Easton Election 2021 Profile: Art Laske

EASTON, CT — The state Municipal Election is Tuesday, Nov. 2.

Patch contacted candidates to answer questions about their campaigns.

Democrat Art Laske, 59, is running for Board of Finance in Easton.

Occupation: Attorney

Family: Father of four kids who all attended Easton public schools.

Experience: Board of Finance member last 22 years.

Family in government: No.

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

Will Easton continue the progress made in the last two years to address our educational needs, the quality of our parks and recreational programs, the needs of our seniors for tax relief, and will we be able to do so in a manner that fosters respectful dialogue between our citizens. I have worked hard for 22 years on the Board of Finance to support budgets that invest in the quality of our educational programs, provide for parks and recreational programs for our kids to enjoy, and contribute to the maintenance of property values by making Easton an attractive place for families who want to buy houses in our town. Easton is a great town with great people who just want a better quality of life for their families and deserve a responsive and effective set of leaders who work together for the benefit of all our citizens.

Critical differences between me and my opponents:

Having served on the Board of Finance for 22 years I have the experience that my opponent lacks. I also have had the experience of watching my four kids go through Staples, Keller and Barlow, and I know how important extra-curriculars were for them as they grew up, and I want to ensure that our BOE budgets are never cut so deeply that our kids ever again lose the benefits of these kinds of programs. I was also active as a coach in Little League and soccer when my kids were little, and and I know how important the work of our Park and Rec Department has been to maintain and expand the sports fields and programming that means so much to kids. I will be the advocate for our schools and our quality of life that Easton's families need.

Accomplishments:

I have already fought the good fight to minimize the cuts in education and recreational programs that have been advocated by those on the BOF in the majority party. I believe that families in our town have benefitted from my efforts these many years to speak out against irrational and unfocused cuts that have adversely affected our kids - I know that without the efforts of my fellow Democrats on the BOF these cuts would have been even worse. I'd like to win this election and make the Board of Finance a 3-3 board and evenly balanced between Democrats and Republicans so that the voices that support our kids and the education budget have more of a fighting chance during our budget process.

Other issues:

I want the Board of Finance to be evenly split, 3-3, between Democrats and Republicans (it has been 4-2 in favor of Republicans for a long long time). By bringing balance to the BOF, the voices in our town that favor responsible funding of education, support our Park and Rec programs and want to improve the quality of life for our citizens will be stronger. We will be able to prevent the types of cuts that in the past resulted in the loss of extra-curriculars and other vital programming for our kids, and we will be able to ensure support for those programs that benefit our kids as well as our seniors. Balance on the BOF will also ensure that meaningful dialogue can take place and decisions can be made by effective compromise instead of the will of one party prevailing, whether that position represents the will of the folks in our town or not. The BoF will better serve the interests of our town if no one party controls the ability to pass a budget (or make drastic cuts in the process), and by making the BOF board 3-3 we can ensure that the voices of Easton's families will be heard.

What else would you like voters to know about you?

I am running for the remaining 2 year term of a seat that - if I am fortunate enough to win - would bring a 3-3 balance to the BOF between Democrats and Republicans. That hasn't happened in a long time, and it is time that it did. Easton is not a one-party town anymore, it is a place where Democrats and Independents and many Republicans want an end to divisive politics, to hurtful cuts to the educational budgets that leave our kids without vital programming, and to efforts by members of one party to eliminate the entire Park and Rec Department without considering all the good work it does for our kids and our town budget. This election can bring balance and positive, constructive dialogue and debate to the BoF, and the voices of our families can be effectively represented in the budget process.