Op-Ed: Meet Jeff Kohan, Candidate For Wallingford Town Council

Written by Jeff Kohan

My name is Jeff Kohan and I am running for Wallingford Town Council. As a first-time candidate for elected office I find my biggest obstacle is that of name recognition or more precisely, lack of name recognition. Name recognition is the single most important factor in getting elected. You may possibly recognize my name as I am serving my second 5-year term on the Planning and Zoning Commission. I served a 5-year term on the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission and I served on the Zoning Board of Appeals. I was on the steering committee that helped write the Wallingford Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). I coached Wallingford Youth Soccer for 10 years and I was very involved as a Sheehan Music and Marching Band parent. Maybe you might even recognize my name from seeing my nature photography on Facebook.

Since this is my first time running and my name may not be readily known, I’d like to ask you to look beyond the incumbent names that you may recognize when you are in the voting booth. Please take a moment to consider the public and community service and professional accomplishments of new candidates such as myself and the qualities and experience we have to offer if elected as Town Councilors.

I have held executive leadership positions in Information Technology with Aetna and IBM. I have spent my career creating solutions to ambiguous and complex issues that typically involved numerous stakeholders. Each stakeholder had varying requirements and differing expectations of success. My job was to listen to all parties, understand the requirements for success and try to come up with a solution that met most, if not all of the success criteria, all the while keeping our costs as low as possible. I had great success in this and I feel this experience will make me a very effective Town Councilor. In one example, a team I led created a world-class, award winning mobile technology application. Ultimately, we were awarded a design patent for it (US Patent D772,250 S). When I mentioned to the team that we were applying for the patent, a few of the team members did not feel they should be included. I stated this was a total team effort and everyone contributed no matter how small the contribution was. I feel this quality is important to possess as a Councilor. When we don’t think first about who gets credit difficult issues can be solved and wonderful things can and will happen. I want everyone to share in the credit for creating great solutions for Wallingford.

Another quality that I will bring to the Council is that I actively listen to others. I am typically the last person to speak because I want to first consider the factors that are important to others. I think I currently demonstrate this quality now while serving on the Planning and Zoning Commission. The best solutions come when all constituents can voice their concerns and people actively listen. My job as Councilor will be to consider all viewpoints and work collaboratively with the entire Council to reach the best decisions. I do not have all of the answers. No one person does and you will hear me say I don’t know. My experience in problem solving however has given me the ability to find the answers to problems. I seek out the people who are experts. I will ask the right and sometimes probing questions. I will also go a step further and consider the potential consequences of any solutions to issues. To be a successful problem solver, one has to be totally committed to finding solutions. I demonstrated this commitment in one critical business solution that took years to achieve. Initially, a good technical solution for the problem was not available but we kept researching the technical advancements until we achieved a successful outcome for the business. There’s always a better solution but it just may take a little time to find it. You just have to remain committed and I will do just that as a Councilor.

You may recognize my name from a letter I wrote to the Record-Journal Editor not long ago (6/25/19) about seeking and promoting new ideas. In the letter I stated new ideas and new ways of thinking are the lifeblood of any entity. We should always be thinking about new ideas. The worst words I could hear in my business career were “we’ve always done it this way.” Ideas will lead to a better Wallingford. Not all ideas will be feasible but we must always be open to explore and consider new ways of doing things. No matter who wins in the upcoming election I will continue to suggest ideas and I will not take things at face value.

I have always been a dedicated worker when I take on a task and I feel the most important thing I will be doing as a Town Councilor is being involved in the budget process. I have worked on large budgets in my professional career. I will be committed to attending every budget meeting and workshop. I will ask the tough questions of department heads during the workshops. I would like to see public input earlier in the budget process. Once the nearly finished budget comes before the Council it’s really too late to consider and act on input from the public. The public is our constituent and they have a right to be heard and contribute.

I’ve lived in Wallingford for most of my life and would like the opportunity to make Wallingford an even better community. I was in one of two classes that attended both Lyman Hall and Sheehan High School. I raised my family here and I am extremely excited that my son has returned to live here. I have a Facebook page called “Jeff Kohan for Wallingford Town Council” that explores my platform; taxes, Economic Development and Government Transparency and Accountability in greater detail.

I hope that the reader has learned a little about me and will recognize my name and consider me when you vote. I have described the essential qualities and ideals I will bring as a Town Councilor. It’s about listening to everyone, making sound judgments based on facts and not politics, ignoring who gets credit and collaborating with others to understand all of the details of an issue and what the success criteria is. These ideals will lead to better solutions for all of the residents in our Town of Wallingford.

Thank you for considering me on November 5th and please exercise one of our greatest freedoms and that is the right to vote for the candidate of your own choice.

Thank you.

Jeff Kohan

Democrat Candidate for Town Council