Trumbull Candidate Profile: Tony Silber For P&Z

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

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

Tony Silber is running for Planning and Zoning Commission as a Democrat. He is in the publishing and media industry.

Are you running for office in Trumbull? Contact Rich Scinto at rich.scinto@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Trumbull Patch.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office:

Incumbent Vice Chair of Planning and Zoning Commission, appointed July
2019. Community Facilities Building
Committee 2018-present. Inland Wetlands Commissioner 2019-present. I was an
alternate on the Board of Finance 2018-2019, and served on Planning and
Zoning 2007-2016.

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

Managing the town's growth over the next decade and beyond. Our challenge
is to maintain our single-family character even as demographics shift.
Because most of the town is developed, a significant engine of economic
growth is going to be redevelopment, and developers will likely continue to
propose concepts that are new to Trumbull.

Our charge will be to maintain our character and adhere to our own vision
for the town while working with the community and with our economic
development team to make good decisions for the town.

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

I perceive my role to be serving the people of the town—I'm their
representative and I owe no allegiance to anyone else. Put another way, the
burden of proof should always be on the developer to prove that a proposal is
in the best interests of the town.

My experience with land use in Trumbull extends back to the days when I was
a reporter for the Bridgeport Post, covering Trumbull.

List other issues that define your campaign platform:

It's fundamentally about pride in our Colonial past and faith in our town's
promise and potential. Within that context, I'll advocate for open-space
preservation, historic preservation, maintaining the town's residential
character, more sidewalks, making the town more pedestrian friendly, and
smart development.

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

I participated in a rewrite of the zoning regulations in 2008 and was the
first advocate for the comprehensive 2014 Plan of Conservation and
Development.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

Always exceed expectations. Everything else will take care of itself.

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

I play drums in a rock band. I'm a veteran of the United States Navy. I own
my own company, Long Hill Media. I've won many journalism awards over the
years.