West Haven Election 2023: Cebi Waterfield Running For Board Of Ed

WEST HAVEN, CT — The 2023 municipal election is heating up in West Haven 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 City Council, Board of Education and more.

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

Caryll Cebi Waterfield, 57, is running for re-election to the West Haven Board of Education as a Democrat.

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

https://www.dorindaborer.com/

Education.

Graduate of West Haven High School, class of 1984. Graduate of Bridgeport Hospital School of Nursing and SCCC Class of 1991.

What is your occupation?

I have been a Registered Nurse for over 30 years with Yale New Haven Health System, currently in the department of Information Technology as a senior clinical systems analyst.

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

I have been married to Greg since 1993, and we have two daughters. Meghan is 24 years old, graduated from WHHS and Sacred Heart University with a degree in radiologic technologies, Riley is 22 years old, graduated from WHHS and Eastern CT State University with a dual degeee, majoring in Environmental Science and a minor in Studio Arts. I am a fourth generation Westie with strong community service roots, with my Dad Skip as the former Fire Marshall of WSFD, one grandfather a former police officer with WHPD and one grandfather a former founding volunteer firefighter with the Savin Rock Hose Co.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

None

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

I have been a member of the Board of Education for 4 years in this current term and previously served for a term of 6 years

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?

I was raised to believe that serving your community is a privilege. I believe that if you are in a position to help others that you should, serving as a volunteer in your community in my opinion is one of the best ways

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

Ensuring access to a quality education in state of the art facilities with the best and brightest staff. I intend to continue the work the board has been doing in upgrading our facilities and continuing to employ outstanding and dedicated staff members.

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

I have the experience in continuing to guide our district towards the future. After successfully navigating the crisis to education during COVID 19, and being able to open our schools up safely in the fall of 2020 while many remained closed, I feel I have gained an incredible advantage in seeing what technologies and techniques will push us even farther towards success. I have an excellent working relationship with the administration and staff.

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

I am currently an incumbent

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

I intend to work closely with our next mayor on her initiatives to expand our valued partnerships with universities and technical schools and work to create more availability and accessibility for pre-k care. Continue to make West Haven a place teachers and staff want to come to work.

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

As the chair of the board for the past four years, we were able to successfully navigate the pandemic crisis with both virtual and in person learning and were one of the first districts to reopen in fall of 2020. We were able to upgrade our facilities both indoor classrooms and technology, open our brand new state of the art high school, begin other build for a new elementary school, add a media center and expand the cafeteria at Bailey Middle school, as well as upgrade many of our outdoor spaces at most of our schools. Successfully negotiated a contract for our teaching professionals to ensure that we continue to attract and retain the most qualified staff.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

I have two things, one from my mom who told me the best gift you can give your children is the gift of your time and I am honored to have been able to do that for all the children of West Haven. And one from my dad who told me that by being honest you may not make a ton of friends but you will make the right ones.

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

In addition to my time served on the Board of Education, I also run the West Haven Seahawks cheerleading and football league, serving as a vice president for the past 18 years. Spending time with the boys and girls of West Haven has been one of the greatest jobs of my life. Being greeted by now grown kids all over town who tell me how much they loved being in the program is a very humbling and fulfilling experience and makes all the long days and hard work worth it! I am also a past PTA President and PTA Councilmember, serve as the secretary for the West Haven Democratic Town Committee, am a member of the West Haven Board of Health and serve on the board of directors for Southern CT Pop Warner.

Are you running for office in West Haven? Email vincent.salzo@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile on West Haven Patch.