Martin, Simmons Make Their Case For Mayor Of Stamford In Forum

STAMFORD, CT — Just days before the Democratic Primary for Stamford's chief elected position, Mayor David Martin and State Rep. Caroline Simmons (D-144) participated in a virtual forum on Wednesday night, hosted by Temple Sinai and co-sponsored by the United Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Relations Council.

The forum was moderated by Randy Skigen, former president of the Stamford Board of Representatives. Rather than debating each other, the candidates were each given 30 minutes to answer submitted questions, plus time for opening and closing remarks.

Both candidates pointed to their experience as to why voters should choose them on Sept. 14 to take on unaffiliated candidate Bobby Valentine and Republican-endorsed candidate Joe Corsello in November.

Simmons, the endorsed Democrat, said she'd bring a new voice and a "renewed sense of optimism" to the city. She spoke about her experience at the federal and state levels. For the past seven-and-a-half years, she's been the state representative for Stamford's 144th District. Prior to that, Simmons worked at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for amost five years on domestic and counter-terrorism initiatives.

She also currently works at Yale University and the Yale School of Medicine at a maternal mental health policy lab.

"I'm the only candidate in the race with federal and state government experience. We know that federal, state and local government coordination is critical to public safety, public health, and to economic prosperity," Simmons said.

If elected, Simmons said she'd focus on fixing infrastructure, improving education, and advancing economic prosperity to make Stamford "more affordable and reducing the property tax burden on our residents and making our government more responsive to constituent concerns."

"Our residents deserve this, and I believe I have the experience, the leadership qualities, and the track record needed to deliver results for our city on these issues at this moment in time. I want to be a mayor that says, 'Yes, we can,' instead of, 'No, we can't,'" she added.

Simmons said her relationships with officials at the federal and state levels will help Stamford, especially when it comes to working on getting housing for low income workers in the city.

“I'm going to be working really hard to work with our state delegation to get the state rental systems out to communities. From a local level, as mayor, there's so much we can do on this,” Simmons said.

Martin pointed to his accomplishments over the past seven-and-a-half years as mayor, and said there's still more work to be done. He said that when he was first elected in 2013, Stamford had lost its AAA bond rating, and pensions had been underfunded for decades. School buildings were also an issue. Since then, he said, Stamford has come a long way.

"We're trying to make it a city where people want to come, and that's what's been happening," he said.

Martin has spent 40 years in municipal government: 26 years on the Board of Reps., with eight as President, two years on the Board of Finance, and now close to eight as mayor.

Martin said he brings several qualities to the table.

"First, experience with management of large organizations; knowledge about the specifics of how Stamford government and its budget work; and a true commitment to the city, not to my own personal agenda," he said. "We have accomplished a great deal, but quite frankly, there's a lot more that needs to be done... I look forward to one more term in order to complete the tasks that have been set out in front of me."

If re-elected, Martin said he'd focus on improving financial infrastructure, including pensions, and IT infrastructure. He also wants to keep improving roads around the city, and school buildings. He mentioned working together to remediate mold concerns at schools, most recently at Westover Elementary.

Both candidates agreed that if they lost the primary on Sept. 14, they'd support the party to win in November. Simmons was narrowly endorsed by two votes by the Democratic City Committee in July over Martin, something he said was misleading.

Martin said 15 of 19 votes he received were from people who have served in city government and "know what it takes to run this city." He said four of the 21 votes Simmons received were from people who held elected positions.

"If I should lose this primary, which I will not, I will win — but should I lose, I will in fact support the Democratic candidate," Martin added. "I believe we have a better answer for this city, and I believe that we can move it forward in a more positive way than either [Valentine or Corsello]."

Simmons also expressed confidence about a win on Sept. 14.

"Not to be too overconfident, but I'm very optimistic and I know we're going to win this primary. We're so excited about the momentum we have behind this race. We're so honored to earn the endorsement of the Democratic City Committee," Simmons said. "If I do lose, I will of course reassess the situation, keeping in mind that the top priority should be making sure Democrats win in November against Bobby Valentine, and we'll make sure we do everything we can to make sure that happens."

Stay tuned for more in-depth candidate profiles on Martin and Simmons next week ahead of the primary on Sept. 14.