Fairfield Candidate Profile: Bill Perugini For RTM, Constable

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

Fairfield Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as Election Day draws near.

Bill Perugini is running for Representative Town Meeting District 9 and constable as a Republican. Perugini is vice president of sales for orthopaedic device company Skeletal Dynamics. He previously represented District 9 on the RTM from 2013-17, and has experience on the Fairfield Beach Residents Association Board of Directors, the Fairfield Community Emergency Response Team and many other area organizations.

Are you running for office in Fairfield? Contact Anna Bybee-Schier at anna.bybee-schier@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Fairfield Patch.

Candidate responses appear as they were received and have not been edited by Patch staff.

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

As one who has been personally and professionally committed to public health and safety initiatives in numerous capacities over the last 3 decades, it is abundantly clear to me that the single most pressing issue facing our town and District 9 (the location of the Public Works Yard and Aggregate Fill Pile) is the public’s concern with the flagrant health and safety breaches consequent to the recent findings within the Department of Public Works.

I was part of 2 Fairfield Beach neighborhood organizations (the Fairfield Beach Peninsula Association and the Fairfield Beach Residents Association) comprised of concerned residents who first alerted town officials of suspicious DPW Fill Pile activity back in 2016. Beyond the obvious health and safety violations, I am saddened to report that the profound erosion of public trust in town government now overshadows many other matters of equal importance to the operation and long term sustainability of our town.

As the newly elected Vice President of the Fairfield Beach Residents Association Board of Directors and an active member of the beach community through my work with the Fairfield Beach Peninsula Association, the Fairfield Community Emergency Response Team, and the U.S. Coast Guard Aux as Flotilla Staff Officer of Public Affairs, being elected as the District 9 Representative on the RTM and as Constable will amplify my reach as I passionately work to ensure that public health, safety and trust are never again compromised.

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

I feel my intense passion for public service, unparalleled commitment to the Fairfield community and highly effective leadership style are some of the many critical differences that distinguish me from the other candidates seeking the offices of RTM Representative and Constable.

Firstly, I derive great satisfaction helping my neighbors and constituents and have a long history of dedicated service in the fields of patient advocacy, public health, public safety, law enforcement, municipal government and the U.S. Coast Guard. I love serving the public.

Secondly, I feel my strong commitment to the Fairfield community sets me apart from most others. Apart from my prior 2 terms representing District 9 on the RTM and Chairing the Public Health and Safety Committee, my community commitment is evidenced by my work as Vice President of the Fairfield Beach Residents Association Board of Directors, involvement with the Fairfield Beach Peninsula Association, Fairfield Community Emergency Response Team, Fairfield Health and Fitness Council and U.S. Coast Guard Aux as Flotilla Staff Officer of Public Affairs. Beyond the Fairfield community, I have committed time and energy to the NYPD as a Reserve Officer in a Special Task Force unit, federal law enforcement as a Graduate of the FBI Citizen's Academy and Alumni Association Member, the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health, as well as the Arthritis Foundation and the American Red Cross.

Lastly, my servant based and results driven leadership style is highly effective in accomplishing the work that needs to be done. I lead by example through service to my constituents and my team while focused on specific outcomes. I build consensus by understanding before being understood and I always listen and learn before I endeavor to influence and lead. Given the prevailing erosion in public trust and town wide compromises in public health and safety, I feel our town is in dire need of leaders who are committed to our community, are servant based, results driven and who will prioritize public health and safety. That is precisely who I am and what I do and the reason I feel uniquely qualified to be elected as an RTM Representative in District 9 and as Constable.

List other issues that define your campaign platform:

In District 9, the beach area, there are a host of other issues involved with public health and safety that are critical and warrant attention. In some areas, chronic nuisance flooding needs to be addressed and a strategic plan implemented to protect the Fairfield Beach Road peninsula and our entire coastline from storms like Hurricane Irene and Super Storm Sandy in our recent past.

In many offer areas, residential safety is impacted by reckless vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Their are routine and flagrant violations of the posted speed limit and traffic signs and signals on Reef Road, the Post Road, Old Post Road, Fairfield Beach Road, Beach Road, South Benson Road and in many other parts of town.

Finally, ensuring the academic excellence of our schools as well as safe and healthy conditions for our children to learn and play are critical for all in District 9 and throughout Fairfield. We need to equip our schools with air conditioning, particularly for those children with respiratory challenges and their playgrounds need to be free of toxic environmental contaminants.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

I have had the privilege of working for and with many great leaders in the fields of medicine, business, athletics, public health, public safety, law enforcement and municipal government. They have all impacted me in their own unique way and my style as a results driven community leader, local legislator and constituent advocate is a culmination of the many different leadership lessons and highly effective team cultures I have had the privilege of working within. There have been many valuable pearls of wisdom imparted and some are as follows:

"Always point your thumb before you point your finger."

"Never be tentative. It is when you are tentative that you get hurt."

"You are always better than you think you are but you are seldom as good as you can be."

"Don't judge yourself on what you have achieved but rather judge yourself on what you are capable of achieving."

"Never lie and always tell the truth."

Some of my favorite quotes are as follows:

"Remember: there are no small parts, only small actors."
Constantin Stanislavski

"The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have." Those words could not be more true and great leaders always do more with less.
Coach Vince Lombardi

"The greatest danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."
Michelangelo