Candidates Discuss Canton's Future

While the large number of candidates limited the number of questions at a League of Women Voters forum Tuesday evening, some common themes emerged.

Candidates for Boards of Finance, Board of Education, Board of Selectmen and First Selectmen took turns on stage, each member of a given group answering the same questions and then giving a final statement during the Candidates' Night.

In responding to the questions, many of the candidates for Board of Selectmen, First Selectman and Board of Finance said Canton is at a critical point in its history and faces the challenge of maintaining levels of service and taking much needed care of its infrastructure while keeping taxes steady by saving costs and finding ways to boost economic development.

(Separate story coming on Board of Education).

In answering a question about providing budget guidance to the boards of selectmen and education, Democratic incumbent Board of Finance member Mary Tomolonius said it was about finding a balance between providing services but not driving some of the town’s diverse population out of town with higher taxes.

“I’m very concerned about increasing taxes to the point where people can’t live here anymore,” she said.

In response to the same question, Republican BOF candidate William Canny said determining the town's wants vs. needs should be looked at “in fine detail.”

“We’re at a time where we have to look at what’s important — what’s needed vs. what’s wanted,” Canny said.

Arthur Fournier, a Democrat seeking a post on the Board of Finance, said the town has to take a hard look at its reliance on state and federal funds.

“I would like to see the BOF to immediately begin to assess the potential impact the shortfalls might have on the town of Canton,” Fournier said.

Republican Ken Humphrey stated that the town also has to work with limited funds, as it is not as affluent as some of its neighbors.

There are many items on the table as the town looks to maintain what it has and improve roads, replace roofs and go forward with other projects.

Roads and infrastructure were the top short-term goals for Lowell Humphrey, an unaffiliated candidate challenging Republican incumbent first selectman Richard Barlow. 

Humphrey said the town needs to better address those problems and “start repairing the physical foundation upon which this town was built.”

Barlow said maintaining services in town and improving infrastructure, all in a fiscally responsible manner, was his top goal.

Initiatives such as a capital improvements committee working on a future bonding package and pavement management study have resulted in a positive direction for infrastructure needs, Barlow said.  

Barlow said the the capital committee is looking at things such as roads and roofs while the pavement management study “now gives us a road map for how and where to spend our funds to bring our roads back to a higher level condition.”

Questions to Board of Selectmen candidates included their ideas on expanding the town’s tax base to help pay for the town’s needs.

Nearly all the candidates mentioned redevelopment of the former Collins Company factory complex. (A development company hopes to finalize plans for the factory soon but many in town have grown weary after past development ideas fell apart.)

“Canton has an underutilized jewel in the Collins Company,” Republican incumbent David Gilchrist said, adding that he would support tax breaks to encourage it.

Democratic candidate Tom Sevigny advocated more mixed-use development including on Route 44.

“Mixed-use commercial development and resident development like Collinsville gives you the best bang for the buck. All the studies show that,” he said. “Single level, commercial big box strip stores don’t.”

Ben Holden, a green party selectmen candidate, also mentioned Collinsville, the idea of a boutique hotel for the village and other ideas, such as recycling properties and moving forward with hydropower at the dams in Collinsville.

“I think we should build the hydropower plant in Canton,” Holden said. “(In) 50 years your grandchildren will thank you for having had the insight and the wisdom to have girded your loins and agreed to do that.” 

A question on balancing open space and infrastructure needs drew some of the most divergent opinions.

Democratic candidate George Thimot spoke in favor of open space in rural and other areas and letting the town grow slowly.

“We have to slow down and make sure we don’t overdevelop those areas and fill up our schools too fast,” he said.

Thimot also said the town needs to improve the infrastructure it already has.

Republican incumbent Steve Roberto said he supports open space, adding that “it’s what gives the town a lot of its character.”

But Roberto said it depends on the specifics of the property and the town’s needs at the time. He said he voted against a recent purchase in North Canton because he felt the development attraction was low.

“At the time we had some urgent infrastructure needs that we really needed to attend to and were a priority,” Roberto said.

Gilchrist said he also has supported open space but said the town’s infrastructure needs are an increasing priority. He added that the Canton land Conservation Trust is a great resource for open space.

Kevin Jackson, a petitioning Republican candidate for Board of Selectmen, also talked about a balance.

“Most of us here in this room moved to the town of Canton for the open space, but as we all know the infrastructure in our town is in need of an upgrade — a facelift,” Jackson said, adding that the town needs to streamline the process for desirable development.

Sevigny and Holden spoke strongly in favor of open space as well but incumbent Marc Cerniglia, a Republican incumbent now running as an unaffiliated candidate, offered a different view.

‘We need to do a better job of using the open space we already have,” Cerniglia said.

He also said the benefits are “not always as great as people say," stating that open space removes property from the tax rolls, increases cost of real estate and destroys value in the economy.

But while there are different ideas for economic development and priorities, all candidates agreed the balance is about providing residents with services and infrastructure while keeping taxes in check.

In a question on essential services Barlow said public safety is the easy answer but asserted that senior services, athletic offerings in the summer, the library in tough economic times and others are important to people.

“Everyone thinks one or more of those services is essential to them and our mission is to find a way to continue,” he said.

And in their closing statement and answers candidates said they are running because they love the town.

In one of several moments of humor throughout the night Lowell Humphrey, a former police chief and current volunteer with the town of Canton Volunteer Fire and EMS Department, said a relative told him he was making up for years of “holding back” during 36 years of professional and volunteer service.

“Probably Mr. Barlow is just unfortunate to be on the receiving end of a lot of my opinions that have been pent up for many years but it’s nothing personal; it’s just a difference of opinion,” he said.

Barlow drew some laughs when he said he had more hair than Mr. Humphrey despite his 66 years in town.

Democratic BOF candidate Todd Matt said he didn’t have the “legacy” of many candidates since he and his family moved to town five years ago. But like many he said he moved here for the character, charm, quality of schools, parks, and other positive factors. But like many other candidates Matt said Canton is at that critical point when creative and tough decisions will be needed.

“When it came down to making a decision this is the town we came to,” he said. “There was a reason for that. We felt welcome. We felt comfortable. Now I see this starting to change a little bit.”

The website http://canton.lwvconnecticut.org/voter-resources.html also contains some additional questions and answers with the candidates.

In addition, Patch will begin running candidate Q&As later this week.