Stratford Candidate Profile: Kaitlyn Shake For Town Council

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

Stratford Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as Election Day draws near.

Shake is running for the Town Council's Second District as a Democrat. She is a registered nurse specializing in maternal critical care.

Are you running for office in Stratford? Contact Anna Bybee-Schier at anna.bybee-schier@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Stratford Patch.

Candidate responses appear as they were received and have not been edited by Patch staff.

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

Taxes. I've knocked on hundreds of doors and spoken to many of my neighbors in my district.Stratford's impossibly high tax rate is their chief concern. Real tax relief will be my first priority if elected.I'm running on a slate committed to developing a vision of sustainable and responsible development coupled with a modern energy and environment plan.

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

The residents of Stratford are ready for change. I'm running for office because I am a public servant and not a career politician. Our local government needs to have representatives that are committed to serving all of our residents working to implement policies and initiatives that support our working class and young families that have chosen to make Stratford their home.
I intend to be fully committed to transparency and accountability by ensuring that our public comment requires town council members to be present and respond to our residents when they raise their issues and concerns. Ensuring that our residents have a voice in our town council meetings is imperative to ensuring a more inclusive and democratic process.

List other issues that define your campaign platform:

Classrooms first. Half of our tax dollars go to the Board of Education but our students continue to fall behind. We've demanded accountability and the Democratic slate will ensure that our tax dollars are spent wisely. The next Town Council must collaborate with board of education members on a line by line review of the budget. We need to be committed to ensuring our educators have what they need to do their job well. In addition, it is imperative that our education system adequately provide the support needed for busing, mental health and social services.

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

I have been an advocate for working class values for over a decade. This past legislative session I am proud to have been a member of the CT Paid Family Medical Leave coalition. We passed the strongest and most comprehensive Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) bill in the country that will protect workers by alleviating the financial and emotional stress of choosing between taking care of themselves or a loved one vs their job. There are thousands of CT workers that live in Stratford that will at some point or another need to access their PFML due to an unexpected emergent life situation, birth of a child, chronic health ailment or ailing family member. As a nurse, I have witnessed first hand the turmoil families deal with when forced to work because they can't afford to miss a paycheck. The past three years of my life I dedicated myself to educating the community, attending community forums, organizing community outreach by advocating for PFML on a local, state and federal level. On my days off from work you would find me up in Hartford during the day lobbying our state legislators on the importance and urgency of this legislation. This process required an enormous lift from hundreds of people across the state working together but we got it done. The vision, determination, stamina and tenacity is exactly what is needed to also be an effective public servant committed to representing and protecting all Stratford residents through strong policies and community initiatives.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." anonymous

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

I walk out the door at 6 in the morning, often times joined by my hardworking neighbors.

I didn't choose Stratford, Stratford chose me: the accessibility to the major interstates, the shoreline, the history, proximity and access to the New York Metro Area, and the hardworking people that are the backbone of this tenacious town. My family bought a home here and during the moving process my mother became gravely ill and I decided that I needed to be here to take care of her. My priority became taking care of my family.

My commitment to serving others doesn't stop with my immediate family: I've been fighting for working-class values, safer communities, better education, affordable/accessible healthcare and women's rights over the last decade not for political gain, but because I want Connecticut to be a place that is not trumped by fear, but a place where:we can raise our families; take care of our loved ones; and not be priced out by a high cost of living.

I'm proud of the woman I've become and now I want to serve the residents of Stratford.

As a proud Union Member, I've been up to Hartford and held our elected officials, and the Governor on their promises. I've advocated for Paid Family Medical Leave, a $15 dollar minimum wage and long before it was mainstream.

Our Town needs someone with the relationships at our State to get us the funding Stratford deserves to improve our schools, our local infrastructure and to enhance our small business community, instead of pushing them away.

I'm not a career politician. I am a healthcare professional and public servant. I want to bring my values of caring for the community to the community I have come to love the most: the Town of Stratford. I hope you will consider my candidacy and earn your vote for Stratford Town Council District 2.