First Selectman Candidate Tesoro Proposes Big Election Changes

First selectman candidate Vicki Tesoro proposed several changes to the way elections are run come 2016.

“Trumbull has felt like a government that has a town, not a town that has a government,” Tesoro said.

• She proposed holding a referendum to see if people want to return to a seven-district configuration instead of four.
• Hold a referendum to decide on term limits for boards, commissions and elected offices.
• Ask the Town Council to reopen the charter to reduce the number of seats on the Board of Education to six, and limit each party to no more than three seats. We will also recommend revising the charter to require that Board of Education seats be four-year terms elected on a staggered schedule. Since the seventh seat was added, the Board of Education has morphed from a body concerned with education to a political body.

• Require that all members of any board or commission, and the Town Council, have full documentation of all agenda items at least seven business days before any discussion or vote.
• Require that any elected or appointed official be a member of their party (or unaffiliated) for at least 5 months before filling an open position.
• Require that all elected boards or commissions have at least one alternate of their own political party and of their own choosing.

• Reform the process for appointing citizens to Boards and Commissions, to ensure that every citizen who wishes to serve has a full and fair hearing before the entire Town Council.
• Require appointments to Boards and Commissions made by the First Selectman to be reviewed and ratified by the Town Council.

• Require that all nominees to a Charter Revision Commission be appointed by a special nominating committee that is made up of two Republicans, two Democrats, and two unaffiliated voters.
• Require that notice be provided to residents when a resolution before Town Council or any other governing board impacts their quality of life or imposes a fine for non-compliance. Examples include cell tower installation, high-density development, zone changes, and the alarm ordinance.

• Reform the Code of Ethics to ensure it is consistent with our Town Charter, and state and federal laws. Create a special commission to recommend nominees for the Ethics Commission, said nominees to be reviewed and ratified by the Town Council.