New Mayor N. Warren "Pete" Hess III Vows Naugatuck's Best is Yet to Come

The inauguration of the next mayor of Naugatuck was held on Tuesday evening at the school that N. Warren “Pete” Hess III had attended 54 years ago.

Hillside Intermediate School holds a special place in the heart of the newly elected mayor and the ceremony was held in the school’s gym that was named after his mentor, Robert J. Markovic. The school hallways were decorated with posters drawn by Western Elementary School students that celebrated the borough.

Masters of Ceremony were Hillside’s principal Johnna Hunt and Naugatuck High School teacher Michele Russell.

Mrs. Hunt said that she was hosting the ceremony as a friend of the mayor elect and reminded the audience that his campaign had always been about Naugatuck’s future. Invocation and Benediction were offered by Ethel Grant.

The bleachers on two of the gym walls were filled to capacity, as were some chairs set up on the gym floor.

A group of students representative from district elementary schools came forward to lead the assembled guests in the Pledge of Allegiance, An honor guard from the NHS Jr. ROTC presented the colors for the pledge, which was followed by Hydihah Sackey, a former Hillside student, singing the “Star Spangled Banner” a capella.

All the honored guests were then recognized by name; these included all the newly elected burgesses, board of education members, two former mayors, Joan Taf and Mike Bronko, superintendent of schools Sharon Locke, Police Chief Christopher Edson, Interim Fire Chief Ellen Murray and Peter Mariano, Judge of Probate.

Then the members of the Mayor’s Inaugural Band, comprised of 57 select sixth grade musicians from both Hillside and Cross Street Intermediate Schools, performed “My Country ‘tis of Thee” and “Ode to Joy” under the direction of Lisa Pettinicchi. Mr. Hess very much wanted to have students involved in his inauguration.

Honored speakers included State Representative David Labriola, State Senator Joan Hartley, State Senator Joe Crisco and letters of congratulations sent by RIchard Blumenthal, Christopher Murphy and Rosa DeLauro were read aloud.

Tax Collector and Campaign Manager Jim Goggin had the honor of introducing Mayor Robert Mezzo. Mr. Goggin thanked the outgoing mayor his six and a half years of service to the borough and then introduced the mayor elect.

Mr.Hess had asked that Mr. Mezzo administer the oath of office. This was followed by the theme song of the Hartford Whalers.

Hess’ remarks and plans for the future

Mayor Hess then delivered his Inaugural address. He began by thanking everyone in attendance for coming to the ceremony, the organizers of the evening, and all of his campaign team.

In keeping with his reputation of someone who gets things done, he peformed his first official act as mayor by signing a proclamation for Kevin McSheery, who had been honored by the Rotary Club right before the inauguration that evening.

The new mayor pledged to make Naugatuck a better place to live by delivering an economic plan for the borough. “The table is set,” he said, and now he will execute the plan. He has immediate plans to hire a new accessor to be a partner in that office. He will raise the salary of the position so that he can work with the accessor on a daily basis to grow the grand list.

Other plans include a better tax incentive and new land for an industrial park with a tax district in it within the first month in office. In answer to how long it will take, he asserted that it will not be happening in his first year in office, due to dealing with the new high school and the sewer treatment plant, but by his second year, things will get better.

He will implement his long-term plan for sustained growth because he is “used to winning” and good at delegating when necessary.

“We have many things to feel good about,” he noted, but the best is yet to come. Some of the projects that are in the works include a plan to reopen the Salem Theater as well as an old-fashioned drive-in movie theater.

Also on the horizon is expanding the trail networks, an indoor/outdoor cafe, and a private project for an indoor sports facility.

In lieu of a mayoral ball, the mayor plans a downtown festival to be held in the spring. He will also open his annual Christmas event at the Hopson Building to the public, with the $25 ticket price going to the Whittemore Library.

The new mayor shared that “excited” is not the correct word to describe his feelings as he faces his first day on the job. He felt that the words “focused,” “in the moment” and “eager” to start working were better adjectives to describe his feelings and reiterated his one rule: “No drama.”

In honor of Mayor Hess’ birthday tomorrow, the crowd joined in a rousing “Happy Birthday to You” at the conclusion of the hour long ceremony. And there was red, white and blue cake to celebrate the inauguration.

Photo 1 by Kassandra Fruin and the rest by Nancy Sasso Janis