Easton Candidate Profile: David Bindelglass for First Selectman

EASTON, CT — The 2019 municipal election is heating up in Easton and there are plenty of races with candidates eager to serve in elected office.

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

David Bindelglass, 60, is running for First Selectman as a Democrat. He is an orthopedic surgeon in private practice and chief of orthopedics at Bridgeport Hospital. He received his undergraduate degree at Harvard and his MD at Columbia. He has served on the Board of Education since 2015.

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

Lack of effective town government leadership.

The most common remark I hear as I knock on doors around town every weekend is that people feel that they do not know what is going on in town. It's true that we no longer have a newspaper, but this isn't the whole story. People feel there is a lack of transparency. There are concerns about the town’s finances, how the town functions, and the lack of a vision for the town. Even those who seek out information about what's going on feel stymied. Those who go to Board of Selectmen Meetings do not feel heard. People are dissatisfied with the Town Meeting process. People distrust the leadership or wonder if there is any leadership at all. I will encourage public interactive comment at Board of Selectmen meetings and Town Halls, offer brown bag lunches with the selectmen, and work to increase communication to citizens from Town Hall. As we work on important solutions to problems facing Easton like planning for the future, funding our schools, and bolstering property values, it is essential that government involve our citizens.

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

Management and leadership experience. I started at my practice as the fifth doctor in a company with 20 employees. Today we employe more than 200 people and 24 doctors, and run our own operating rooms, physical therapy, an MRI, and four walk in centers. As senior partner and member of the practice’s executive committee, I have overseen these changes, developing skills I will put to use as First Selectman. These skills were further honed on the Board of Trustees at Bridgeport Hospital and president of the medical staff there. If I can corral 25 doctors in a meeting into getting something done, a Board of Selectmen meeting should be easy!

Vision. The world around us will not stay the same forever. We must manage our way as the world, and our community, evolves. If we chose to just ignore the changing world, those changes will affect us in ways we cannot control. Better leadership, with a vision and a plan to manage our town's future, will enable us to preserve a vibrant, rural Easton.

List other issues that define your campaign platform:

I am a member of the Board of Education. We who serve, regardless of party, share a commitment to our children. We all believe that preparing our children to be future citizens in an ever more complex society is a moral obligation. Yes, we face some tough issues, not the least of which is the rising cost of education. But we have made it our priority to keep class sizes small and we have managed to accomplish that with very modest increases in cost. We agree that we must recognize that schools, along with the character of our town, are what drive people to move here. Lose the quality of our schools and you begin a cascade where people do not want to move here, property values fall, and people who want or need to sell their houses, mostly our seniors, are hurt. I am proud of the Board's work and what we accomplish for our town -- and my part in it. I am prepared to bring to the role of First Selectman this kind of leadership and approach to solving our town's challenges.

We must look for new sources of revenue so that property taxes are not the sole way we cover our town's expenses. Doing so can help lower our tax burden, which is good for all of us, but especially for our seniors on fixed incomes. And we need to find ways for those seniors who wish to stay in Easton to live in safe and affordable housing. We need to promote and develop those things that make Easton appealing to people looking for a place to live and raise their families. We need to encourage events that foster our sense of community. We have a great farming culture and a fledgling Chamber of Commerce aiming to promote the existing businesses in Easton and to showcase our farms. As First Selectman, I will work to lead the town in efforts to build community while preserving the beauty and character of our rural community.

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

I have a long history of handling complex management and leadership challenges. I have had ample experience making thoughtful tough decisions, with creating an environment where differing beliefs and priorities can be heard and considered, with managing large, complex situations. I have extensive experience with managing large budgets and staffs. Perhaps most important, my leadership approach is to create an environment that is inclusive, civil, and respectful while engaging in realistic problem solving and effective execution of the plans that are made.

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

I consider myself very lucky to have developed the skills needed to perform hip and knee replacements, which are so life-changing for patients. As a volunteer surgeon with Operation Walk, an organization that sponsors surgery in the developing world, I just returned from Cuba on my sixth mission. As wonderful as it is to perform these surgeries at home, in the developing world it is even more rewarding, and it fits my personality of seeing problems and fixing them. I want to share the same degree of skills, determination and compassion that I use in my professional and volunteer roles with the people of Easton.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

When my mentor, an internationally renowned orthopedic surgeon, taught me how to perform knee and hip replacement surgery, he also told me to listen to my patients and to treat the whole person, not just the problem I was operating on. This has in turn taught me to see bigger problems, and solutions, that are perhaps overshadowed by immediate, more visible issues. This advice applies to every life situation, and certainly to managing a town of 7500 people, 18,000 acres, three schools, and a budget of $45 million. As First Selectman, I will use my ability to focus on and solve discrete problems as they relate to the whole town and its many residents, issues and opportunities.