North Haven Election 2021: Michael Freda For First Selectman

NORTH HAVEN, CT — The 2021 municipal election is heating up in North Haven with plenty of races on the ballot.

Voters will head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 2 and cast their ballots for the Board of Selectmen, Board of Education, Town Clerk/Tax Collector and more.

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

Republican Michael Freda, 67, is running for re-election as First Selectman in North Haven.

Occupation: First Selectman

Family: Wife Shirley, Son Michael, Daughters, Michelle and Shari Daughter in law, Danielle, Son in law, Steve

Family in government: No

The single biggest issue in town is ______, and I plan to do this about it:

There are always many issues facing every single city and town. Here in North Haven and Public Safety is a main issue and I will continue to reinvest in keeping our citizens safe and I will always will care for our citizens and their families.

Critical differences between me and my opponents:

I have been in office for 12 years and also was a Corporate CEO before transitioning over to a career in local government. I have a great deal of experience in all aspects of operational, financial and strategic management. I have a great deal of experience in dealing with crisis management situations in managing through storms, tornados, hurricanes, blizzards and massive power outages. I have relationships throughout the state with state and other local officials, I have relationships with the public utility companies and relationships with the federal government to get things done for my residents and their families. When I place a call to any of these entities, I receive a call back immediately based on these relationships, and I take this responsibility very seriously and I am constantly on a mission to create positive outcomes for our residents and their families.

Accomplishments:

I have been selected twice as the top Chief Elected Official in the state in terms of economic development and in bringing new businesses in to North Haven, which has benefited the region and the state. In North Haven, we have also renovated outdated infrastructure and built a new middle school, a new police station, new fire houses, made town hall handicap accessible for the first time ever, we have paved over 120 miles of roadway, we have built an emergency management center to manage major storms, and I have updated our emergency management notification system to communicate to our residents during major storms and crisis situations. During the last two years we have also reduced the mill rate and, since I have been in office, we have become AAA rated by the national rating agencies for being an outstandingly well run municipality. This AAA designation has saved us millions of dollars in debt service reduction. This government does not deal in providing empty rhetoric to our citizens, I am an action oriented and a "get things done" CEO. For as long as I am in office, and we will face every challenge that is presented to us with courage and confidence, and will always provide an outstanding level of service for our citizens.

Other issues:

I am actively involved with every economic development project in town, I will continue to support public safety and education, and I will never cut any of our outstanding services to our residents for as long as I am in office. I am actively involved with communicating with our residents on social media answering questions and offering detailed explanations to current issues and questions that they may have.

What else would you like voters to know about you?

As a competitive athlete, being in three different baseball hall of fames, I have always prided myself in being in top physical condition with an intense daily workout regimentation which includes weight lifting, aerobics, pushup, sit-ups, martial arts, and yoga. Professionally, I also sit on various regional and state committees and I am the immediate Past President of Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, and I am this year's Chairman of the Regional Council of Governments. I have also been appointed by two separate Governors to be a current member of the state wide Police Officer Standard Training Council. I am also Co-Chairman of the State wide rail advisory committee which will help us get a train station here in North Haven.

See also: North Haven Election: Carl Kordek Running For First Selectman

Are you running for office in North Haven? Email vincent.salzo@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile on North Haven Patch.