Bethel Candidate Profile: Patricia Rist For First Selectman

BETHEL, CT — The 2019 municipal election is heating up in Bethel and there are plenty of races with candidates eager to serve in elected office.

BethelPatch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Pat Rist, 75, is running for first selectman as a Republican. She is a 21-year member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, and have been chairman for the past nine years.

"During this period, I was chairman of the Route 6 Study Commission, which developed a guide encouraging a greater mix for future development. I was active on two 10-year Plans of Conservation and Development, which is the Town’s policy guide to land use, development, and conservation decisions. I also worked on the Transit Oriented Development/Bethel Forward Plan which is a master plan creating a vision for the TOD area with supporting/revised zoning regulations," Rist said.

Rist is retired after 15 years with Oracle Corporation as an operations manager within Oracle University. Prior to that she was an operations manager with Siebel, and director of client services with MOHR Development, a consulting company to the financial services industry. She also worked with Xerox Learning Systems for 18 years. She holds an MBA in marketing.

The single most pressing issue facing our town/district is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Taxes are the most pressing issue Bethel is facing and one way to control this issue is to move forward with more commercial and industrial growth. Our current Plan of Conservation and Development shows about 85,000 sq ft of commercial space has been approved on Route 6 with the remaining vacant land on Route 6 supporting an additional 129,000 sq ft of commercial development. I will work with the Economic Development Commission on this commercial growth as well as industrial growth in Clarke Park. We need to take in more revenue than we spend and that will come from this growth.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

With 21 years on P/Z I have had the opportunity to work with most departments such as Health, Building, Fire Marshal, PUC and, of course, the Planning and Zoning Official ensuring the Commission follows all Regulations and State Guidelines. The Commission has worked through and approved, to name a few, the Big Y Complex, Maplewoods, Copper Square, the Summit, Bethel Meadows, Bethel Crossings, all significant contributors to Bethel's Grand List.

I have a different management style. Transparency is important and I want to ensure the public is fully aware of building projects and costs so that a supporting budget does not fail and we have a Town building unfinished. I want to ensure an environment of cooperation among all municipal departments. I think it is important to recognize that no one person is responsible for a Town's success when that success required people and departments to make it happen. Again, it is just a different management style.

List other issues that define your campaign platform:

I will ensure Taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly

I will follow shovel-ready guidelines for all Town Construction Projects, a policy introduced to the Board of Selectmen by my running mate, Paul Szatkowski, and sent to the Charter Revision for their review. This process will give the public a true picture of project costs.

I will search out ways, with the help of Municipal employees, to improve efficiencies to reduce the cost of Bethel government.

I will govern with respect and transparency and communicate findings and recommendations, good or bad, to Bethel residents.

I will seek out additional Senior Housing opportunities with the help of the Housing Authority.

I will seek out the assistance of our legislators to change State mandates for the 8-30g housing law returning authority to local P/Z Commissions.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I am deeply involved in the community serving as President of the Bethel Historical Society, since 1995, bringing both children and adult programming to Bethel as well as preserving Bethel's history. I am a Board Member with the Bethel Chamber of Commerce, working with Bethel businesses and bringing town-wide events to Bethel. I have worked with the Bethel schools for 24 years providing historic tours for all 2nd graders and this past year, at the request of the schools, hosting classes in the one-room Plumtrees Schoolhouse for all 3rd graders. I am a member of Friends of the Library and I am an active member of the Bethel Republican Town Committee.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

There is no I in team - give credit where credit is due.