Candidate Profile: Patricia Boye-Williams, Farmington Town Council

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

Farmington resident Patricia Boye-Williams is running for the Farmington Town Council as a Democrat.

The following is Boye-Williams' questionnaire sent to Patch:

Name

Patricia Boye-Williams

How old will you be as of Election Day?

Does your campaign have a website? If so, include the URL here.

https://farmingtondemocrats.or...

What city or town do you live in?

Farmington

What office are you seeking?

Town Council

If you are running in a district, you can specify the district here.

District 2

Please give us your party affiliation.

Democrat

Occupation

I am a partner at Murtha Cullina LLP where as part of my law practice, I help clients solve environmental problems and manage environmental risk in business operations and transactions.

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them:

My husband, Chad Williams, is a professor of computer science at Central Connecticut State University. My daughter Grace graduated from FHS in the spring and is a freshman at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, studying computer science. Kate is a junior in high school and she enjoys running cross country. She is hoping to study animal behavior in college.

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?
I served as a member of the Farmington Town Council from 2018-2019 and was the chair of both the Green Efforts and Land Acquisitions committees. I continue to serve as a member of the Green Efforts Committee. I am currently a member of the Farmington Board of Education, where I also serve on the board’s negotiations and curriculum subcommittees.

Now we'd like to ask a few questions about your reasons for running and your general views on politics and government. First, why are you seeking this office?

Our town government should listen to residents and make decisions only after thoughtful consideration of the potential impacts of those decisions.

While it can be more cumbersome, it’s important to give residents an opportunity to be heard and participate in decision-making processes.

Even though it might be tempting to resolve conflicts outside of town council meetings in order to make public meetings more efficient, it is more important for residents to have the opportunity to be heard and considered before decisions are made.

I am running for town council because I believe our community deserves transparency, inclusion, and integrity from their elected officials and that I can provide those qualities to our residents.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ___, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Many of our fellow residents share the same concerns: providing quality services while also being fiscally responsible; addressing traffic throughout town, especially on Route 4 and in Unionville Center; and maintaining our excellent schools.

These are all issues that we deal with every day, which require creative and responsible actions.

Prior to committing to significant expenditures on any project, though, we must consider residents’ viewpoints and, where appropriate, conduct studies and analyses to ensure any proposed solution truly benefits the residents of Farmington and Unionville.

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

Everyone who runs for local office does it because they truly care about the town they live in and they want to give back to their community and that is true of all the candidates running for town council.

My skill set and background, however, make me uniquely qualified to develop creative solutions to issues facing the town and include as many viewpoints as possible as we continue to plan for the future.

When I was elected to the town council in the past, I promised inclusion, transparency, and integrity, and I will once again deliver on those promises.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?

It’s not fair to say any of our elected officials have failed the community.

Everyone has their own ideas about how to govern the town and implement change (or not) but we do have different approaches and ideas.

For example, our elementary schools are not air-conditioned and the HVAC systems could be improved to better serve our children–both in terms of air quality and air temperatures.

We see drawbacks already when schools close early due to excessive heat at the beginning and end of the school year.

Furthermore, while our schools have greatly improved air circulation in response to the coronavirus pandemic, improved HVAC systems will only provide additional health and wellness benefits.

The Town of Farmington received grant funds as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) -funds that could be used for a variety of projects, including improvements to school HVAC systems.

When the town council convened an ad hoc committee to recommend how these funds should be used, its only members were existing town council members and town hall staff.

There was no representation from the other boards or commissions in town (including the board of education) or from town residents.

The council presented only one option for the use of these funds to the public–the renovation of the 1928 building.

Prior to the town council’s recommendation that the ARPA funds be used for the 1928 Building renovations, there were limited opportunities for residents to have a voice in what they thought the town needed.

While this project certainly has merit, it’s impossible to know that it was, in fact, the best use of the ARPA funds because of the limited number of viewpoints and opinions that were considered.

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

I believe in not biting off more than I can chew–and as noted in answers to other questions, I’m promising to consider others’ opinions and viewpoints while working to manage a variety of town concerns: funding for our schools, maintaining reasonable taxes, and evaluating traffic concerns.

All of these issues will require significant time and thought and I want to leave room to address other issues or concerns that voters bring to my attention.

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

In addition to the examples provided in response to other questions, as a transactional lawyer, I work every day to reach a compromise.

At the end of every business deal or real estate transaction, each party has probably given up something that they wanted at the beginning of negotiations – and has had to accept something they probably didn’t want.

However, both parties achieved what their true goal was: to reach a final agreement.

The only way to get to that final agreement is to continue to have conversations and to discuss what each party really needs.

The key to effective governance is similar.

We must communicate–and that includes listening to others and valuing their opinions and their needs.

When we keep discussions open and really listen to each other, it is easier to find a middle ground and compromise to achieve our true goal. I will bring those skills to the town council.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

A friend in high school told me to be myself and not be afraid to ask questions every once in a while.

Over time, I’ve learned to heed that advice.

Being myself lets people know who I am and what I believe in and, therefore, makes my interactions with them more genuine and trustworthy.

And asking questions lets me learn about those around me, what their hopes and needs are--and helps me to make sure that I understand the “why” behind their opinion.

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

When I was elected to town council in the past, I promised inclusion, transparency and integrity and I followed through on those promises.

I listened to folks from the community who called or sent emails and considered those perspectives when I voted or raised issues to consider.

I fought for and succeeded at expanding the universe of residents who served on appointed committees and boards while I was on town council, bringing more voices to the table.

I also heard, and ultimately agreed to implement, ideas from other members of the town council across party lines.

Finally, while on the town council, I worked to expand communications to residents in order to create more transparency in our government.

I intend to continue to fulfill those promises and will continue to listen to those who disagree with me in order to learn more and incorporate others’ viewpoints in my decision-making process.

At the end of the day, I represent the residents of the 2nd District and I intend to serve you.