2025 Patch Profile: Robert Gillespie, Enfield Town Council

ENFIELD, CT — Enfield Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as Election Day draws near.

Robert Gillespie is running for the Enfield Town Council as a Republican.

The following is Robert Gillespie's questionnaire sent to Patch:

Candidate's Name: Robert Gillespie

What office are you seeking? Enfield Town Council District 2

What town do you live in? Enfield

Campaign Website: https://www.enfieldrtc.org/

Party Affiliation: Republican

Occupation: Electrical/HVAC education supervisor

Family: He and his wife are the proud parents of five adult children and grandparents to nine grandchildren.

Previous public office, appointive or elective: Fire commissioner for the Thompsonville Fire District and commissioner on Enfield Inlands and Wetlands.

Why are you seeking this office?

I have been serving this town for 47 years, and now I want to make sure my children and grandchildren have what is needed to make their homes here for life.

I see our taxes driving young people out and making them unaffordable for our elderly.

I want to do my part by putting my money where my mouth is and serving on the council!

The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ____, and this is what I intend to do about it: Taxes.

I would like to find a way to level out the taxes in our town and stop big corporations from getting all these tax breaks on the back of the taxpayers.

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

I will say nothing bad about my opponent. (State Rep. John Santanella, D-Enfield, and council incumbent)

He is very busy with the position he now holds at the state level, and I think this distracts him from being truly present in the day-to-day here in Enfield.

This is where I won’t have to choose where my time is needed; I will be able to always give 100 percent to the Town of Enfield and District 2.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

I will be trying to get our parks cleaned up and back to respectable levels, working to get the fields at the annex fixed and presentable to the teams that use them, along with the teams that come to play on them.

We need to come together and figure out solutions for the town’s elderly and their taxes, along with working with all town departments to make Enfield a safer place to live.

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

During my time as a fire commissioner, I have helped in the creation of budgets that have brought the fire taxes down in Thompsonville.

I have helped with the purchase of a new fire engine and other major purchases without raising taxes.

We can get new things in the town; all it takes is working together for a common goal.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

My grandfather always told me to listen to people carefully and always work for what you want.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

My family has been part of this district for 200 years.

We have lived, worked, and volunteered countless hours in the district and town.

I have lived within the same few blocks of District 2 for my entire life.

I have five children, with three proudly calling Enfield home, and nine grandchildren, with five of them also proudly calling Enfield their home.

I absolutely love District 2 and will staunchly fight for it until the day I take my last breath. So please remember to vote for me and all my friends on Row B.