Wallingford Election 2023: Bruce Conroy Running For Town Council

WALLINGFORD, CT — The 2023 municipal election is heating up in Wallingford with plenty of races on the ballot.

Voters will head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 7 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.

Bruce Conroy, 53, is running for election to the Wallingford Town Council as a Democrat.

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

https://wlfddems.org/Bruce-Con...

Education.

State certified Carpenters apprenticeship 4 years

What is your occupation?

Union Carpenter/ Construction Superintendent Local 326

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

Wife Aili McKeen, married for 22 years Daughter Erin Moira Conroy, 27, paramedic supervisor at AMR and Paramedic at Branford Fire dept. Marika McKeen, 38, Journey Carpenter, member Local 326

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

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

Currently on the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Building Maintenance Commission

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?

To help guide our Town and our new mayor through the challenges ahead. With the amount of potential construction in our future I believe that my skills coordinating large and small construction projects, team building and problem solving will be a great addition to the Council team.

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

Taxes.

While Wallingford taxes are not bad, they could be better, they could have not been raised consistently for almost 20 years and now we need to freeze them and have a hard look at where we are today and where we want to be in the future.

We need a detailed audit of every department and non profit the town supports. Efficiency saved money, but for our town to run efficiently we need to know where every dollar goes and how our workforce is being utilized. Outside contractors need more oversight and we need to evaluate if the jobs or projects can be done more efficiently and economically by our own employees.

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

I started as an apprentice Carpenter and worked my way to Construction Superintendent. My job every day is to see what can go wrong and avoid problems that cause a loss of productivity, to ensure all projects are done safely and efficiently and to quickly solve any issues that do arise. I need to think quickly and make good choices under pressure. I believe that the skills that I learned in the last 28 years make me unique among all of the current candidates.

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

The current council has done its best, but has too often been pushed around by the Mayor. I look forward to working with every other Councilor to make sure that going forward, the Council's voice won’t be silenced.

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

Transparency, accountability and approachability. Wallingford needs an improved and long range plan that will be followed. Zoning regulation reform. Holding Maintenance Commission permanent. We need more shovel ready projects that will allow us to access more grants.

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

28 years of success as a Carpenter and Construction Superintendent. I have worked on or overseen more projects than I can easily remember. What I can say is that none have lost money. I can manage almost any project offered to me and see it through till the end with positive results.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Success is in the details.

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

I am a past Board member for WPAA public access tv, currently sit on the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Building Maintenance Commission. I sit on the Board of Wallingford Center Inc. that runs Celebrate Wallingford and all of the other events that happen in the center of town. I have advocated for Conservation, Labor and Women’s rights, Hunting and fishing access, farm protections and many other issues.