Tolland Candidate Profile 2019: Steve Jones, Council

TOLLAND, CT — Tolland's election season is at its peak, and there are plenty of contested races with candidates eager to represent their town in November's municipal election. Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns, and has been publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Steve Jones is running for Town Council as a Democrat.

Occupation:

Associate Buyer, Deli and Prepared Foods, C&S Wholesale Grocers (1 year, 10 months)

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office:

Currently elected as Secretary of the Tolland Democratic Town Committee. Previously held the elected role as chair, vice chair, and treasurer for the town committee.

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

Our biggest issue facing the community is garnering support from state and federal stakeholders to assist residents with crumbling foundations. This issue is not only a matter of keeping the tax revenues that single family homes make up the majority of from our grand list whole, it is about maintaining Tolland's high quality-of-life status, ensuring residents who wish to move into existing homes or even build new homes continue to do so, and attract businesses that can be supported by our town's population. If elected, our team's priority is building stronger relations with our community leaders to identify homes, ensure our new town manager continues to be as active on the issue as Steve Werbner has been, and increase advocacy efforts on behalf of the town to support bonded funds to repair homes as we face a second wave of foundation issues. We will also support and expand programs in place to assist residents with foundation issues lower the impact of their property taxes and various fees associated with rebuilding/replacing those foundations.

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

I believe the most critical difference between our team and our opposing slate of candidates is our commitment to establishing a strategic plan on the council. We currently do not have one and the result is our council frequently acts in a reactionary manner to events, rather than having contingencies established and executed by our town manager.

List other issues that define your campaign platform:

My other key issues are improving civic participation in elections (establishing a Civic Engagement Commission), revisiting various strategic conservation plans for trails and waterways, and revamping our town website so it is more user friendly and expands public input on public hearings across all boards/commissions.

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

My prior experiences working in state government as an assistant clerk and the accomplishments we made shepherding legislation to the Governor's Office provides me a great deal of experience working across party lines. My experience working with a broad group of individuals as a campaign manager for municipal slates in Tolland in 2013 and 2015 taught me a great deal about coalition building. And my current position working with grocery chains and vendors across the country has given me the skills to negotiate and communicate effectively in the face of multiple interests.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

Never be afraid to ask questions and learn from those who may differ from you.

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

I am an active Conservation Corps volunteer with the intention to become a trail steward. My first foray into local politics was my involvement in the getting the library expansion project placed on a referendum vote in 2013, which led to the creation of a non-partisan PAC that helped ensure it's passage that November. I enjoy reading comics and other books in my free time as a member of Friends of Tolland library, biking along the Vernon Rail Trails, and cooking. I purchased my first home in Tolland in August of 2018. I also strongly believe in making Tolland a welcoming town for members of the LGBTQIA community and would like to explore ways we can better support members of that community.