Enfield Candidate Profile: Bill Kiner, Town Council At-Large

ENFIELD, CT — Enfield's election season is heating up, and there are plenty of contested races with candidates eager to represent their town in November's municipal election. Enfield Patch asked candidates in the town council and Board of Education races to answer questions about their campaigns, and has been publishing candidate profiles each weekday as election day draws near.

Democrat Bill Kiner is running for re-election to the Enfield Town Council, seeking an at-large seat.

Name: Bill Kiner

Age: 74

Position Sought: Town Council at-large

Party Affiliation: Democrat

Family: I've been married to Roberta Labonte Kiner for 40 years. We have three children and six grandchildren. Our daughter Melanie teaches at Prudence Crandall School and she has two boys-Sean and Drew. Our daughter Katie teaches in Foxboro MA and she has two children-Angela and David. Our son David works for the state labor department and he has two daughters-Juliet and his newborn daughter Siena.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government: Our son David works for the CT Labor Department in the unemployment comp division. My son in law works for the House Democrats

Education: I have a BA in history and government from Boston University and a M.Ed from the University of Hartford.

Occupation: I taught in the Enfield School System for 35 years and I am now retired.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: I served in the CT General Assembly for sixteen years and I am currently serving my first year on the Enfield Town Council.

The single most pressing issue facing our town is: Taxes and sewer fees together are the most pressing problem facing our community. We as a community need to be more business friendly so that we can broaden our tax base and take some of the burden off of the individual tax payer. We need to get a better handle on and thoroughly investigate the agency that oversees our sewer taxes. The sewer fees are becoming excessive and we need to do stop this escalation of sewer taxes.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post: I have experience and the ability to build consensus between both parties. As chairman of major committees in the General Assembly, I was able to get most of my bills passed by reaching out across the aisle to build consensus.

List other issues that define your campaign platform: We have some of the best teachers and some of the brightest students yet our state wide test scores are mediocre at best. We need to give our teachers the tools that they require to allow our students to effectively compete with their peers across the state.

1. I helped to bring the Domestic Violence Shelter to Enfield.
2. I was responsible for the state giving Enfield the land to build our Shaker Road soccer fields on.
3. I was responsible for mandating that the state place razor wire around the Carl Robinson prison, thus protecting the safety of our citizens. There was a rash of escapes in the mid 1980s. This was stopped by the implementation of the wire.
4. I supported Asnuntuck Community College from its inception on Elm Street.
5. As the House Chairman of Labor, I helped to pass many laws that protected our workforce.
6. I successfully fought for our vets and fought to protect the Soldiers, Sailors, Marine Corps Fund.

The best advice ever shared with me was: Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. I've tried to live by this motto as a state Representative, as a teacher, as a father, and as a husband. I hope that I was successful at this.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions: I hope that the voters of Enfield remember my service to the community as a teacher and as a state Representative and vote to elect me to another term on the Enfield Town Council. I've always worked hard to represent my constituents, and I hope to continue working as hard as I can for all of our residents.