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Mike DelSanto
Candidate for Town Council
Current Member - Town Council I was born and raised in Southington. I am a 3rd generation Italian American Southington resident. I am proud to call Southington my home for almost 50 years and never thought of living anywhere else.
I received my Master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration From Western New England College (University now) in 1997 and since 1999 worked for the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch in the Family Services Division as a Supervisor in the Meriden Superior Court. I am married to my wife Kim and we have two children, Jack age 14 and Max age 13. In 1999, I was appointed to the Southington Commission on Disabilities (currently the Southington Commission for Persons with Disabilities) and was elected to the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) in 2001. I was selected Chairperson of the PZC in 2009 and served as chair until 2019 when I was elected to the Town Council. In the past two years as a Town Councilor, I am most proud of re-initiating the Economic Strike Committee after a 2 year lapse, which was responsible for assisting in the growth of Economic Development and assisting businesses in an otherwise tough time due to the pandemic. From the Strike Committee, we developed the Southington Long Term Recovery Committee, which met often during the pandemic to inform the public and businesses of health updates from the State Health Department and how best to adjust our zoning regulations to temporarily ease restrictions for businesses such as outside dining and parking regulations that would otherwise not be allowed. As a community who loves to support local - we were fortunate the majority of businesses in town were able to remain open, partly due to our dedication and work on this sub-committee. If re-elected to the Town Council, I plan to continue to encourage Economic Development by working closely with the town’s Economic Development Director. Economic and essential tax base growth in a very competitive environment is vital to enhance our future stability and to maintain the high quality of life for all Southington residents. We need to get back to the idea that the promotion of Southington is most significant for all council members. I am also very proud of my support of our local law enforcement officials throughout the last 2 years. Juvenile crime has been rampant and law enforcement are stuck in a situation where their powers have been restricted on follow though to assist in the prosecution of youth that are breaking the law- primarily- breaking into and stealing cars. I’ve made it clear that I stand with the police and if re-elected, I will continue to champion any assistance the Town Council could provide to the best Law Enforcement Officers in the State of Connecticut. I have an amazing allegiance to the town of Southington. I am hopeful that my 20+ years of service and passion to the town will be enough to have a successful run this fall. I ask that you please support me in this endeavor. |