Wilton Election: Monty Du For Board of Finance

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

Patch contacted candidates to answer questions about their campaigns.

Republican Mangtao “Monty” Du, 51, is running for Board of Finance in Wilton.

Occupation: Engineer/Executive

Family: I live with my wife and son, who is a student in the Wilton public school system.

Family in government: No

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

From the BOF perspective, the single most pressing issue facing our town is how to maintain the quality of town services and improve school performance, while keeping the spending under control and the mill rate reasonable and stable.

The fact is, though, BOF doesn't have control of all the line items in the Town or the School District budgets. What it can do is to ask many, many questions in public meetings aimed at ensuring that the money spent is spent purposefully, and not on things that don't matter in terms of the town services or quality of education. Spending more money is never the only key to improving services or educational quality. The question is, rather, exactly how the money is spent. If we don't question these things, we can't find out. Instead of spending money blindly, it is usually much more effective to look for ways to run operations efficiently, and always look for savings.

Winton’s residents have the right to know and control how their own tax money is spent. Therefore, as an elected member of BOS, I will have the obligation to inquire on these issues, on behalf of the constituents. Throughout my life I have exercised fiscal prudence, both on personal finance as well as in business. As a BOF member, I am going to apply the same principle, which is simply “living within your means”. BOF needs to provide solid support for our school system, but never “blank check” or “rubber stamp”.

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

I am an engineer, trained at Columbia University. I have spent the last 25 years designing and building transportation infrastructure in Connecticut, New York, and many other parts of the world. I am a Principal and Board Member in a CT-headquartered engineering firm.

As an engineer, my mind is strong in quantified analysis. In other words, I am “good at numbers”. More importantly, in my line of work I am always solving tangible, challenging, problems with rational and practical solutions, which also must be cost effective at the same time. As a corporate executive, I am well versed in business, finance, accounting, and management. This combination of skills and experience is highly relevant, and uniquely beneficial, to the BOF position that I am seeking.

There are four BOF candidates from Republican Party, for the four openings. The other three candidates, Stewart Koenigsberg, Rich Santosky, and Matt Raimondi are all highly achieved individuals and strong candidates. Each of us brings in a unique set of background. Together, we will make a very positive contribution to the BOF and to Wilton.

Accomplishments:

I am passionate to serve our community. I was elected to Wilton’s Zoning Board of Appeals in 2019, and have been serving as its Vice Chair since then. In this role, I have been focused on upholding Wilton’s zoning regulations, protecting quality of life, while always seeking opportunities to help those Wilton residents with true hardship.

In addition, I have been an active advocate on issues affecting Wilton and its residents. Among other things, I have actively participated in the Hands off Our Schools effort, worked closely with our State legislators, and testified before the State General Assembly in Hartford against the proposed school regionalization. Recently, I have testified once again to support Wilton’s effort in redistricting the CT House Representative District 143, so that Wilton will have its own State Representative to represent Wilton’s interests and its unique characteristics. We are hopeful that a positive outcome on this effort will arrive soon.

Other issues:

Several other issues are critical within BOF’s purview.

• Keep the debt service levels below 10% of budget, and preserve Wilton’s AAA rating with Moody’s, which ensures lowest bonding cost.
• Meet Wilton employees’ pension obligations. Currently it is 99% funded, but we must ensure it stays this way.
• Work with the Town to maintain a sensible long-term capital plan for major improvement, maximizing the opportunities to tap into State and/or Federal Funding.
• Comply with Freedom of Information Act, use Annual Audit to improve our financial robustness, ad be alert for fraud risks. In other words, we must avoid “troubles”!

What else would you like voters to know about you?

I have lived in Wilton for seven years with my wife and son. I have been in the United States for 28 years. As a first-generation American, I embrace our precious democracy and civil duties. Wilton is a great American town that my family calls home. Wilton's self-sufficient, locally-controlled, small town government format constantly inspires me to be part of it, and to help carry on this invaluable tradition.