town Council as the Republicans gained a seat, but he has not stopped being involved in the community. Peña touted his membership on the .

Shea and Gugliotti thanked all for their support.

Gugliotti made a quip encouraging Shea to run for municipal office again, but it is too soon to tell whether that will be the case.

However, the Democrats are already preparing their slate for the 2013 election.

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