Vavrek's Speech. The Democrats' Rebuttal

Monroe Democratic Town Committee Chairman Nick Kapoor issued a response to acceptance speech by First Selectman Steve Vavrek upon receiving the Republican Party nomination to seek a third term.


Mr. Vavrek's acceptance speech for the Republican Party's nomination rests entirely on his record. Let's examine his record that he puts forward.

Mr. Vavrek touts his roads plan. Yes, we've made progress on the roads and there is somewhat of a plan going forward. But at what cost?

When a patient of EMS is in an ambulance and that patient is being rained on, literally inside the vehicle, we have a problem.

When the library budget is cut, a library that next to Wolfe Park is a true gem of Monroe, we have a problem.

When our legal fees are 95% over budget in 2011, 586% over budget in 2012 and 185% over budget in 2013, we have a problem.

Paved roads are very nice, but at what cost to the benefit of the entire town?

I thank the department heads for all of their hard work for if not for them our town would not be able to run as it does. However, at town meetings and especially at budget season, the First Selectman is the person who is supposed to be answering the questions.

The buck stops with the First Selectman and under Mr. Vavrek's administration the buck has been passed too many times.

The First Selectman may be getting some "results" yet towns surrounding us constantly outpace us. Why? Shelton has extremely low tax increases, if any at all. Trumbull constantly builds in our borders and we, Monroe, are again left in the dust. We need a true Economic Development employee in town, not the First Selectman.
 
The First Selectman cannot claim all of his "results" as his own — except for maybe his newsletter (which toward election season I would watch to see if he uses it to rebuke his Democratic challenger instead of discussing the issues of the town as he did in his final weekly newsletter before the 2011 election) and Facebook where 10% of the population follows the town page and 1% follows the EDC page. Social media is a great form of communication and one I support, but not to spend 2 hours A DAY on. 

Mr. Vavrek states he will continue to work with members from both parties; however, he needs to start working with members of the minority party first. When I first became involved in town government, I thought the Chief Elected Official in town would've invited members of both parties to discussions on various boards and commissions, but from personal experience I can confidently state that has not occurred.

I agree with Mr. Vavrek that Monroe politics is a problem, but he does not seem to want to be part of the solution.

We need a First Selectman who is prepared for meetings and won't say "I'll get back to you" meeting after meeting after meeting. We need a true leader who has true management skills, a true vision for our town and a true direction in which he wants to see the town go.

That is not our current First Selectman. It is time to make Monroe the best Monroe it can be, the Monroe we all know it can be where we compete with our surrounding towns, compete for grants and bring Monroe into the future. It's time for a change in Monroe, a change to bring us forward.

The Office and job of First Selectman is a thankless one. I would like to thank the First Selectman for his service to our Town, but it is time to move on.