Patch Candidate Profile: Rafeena Bacchus Lee, 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 Rafeena Bacchus Lee is running for the Farmington Town Council as a Democrat.

The following is Lee's questionnaire sent to Patch:

Name

Rafeena Bacchus Lee

How old will you be as of Election Day?

48

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 Chair

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

Not applicable.

Please give us your party affiliation.

Democrat

Education.

BA, The City College; MA, New York; JD, Suffolk University

I was born in Guyana, South America, and emigrated to the United States with my family when I was 8 years old. I attended New York City public schools, including Stuyvesant High School, where I met my husband, Mark. I have a Bachelor's degree from The City College of New York, a Master's degree from New York University, and a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School.

What is your occupation?

I have been an attorney for 16 years and currently work for a civil litigation firm in Hartford.

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

Husband, Mark and 3 children, aged 12, 14 and 16, all of whom attend Farmington Public Schools

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

Yes, I have served on Town Council since 2022.

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?

I am running for Town Council Chair because I am committed to making sure Farmington remains a place for families like mine and yours to thrive. There are things we need to do better, from engaging with all community members, to understanding the needs and ensuring those needs are met.

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

There is no single issue that is the “most pressing” for all constituents. There are several issues that continue to top the list in constituents’ minds. Traffic has always been a challenge. Post-pandemic, speeding in residential neighborhoods seems to be increasing. Roads in some neighborhoods remain unpaved. Affordability, walkability, over-development and increasing funding for senior services are other issues.

In addition to maintaining low taxes, we need to improve on prioritizing constituents’ needs. Decisions should not be made in a vacuum. Instead, we need to be open, ensuring all voices are heard and transparent in explaining how decisions are being made.

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

As a wife and working mother, I am especially attuned to how decisions made on the Town Council affect the daily lives of residents. There are residents who are worried and struggling to keep up - worried about their roads not being paved and cars speeding in their neighborhoods; worried about having to take a day off from work because of another half day of school due to the weather and struggling because inflation and taxes are making Farmington less affordable. While we have had to make some tough decisions over the last few years, the default should not be to set an arbitrary budget target and hope for the best. The infrastructure projects the Town Council chooses to prioritize and fund have real consequences.

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

Not applicable.

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

See above.

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

For more than 14 years, I have been actively engaged in our community. Starting when my children were in elementary school, I served as the PTO president at East Farms raising funds and recruiting the volunteers we needed to support enrichment, cultural and social programs. More recently, I was the co-chair of Comprehensive FHS, a committed group of volunteers who advocated for the FHS building project. I was also the co-chair of the Farmington Funds Advisory Committee, which identified the needs of non-profit organizations in town and designed a grantmaking process to ensure grant funds benefited our residents.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Do the work, the rest will follow.

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

As two city kids who did not grow up with much, my husband, Mark, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have found a home here and to be able to raise our three children in Farmington. I am running for Town Council Chair because I want to ensure Farmington remains affordable, accessible, open and welcoming to all.