O’Connell Announces Another Run For Wallingford Mayor

WALLINGFORD, CT — Riley O’Connell has announced he is making another run at mayor of Wallingford, nearly six months after coming closer than any Democrat in the last 30 years of defeating longtime Republican Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.

Dickinson defeated O'Connell by fewer than 400 votes in November to claim his 20th consecutive term in office.

O’Connell announced Thursday that he has officially launched his campaign for mayor for the 2023 municipal election.

“I truthfully hoped that the fine margins of last year’s election would have been a wakeup call for Mayor Dickinson, but his actions have unfortunately proven otherwise,” O’Connell said in a statement. “All the issues that we highlighted in that campaign have either been completely ignored or made even worse by this administration.”

The Town Council failed to overturn Dickinson’s veto of their approved budget this week, putting Dickinson’s original budget, which carries a 0.52 mill rate increase, into effect. O’Connell said this marks the 17th consecutive year that Dickinson “proposed a tax increase, a period of time that spans two recessions and record high inflation.”

“In just the first 6 months of this term, the mayor has raised taxes yet again, played politics with potentially life changing ARPA money, and done nothing to address our crumbling infrastructure, just to name a few things,” O'Connell said. “But this downward trend does not have to continue. This community demonstrated that there was an appetite for change last election, and now I’m ready to deliver on those promises. The challenges our town faces only continue to grow, but our message remains the same and as important as ever: For Our Future.”