New Canaan Candidate Profile: Craig Donovan For First Selectman

NEW CANAAN, CT — Election day in New Canaan is drawing closer, and there are two candidates running for First Selectman, Democratic challenger Craig Donovan and Republican incumbent Kevin Moynihan.

To help residents make an informed decision on Nov. 5, New Canaan Patch asked the two candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and the issues in the town.

Donovan, 61, is married to Liz Gores Donovan, and they have "6 children 3 biological and 3 adopted, 4 sons and 2 daughters ages 44-24." They also have three granddaughters and one grandson.

"I am the first in my family to go to college, I earned 2 BA degrees from the University of California, my Masters from San Francisco State University, and a dual doctorate in Business and Public Affairs from the University of Washington," he says.

He is a Professor of Public Management and Head of the Public Administration Department at Kean University, and is a former state and local public employee.

Though he has held elected and appointed office in academia, he has "never before agreed to run for public office." His campaign website it www.Craig4First.com.

The single most pressing issue facing New Canaan is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Over the last several months, my wife Liz and I have knocked on nearly 1500 doors and asked New Canaan residents what issues are front of mind for them. One key takeaway: there are multiple high priority issues of concern to voters, from better train service, to reliable cell coverage, to disciplined budgeting, to government transparency, and more. What's really disappointing is that New Canaan isn't facing any of these concerns for the first time...instead, once manageable issues have become increasingly difficult to solve due to officials who have run our town in a reactive rather than proactive way.

To pick one of the above issues, however -- improving our rail service: local leadership may be limited in its impact on the portion of the commute between Stamford and New York, but we certainly have agency when it comes to the branch line between New Canaan and Stamford if the two towns work together. When I reached out to the Mayor of Stamford, however, I was dismayed to learn that New Canaan leadership had never initiated a conversation with them about improving service on the branch line. As First Selectman, I will hit the ground running with this and other practical initiatives that New Canaan residents are tired of waiting for.

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

My opponent likes to describe the First Selectman role as the "town CEO"; after 25 years studying and teaching best practices in public administration, I believe the "town as corporation" analogy is faulty on many levels -- especially by creating the impression that the First Selectman is the "boss" of the town. This fundamentally inverts the central dynamic of a democratic society, where in fact the town is the "boss". New Canaan deserves a First Selectman who will collaborate in setting a strategic vision for the town; who is unafraid to make tough decisions and stand behind them; who understands that transparency and accountability are not burdensome, but conducive to good governance. I am proud to answer that call.

“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet ( Reverend Theodore Hesburgh)."

List other issues that define your campaign platform:

• Budget discipline: Improve New Canaan's long-term fiscal stability
• Managed growth: Streamline large-scale infrastructure upgrades by reinstating a Utilities Commission to advise and coordinate during each stage of major projects
• Public safety: Establish a dedicated commission that can implement sensible public safety measures by minimizing the bureaucracy typically associated with initiatives that may involve multiple departments
• Promotion of the arts: Elevate the profile of New Canaan's historic art guild, iconic mid-century architecture, and performing arts associations
• Civic engagement: Implement a variety of proactive outreach programs that encourage residents to reach out to Town Hall, make interactions with the town more intuitive and user-friendly, and promote town-wide transparency
• Strategic planning: Develop a long-term shared vision that will boost New Canaan's ability to attract new families and retain long-time residents

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

It is not just the organizations I have started and run, the 'wins' I have, etc. etc. that are important, you can google those and none of them were accomplished alone. What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived, made money, held titles; it is what difference have we made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of our accomplishments and of the life we lead. In the past three plus decades, I have been a successful part of helping over two thousand people, from teens to seniors, open their minds, expand their horizons, earn their degrees and change their lives as well as those of their families forever. That many of these people are business, non-profit and governmental leaders is icing on the cake.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet” (Theodore Hesburgh). Leaders listen and guide us with clarity and consistency. The best with collaboration. The very best with compassion."

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

I was raised by my grandparents, Eisenhower Republicans whose steady moral compass guides me to this day. My grandparents lost everything in the Great Depression. They moved to California and painstakingly rebuilt their lives through jobs that supported the war effort. The personal and societal upheaval of those years instilled in my grandparents the values they would later pass on to me: fiscal conservatism, which viewed debt as a measure of last resort; and social responsibility, which measured the health of a community--like New Canaan--by the health and prosperity of all of its citizens. I was a registered Republican for more than 30 years, but it was my principles, not my party, that defined who I was. I am proud to run as the Democratic candidate for First Selectman, having worked with talented leaders on both sides of the aisle, and having supported courageous and pragmatic policies...not ideologies.