Danbury Candidate Profile: Irving M. Fox For City Council

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

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

Republican Irving M. Fox, 48, is running for re-election to the City Council representing the 1st Ward. He is a past member and chair of the Danbury Board of Education, and a member of governor's task force on the technical high school system. He holds a BS in business administration and a BA in political science from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Fox has 26 years of financial management experience, including his current job in IT financial operations for the past five years at Pitney Bowes.

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

Continuing to provide services to our growing community at a cost that is affordable to our taxpayers and residents. I support the continued implementation of innovative solutions to gain efficiencies in the delivery of city services and advocacy for our fair share of state funding to ease the burden on our taxpayers.

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

I have devoted thousands of hours of community service in elected and volunteer positions across Danbury over the past 15 years to make the community that I love a better place for all.

List other issues that define your campaign platform:

The continuation of policies and city practices which have led to Danbury's current status as an affordable, desirable, high quality of life city. I am proud to be a Danbury resident and to have had my kids educated in the Danbury Public Schools. Our city is an attractive place for people to live and work. That is the reason our population has grown in the face of people and businesses exiting the State of Connecticut at a record pace.

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

I have worked with my fellow Council members on both sides of the aisle to enable the delivery of city services as effectively as possible at a tax rate competitive with similar size in Connecticut. I have been an effective advocate for residents of the First Ward to ensure their voices are heard in city government over the past six years and am eager to continue my work for the community.

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

I am a strong advocate of everyone exercising their right to vote. It is important for incumbents to be affirmed if voters are satisfied and for them to hear the message if they are not.

I am also proud to have had my 4 children be educated by the Danbury Public Schools. Our schools have provided our children with the tools necessary to be successful in college and beyond. I am proud of our community to have supported the spending of almost $100 million in state and local dollars in capital construction to expand our schools and improve our facilities over the past 10 years and am eager to help develop the plan for and execute the next phase of capital construction to meet the needs of our growing population.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

By trying to please everyone you will please no one and the needle will not move an inch.