Stratford Election 2023: Kathleen Callahan Running For Town Council

STRATFORD, CT — The 2023 municipal election is heating up in Stratford with plenty of races on the ballot.

Voters will head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 7 and cast their ballots for seats on the Town Council, Board of Education, Planning and Zoning and more.

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

Kathleen Callahan, 58, is running for election to the Stratford Town Council as a Democrat.

Does your campaign have a website? If so, include the URL here.

https://stratforddemocrats.com...

If you are running in a district, you can specify the district here.

District 10

Education.

I earned a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Connecticut in 1987. A decade ago, I began a career transition and graduated from the esteemed Drug and Alcohol Recovery Counselor Program at Gateway Community College with an AS in 2015. My MSW was awarded by Southern Connecticut State University's Social Work Co-occurring Disorders Cohort Program in 2019.

What is your occupation?

Social Worker: 4 years

Software Engineer: 23 years

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them.

My wife, Karen Tracy, and I have lived in the Second Hill Lane neighborhood with our beloved, changing crew of dogs for 13 years.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

N/A

Now we'd like to ask a few questions about your reasons for running and your general views on politics and government. First, why are you seeking this office?

Two years ago, I met hundreds of neighbors and received almost five hundred votes when I ran for Town Council in District 10. The conversations I had with people throughout the district have not left me and our shared concerns have not improved. I am running because I love Stratford and believe we must leverage our untapped potential and balance representation with more urgency. We have an opportunity to change course and elect individuals with new perspectives and different experiences and skills.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is \_\_\_, and this is what I intend to do about it.

I believe many of the concerns in Stratford are rooted in the same problem and until we address this problem, we cannot gain momentum or appropriately resolve the issues we face. There is a sense of distrust and skepticism that separates those who hold power and those who do not. This includes residents who consistently show up at town meetings and constituents of either, or neither, political party who have shared their thoughts about our future. The disconnect results in frustration for all, with so few community-informed decisions about things that directly affect the taxpayers.

Before we can address taxes, increasing town services, speeding on Nichols and Broadbridge (as well as the connecting side streets!), funding our school system, protecting open spaces, affordable housing, children, seniors, veterans, development, transportation, community nonprofits, parks … our quality of life. Any of it… all of it… We need a responsive, transparent local government to function properly and efficiently for all the residents. Not for one team or one party, but for all of Stratford.

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

I believe my opponent and I both have strong, positive feelings about the town and would work for what we think to be for the advancement of Stratford. Without any information, I cannot speak about our differences; simply about what advancement means to me and my starting point. I am running to help shift the future direction of the town and the nature of the relationship of the local government with the residents.

As a macro-level social worker, I view systems holistically and people as products of their environments. This gives me a unique understanding of both the needs of people in our district and across the town, and the availability of resources using data, facts, and personal stories.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

Expansion of traffic calming measures to our district

Retaining Remington Woods as an urban forest to the largest undeveloped open space in Fairfield County

Potential (re)development projects in our district

Energy incentives vs. tax abatements

Creation of a centralized Youth Community Center

Zoning Regulation rewrite progress and the Plan of Conservation and Development - the importance of their alignment

Housing options throughout the lifespan

Strengthening the Town Council/BOE relationship

Transparency regarding voting and the recent redistricting process

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

I am currently the Chair of the Stratford Democratic Town Committee, the co-founder of the statewide Connecticut State Taskforce on ACEs and Resilience, and the recently resigned chair of the Education and Legislative Action Network for the state chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. All organizations were either in a state of flux or creation, and I have provided leadership and organizational skills to stabilize, rebuild, and in the case of the DTC, unify and expand capacity.

To be successful, my two careers in software engineering and social work require a person with plenty of tenacity, able to address a problem and move toward its solution over a potentially long period of time. Because my work involved substantial decisions involving the public (safety in the case of avionics software; and health for macro social work), applying meticulous planning and implementation skills, anticipating unintended consequences, and building broad coalitions is essential. I have been fortunate to work with incredibly talented and passionate mentors and colleagues in both realms and have benefited from all their experiences and lessons.

As a social worker, I have been involved with system and organizational change and sustainability and was also responsible for the development and implementation of community outreach and programming. I am currently providing legislative and policy consultation, grant writing, and technical support. My previous software career was multi-disciplined with systems ranging from real-time, multi-tasking, embedded airborne avionics and surface-based radar applications to e-commerce web sites.

Both careers highlight my commitment to the work and the respect and trust my work garnered from employers, colleagues, and extended networks as I traveled throughout this country and the world while developing, testing, and installing radar systems, and throughout the state guiding behavioral health systems and organizational change.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

“Count to 10,” via my feisty yet wise mama. I am a work in progress – and this is often recalled well after I should have counted – but I have found a greater sense of calm and ease when I increase the time between stimulus and response. For me and all others!

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

My experience is in building broad, diverse coalitions and working on complex problems. That’s politics and that’s our Town Council. Ideally councilors from both parties are open to frank and candid conversation on how to reset our relationships with each other. If I am elected, I will be open-minded, honest, respectful, responsive to my constituents and other elected officials, and accountable for any mistakes I make.

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