Vernon Election 2023: Michael Wendus, Town Council

VERNON, CT — Michael Wendus is running for a seat on the Vernon Town Council in the 2023 election.

Name

Michael Wendus

How old will you be as of Election Day?

61

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

What city or town do you live in?

Vernon

What office are you seeking?

Town Council Vernon/Rockville Ct

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

Please give us your party affiliation.

Republican

Education.

Rockville High School class of 1980

What is your occupation?

Retired State Employee 30 years D.O.T.

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

Spouse-Angela Wendus; Children- Brian, Rachael, Faith; Grandchildren- Bryce. Dominic, Jayden, John, Ally, Kiera

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

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

Vernon Town Council 2017 to present

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?

As a current member of our Town Council for 6 years, I'm proud of our accomplishments and improvements. When I'm knocking on doors and come across a new family that has moved here recently and they tell me quote "We did our homework and Vernon was at the top of our list " ... It makes me proud three of our schools are nationally ranked our infrastructure is second to none. Our Trails are known statewide as are our parks and new Senior Center. I don't know of any town in our state that has lowered its mill rate by 6 points in my 6 years of being on the Council with our economy in the shape it's in, but we did. As I tell everyone this is all good but we are not done and as a life-long Vernon / Rockville resident with a family history of 60-plus years of dedicated service to our community I wan to see our vision of a better Vernon / Rockville for everyone from seniors to young kids and not going into debt with today's high interest rates to do it.

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

With our economy at record high interest rates and cost of goods at record levels families are struggling to make ends meet. I'm proud to say we have lowered our mill rate by 6 points when most towns have increased it. And as a Town we are doing everything we can to not only improve our Town but be a leader during a pandemic with forward thinking for our residents safety to keep our Town operational. After all, we did make national news as our State and others followed our lead. Covid is still an issue and Vernon's leadership has a proven track record of forward thinking with a safety-first attitude. The town has underwent many improvements such as new Soccer fields, a Senior Center, a Dog Park, the Gene Pitney Memorial Park, 90% of roads redone, As of this year, all of the Vernon / Rockville Bridges are done. The Citizen Block Construction completion will make our Town more user friendly and next year our beloved Henry Park Pool will go under construction and as we always intended a new pool that'll last for decades will be built. The list goes on and is very impressive but the most impressive part of this is we didn't raise your mill rate - we lowered it. We are not done and I want to see this through for our kids and grandkids to enjoy a better Vernon/Rockville!!

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

Experience!! Plain and simple I have been through a pandemic and currently a recession of epic proportions and still lowered our mill rate by 6 points while providing our citizens with the services and improvements they expect.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?

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

Keep Vernon moving forward with improvements for all and to see our projects in the planning stages to completion while keeping our mill rate in check.

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

Lowered our mill rate by 6 points in a tough economy - New Dog Park - New Soccer Fields - Turned a abandoned building into the Gene Pitney Memorial Park - Building a new pool at Henry Park - New Senior Center - Financed and started construction on our Citizens Block - Over Hall of our Water Treatment Facility - Switched all of of our street lights to LED saving us money - Turf Field at RHS - Kept our Town running and operational during a pandemic and recognized nationally as a leader in this. We are facing tough times ahead of us with record high interest rates and cost of goods sky rocketing with no end in sight. You need proven leadership with factual results not promises

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

I graduated from RHS in 1980 and my statement in the year book still holds true today as my Grandmother told me " If your going to do something do it right "!

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

My family, like Mayor Dan, grew up on Village Street and my Uncle Eddie graduated from RHS and went right into WWII and the Second Armored Tank Division "Hell on Wheels" and landed the day after D -Day on the beach of Normandy. After serving 2 years in Germany and 5 battles, a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and Reaching the Rank of Captain and being the first Soldier that the Rockville Journal posted letters from the Mother Land in the paper, he returned home to Rockville and married, as promised, my Aunt Margie who worked for the Vernon BOE for over 30 years as Executive Secretary. My cousin Eddie Wendus was a teacher at VCMS for 18 years in special ed and coached the baseball team to a championship. Respecting our town's history, my family brought back our beloved Santa House bigger and better than the 1970s verson and this year will be our 9th year as a 501C3 non profit that we bring the joy of Christmas to all in Downtown Rockville. My wife currently works in the finance dept for the Town of Vernon and I am running for my 4th term on our Town Council, I am a former coach for girls basketball in town. My family history runs decades in Vernon/ Rockville and I'm proud to say I'm a Rockville Born and Raised still living on Village Street. I have a great understanding of what my community needs and feel we have delivered in every way.