Hinger says Brookfield needs to maintain its ‘charm’

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD – In 2008, a year before he was initially elected as first selectman, Bill Davidson said that, “Brookfield needs to have a conversation.”

“Are we going to continue to rely heavily on residential property taxes or are we going to expand the commercial tax rate by developing the Brookfield Town Center near the Four Corners of Federal Road and the cornfield on Junction Road?” he remarked during public comment at a Board of Selectmen’s meeting.

The conversation began under Davidson, who before he left office as first selectman in 2013, conducted a consultant’s study on the 198-acre Brookfield Town Center. That conversation continued under Bill Tinsley, his successor, who approved the tax abatement for Brookfield Village, a major hub in the New England-style pedestrian-friendly small business district, prior to his departure in 2015.

The goal appeared to be to create something similar to Main Street in Ridgefield.

However, now nearly nine years after construction began at Brookfield Village, the conversation has changed.

Karl Hinger, the vice chairman of the municipal Zoning Board of Appeals, says, “I think it was a good idea.” But he believes that Brookfield Town Center has grown “too much, too fast.”

Hinger, 30, is seeking the Republican nomination for first selectman. He formally kicked off his campaign recently at The Café, located in Brookfield Village. He may be headed toward a contest with Democratic incumbent Steve Dunn, who also recently announced his plans to run in the November 4 election.

The first selectman is currently paid $123,719 annually.

Construction of Brookfield Village at 802 Federal Road began shortly after Dunn initially took office during his first tenure as the first selectman. He lost his bid for re-election in 2021 but was elected again to the position in 2023.

State Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding (R-30) of Brookfield told Patch.com in 2024 that residents he has spoken with are concerned about “safety” in parts of Brookfield Town Center.

“If you look at one of the buildings just north of the Four Corners, there is almost no gap between the building and the road. It is a state highway. It doesn’t seem like there was a lot of planning. That’s what you get when you have high-density housing development in such a small area.”

“Four Corners used to be a quaint part of town,” Harding added, referring to the intersection on Federal Road in Brookfield Town Center. “I think the original vision was an area with commercial space with some apartments above it. It has expanded though [beyond that] through the northern section [of Brookfield Town Center]. It is too dense.”

Dunn told Brookfield Patch last year that there needed to be a moratorium on new construction until the updated Plan of Conservation & Development was completed. Since then, the Zoning Commission has imposed a temporary moratorium.

Hinger said that about a decade ago Tinsley said that the development of Brookfield Town Center “was like driving a car, you have to know when to step on the gas and when to pump the brake.”

Added Hinger, “Now is the time to pump the brake.”

In an interview with Patch.com, he said he would enlarge that moratorium to all sections of town “to have a hard-stop in Brookfield to high-density development.”

Hinger said that developers are seeking to “build maybe down the street” from Brookfield Town Center and “continue forward with the development despite the moratorium.”

Former Board of Education Chairman Matt Grimes, who sought the Republican nomination for first selectman in 2023, told Patch.com then that he believed that Brookfield was the same town he grew up in, but it just had been “rearranged a bit.”

Hinger said, “I would agree with that premise.”

“There are some people who think that the charm is gone, we’ve turned into Danbury” with the addition of more “rental housing,” Hinger remarked. “I don’t have essentially a defeatist attitude about it. I think Brookfield still has a lot of what makes Brookfield unique.”

He added, “I think it is important to have open space in Brookfield. The increase in traffic is something that we need to be keeping an eye on. I’m not interested in turning this into Danbury and getting as much money as possible out of every parcel. It is about keeping some of the charm.”

In an interview at Hinger’s recent kick-off event, Harding’s father, Stephen Harding Sr., a member of the Brookfield Republican Vacancy Committee, said, “I think with Steve Dunn what we have seen is the over-development in town. I don’t think that the over-development is good for the town of Brookfield. It is a small town. I miss the small-town feel. I think the quality of life in Brookfield due to the traffic and with the increased population is really something that we may want to look at. I think Steve could have done a better job of controlling that.”

Republican candidates for first selectmen have expressed concern about the increase in rental housing in Brookfield Town Center since 2017, when longtime former Board of Education member Harry Shaker carried the GOP banner.

Dunn told Patch.com in 2021 that the town’s commercial tax base generated 16 percent of the municipal revenue and thought that it eventually could get to 20 percent. About 20 years ago it stood at 13 percent.

What about future development outside of Brookfield Town Center?

Republican former First Selectman Jerry Murphy told the Brookfield Journal in 2003, the year that he was first elected, that Berkshire Corporate Park (BCP) could be an economic boom for Brookfield. He also noted that the entrance is in Danbury and thus development there would not generate traffic congestion.

There has been development on the 39 acres at the cornfield on Junction Road over the recent years after Costco withdrew its application for the parcel and opted instead to expand its facilities on Federal Road.

Hinger said he would need to gather more information on the possible expansion of commercial activity at the corn field on Junction Road, which less than 10 years ago only had a soccer field, and regarding the Brookfield portion of BCP, which over the last 11 years has added Eastern, a call center for Comcast, and Branson Ultrasonic. Those two companies take up less than half of the 75 acres in the Brookfield portion of BCP.

He said that he supports trying to spur economic development on blighted areas north of the Four Corners of Federal Road where there are parcels with vacant buildings that haven’t been pained in generations.

“It is an area where development makes sense,” said Hinger.

On a separate subject, he called 2023 “a rough year for Republicans” in Brookfield, as Republican incumbent First Selectman Tara Carr faced a challenge from Grimes in a September primary.

Hinger said that, among other things, Carr provided excellent constituent service and kept residents posted on municipal issues through the social media.

“However, when you are split in multiple directions you’re not going to win against an opponent who is united,” Hinger commented, referring to Dunn’s victory after he had lost the office to Carr in 2021.

Brookfield Democrats recruited unaffiliated voter Bob Belden, a former Republican and former chairman of the Board of Education and Board of Finance to be Dunn’s running mate. Additionally, they established a permanent campaign headquarters and posted lawn signs saying, “Republicans For Dunn-Belden.”

Hinger said he has spoken with Carr, who currently serves as an Other Selectman, about his candidacy and that she has “encouraged” him to proceed with his campaign, even alerting him about municipal meetings that he might want to attend.

In a recent phone interview with Patch.com, Grimes said that he has not decided whether he will seek an office in the 2025 municipal election, but would make his decision in the near future. He noted that neither Dunn nor Carr had formally announced their candidacies by the end of March two years ago.

“I think we have a unified party going into this election,” said the older Stephen Harding. He said some of the candidates that ran on Grimes’ Team Brookfield ticket two years ago have already contacted the Republican Vacancy Committee about being interviewed for seats on the 2025 municipal slate.

Brookfield Democratic Town Committee Chairman Shannon Riley told Patch.com last year that her party has been able to garner considerable support from unaffiliated voters, which make up 41 percent of the electorate, the largest group in town.

According to the Brookfield Registrars of Voters, the town currently has 4,993 unaffiliated voters, 3,787 Republicans, 3,045 Democrats and 214 registered with other parties.

Can the Republicans take a bigger share of the unaffiliated voters on November 4?

The older Harding said the Republican municipal candidates in Brookfield can accomplish that since the GOP does it in the even-numbered elections.

He noted that his son carried the town last fall by nearly 1,900 votes, state Rep. Marty Foncello (R-107) prevailed by nearly 800 votes and Republican President Donald Trump won by about 400 ballots.

Hinger, who is the inventory manager at Hamar Laser in Danbury, said he expects that his campaign would be canvassing neighborhoods before the end of April.

The older Stephen Harding commented that Hinger is an effective communicator.

“Karl has an incredible personal way about him,” he explained. “He can talk to people. He listens. He is responsive to what their concerns are.”

Hinger said that Dunn is “great at being the chief administrator,” but is “lacking” in “community engagement.”

He pointed to four-term New Milford Republican Mayor Pete Bass, who has been “phenomenal” in promoting “town patriotism” and “is very active on social media.”

Hinger also questioned why Brookfield has accumulated so much debt.

Dunn and Carr have said in recent years that any financing for expanded police facilities or converting the former Center Elementary School (CES) into a community center would have to wait until at least 2026 due to bond payments for the renovation of Brookfield High School and the more recent construction of the Candlewood Lake Elementary School (CLES).

Commented Hinger, “We’re waiting for this money to free up and [then] we have a project to spend it on.” If you “spend debt on ‘nice to have’ projects, then you don’t have it available for these other projects.”

However, the Brookfield High School renovations were approved at referendum in April 2003 when Foncello was first selectman and the financing started in 2006 when the construction commenced and Murphy was first selectman.

“We were in need of a new school,” said Hinger of CLES, which opened in 2023. He said maybe it could have been constructed “more efficiently” at a lower cost.

Dunn has said that Brookfield’s Triple-A bond rating, the highest possible, saved the town $14 million on financing costs associated with the project.

Through recent times, Dunn has said the Board of Finance and the Board of Selectmen have attempted to maintain at least a 15 percent fund balance. Dunn has said the rating agencies are looking for a fund balance somewhere near 18 percent since they want to ensure that the municipal finances can survive through any economic obstacles.

Hinger said he supports maintaining at least a 15 percent fund balance.

The selectmen have appointed ad-hoc committees that are studying the best options for the police facilities and the future use of CES.

Belden has said he hopes that the costs for both projects can be presented to residents before the first project goes to a referendum vote.

Hinger said he supports taking that step so that voters know what the total long-term costs will be. He said he agrees with Dunn and Belden that the police facilities should be addressed first. Dunn has said the current headquarters on Silvermine Road does not conform to federal standards.

On another topic, Hinger said he opposes the proposed expansion of the Iroquois natural gas compressor station near High Meadow Road, saying that it is too close to neighborhoods and Whisconier Middle School.

Dunn has said that if the expansion is approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission it would be difficult and expensive for the town to win an appeal.

Commented Hinger, “I do think that it would be very difficult” to successfully appeal a decision on allowing Iroquois to expand its compressor station.

“We have to look out for the safety and well-being of the people in that area,” he explained. “I do think that is more important than money. But it is still very important that we are spending our tax dollars efficiently.”

In August 2023. Carr told Patch.com that Brookfield was at a “tipping point” regarding whether it was best to continue the current Board of Selectmen -form of government. She said that a population of 20,000 might be the threshold. Brookfield is nearing a population of 18,000.

At the time, she said, “I do like the idea of a town-manager form of government. You’ve got your operational person and his permanent staff and an elected mayor. I think that would be interesting for Brookfield.”

Regarding moving to the town-manager form of government, Hinger said, “I’m not convinced it is a necessity.”

Hinger, who grew up in New Milford and was an Eagle Scout, has lived in Brookfield since 2020 with his wife, Leanna, a Brookfield native who teaches chorus at the John Read Intermediate School in Newtown.

Hinger has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) in Danbury.

He said he learned important lessons in his “American Presidency” class at WCSU that can be applied to serving as first selectman.

“It is about surrounding yourself with people who are smarter than you,” he remarked.

Two of the elected officials that he most admires are former presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

“They surrounded themselves with people that had better answers than them,” remarked Hinger.

He said a key attribute for any chief elected officials is, “The power to persuade and negotiate.”

Reports indicate that the Millennials – those now between age 28 and 45 – have registered as unaffiliated voters at a much higher rate than their parents.

Wall Street Journal columnist Joseph C. Sternberg wrote in his 2019 book, “The Theft of a Decade” that the baby boomers built a nice life for themselves at the expense of the younger generations.

He stated that many of those who graduated from college after the 2008 Great Recession have struggled to land high-paying jobs.

Said Hinger, “I think it is time that the town had a new direction,” noting that Dunn, a Baby Boomer, has had nearly a decade where he has served as either the first selectman or as an Other selectman.

“More of the same won’t fix the problems.” added Hinger.

Millennials hold the chief elected positions in three of Connecticut’s eight most populated municipalities – Democrat Caroline Simmons in Stamford, the second largest city; Democrat Roberto Alves in Danbury, seventh; and Republican Erin Stewart in New Britain, eighth.

Hinger said he also is impressed with Sen. Harding who is just 37 and has been serving in the General Assembly for a decade.

“It is very refreshing to have someone more my age in that position,” he said.

Hinger remarked, “Even after all of the Republican squabbles in Brookfield in 2023 he won easily in the town when he was re-elected last year.”

Resources:

Interview with Karl Hinger, Patch.com, on Saturday, March 22, 2025.

Interview with Karl Hinger, Patch.com, on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.

Interview with Stephen Harding, Patch.com, on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.

Phone interview with Matt Grimes, Patch.com, on Sunday, March 23, 2025.

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/too-few-traffic-lights-too-much-high-density-housing

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/carr-says-town-should-evaluate-pay-boost-municipal-staff

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/belden-says-if-dunn-runs-again-he-will-too

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/dunn-meet-state-deep-iroquois-expansion

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/it-more-just-democratic-base

https://patch.com/connecticut/...

“The Theft of a Decade,” Joseph C. Sternberg, PublicAffairs, 2019.

E-mail interview with John Lucas, Patch.com, on Sunday, March 30, 2025.

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/proposed-cell-tower-probably-won-t-go-town-meeting-until-2025

Report from Brookfield Registrars of Voters, Patch.com, on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.