Wallingford Election 2021: Joe Marrone Running For Town Council

WALLINGFORD, CT — The 2021 municipal election is heating up in Wallingford with plenty of races on the ballot.

Voters will head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 2 and cast their ballots for the position of mayor, along with seats on the Town Council and Board of Education.

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

Republican Joe Marrone, 44, is running for re-election to the Wallingford Town Council.

Occupation: Claims Adjuster

Family:
Wife is Mindy
Kids are Joey 16, Jake 14, Luca 10

Experience: 3 terms on Council and 3 on Board of Ed prior to that

Family in government: No

The single biggest issue in town is ______, and I plan to do this about it:

How to maintain our tax base, attract business and grow our grand list. We need to make Wallingford more attractive to business, not by offering tax breaks, but by making Wallingford easier to do business with.

Critical differences between me and my opponents:

While we live in a great town with great people, town government could be a lot more transparent and easier to do business with. Despite being in the majority party, I acknowledge that we can do a better job on a number of issues, like fiscal transparency and needing a plan for the future.

Accomplishments:

Having served six years in this capacity, I believe that I have proven that I ask difficult questions and try to see a problem from all sides. Further, as a volunteer at my church and around town, I am deeply committed to our town. With three kids in public school, I have a strong vested interest in what happens to my town.

Other issues:

We need to do something with Community Pool. I like the pool and splash pad idea, but if the community does not support that, let's do something else with that land and not just let it degrade further. I love the party atmosphere uptown in Simpson Court and would like to expand that or recreate it in other parts of town. The pandemic showed us that we can let business be more creative with their space without damaging the town.

What else would you like voters to know about you?

I have lived in town my entire life and chose to stay here as we live in a great town.