Groton Candidate Profile: Ken Richards for Town Council

GROTON, CT — Groton’s election season is heating up.

Groton Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Ken Richards, 36, is a Republican running for election to the Town Council.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? This includes any relatives who work in the government you'd be representing.

Spouse is active Military

Education:

Liberal Arts Degree

Occupation:

Emergency Medical Services Administrator 3 Years, Advanced EMT 12 years

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office:

Previous President of Poquonnock Bridge Fire District

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

Sustainable Economic Development. I intend to push for long term sustainable economic development, our current council is touting that Groton is booming, but this is primarily based on Electric Boat’s expansion. We have new apartment buildings being built to meet the housing demand for Electric Boat employees but these apartment buildings aren’t long term growth, we need to attract new businesses to Groton fill our empty store fronts on RT12. While I commend the council for selling off our empty school buildings, especially Groton Heights this was not a new business they are simply relocating from the business park to the school. We need to focus on long term job creation with our economic development, we can’t simply rely on Electric Boat to carry our growth.

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

I believe in open government and politicians that work with all people regardless of political party, I feel that our current council needs more diversity in respect to political opinion, with all 9 councilors being Democrats there is no diversity of thought. Our current council seems to only be interested in what the Democrat Party tells them to be interested in, they support the chaos in Hartford and support the nearly 2 billion in new taxes that have been enacted in the new state budget. I believe we need more fiscal responsibility in Groton, balanced budgets that don’t artificially keep our mill rate down by raiding the Rainy Day Fund just like our Governor raids the Special Transportation Fund. I believe I am the person that will look at our budget and make the hard necessary cuts to make Groton more affordable and more business friendly.


List other issues that define your campaign platform:

While I am fiscally conservative, I am very liberal with social issues I believe we can work to make Groton better by placing people over politics.

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

When I took over as the Administrator I worked with our board to eliminate 350k in debt with in one and half years, I also worked to increase our staffing while lowering our overall expenses leading to a balanced budget that increased our output.

The best advice ever shared with me was …

I was always told to treat people with the same respect you expect, and I live by this every day.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I would love for voters to look at our Republican Slate this year, we have fresh faces, Independents and genuine people that want to make Groton the most affordable and best place to live.

Are you running for office in Groton? Contact Ellyn Santiago at ellyn.santiago@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Groton Patch.