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03/20/2013 12:00 AMSaying she seeks transparency and collaboration and offers a "grander plan" for Branford, Jacey Wyatt has launched an independent political party and a 2013 run for first selectman.
Wyatt's new party, the Independent Branford Voters Coalition, has been vetted by the state and will be placed on the Nov. 5, 2013 ballot with the support of a minimum of 70 residents signing her nominating petition.
A Branford native, these days, many know her as "the girl with the golf course," said Wyatt, referring to recent news of her idea to install a municipal golf course on controversial town-owned Tabor land.
That idea, like her Independent party effort, is part of a well-thought-out process, years in the making, she stated.
"I first brought the town the idea of a golf course at Tabor in 2001," said Wyatt, who also once ran for Representative Town Meeting and, in 2011, tax collector.
A graduate of New York Institute of Technology, Wyatt holds a B.S. in architecture, a B.A. in interior design, and a B.A. in landscape architecture. She founded her first company, jcwyatt Signatures, in 1995, and has been in business in Branford for more than 17 years (jcwyatt and jcwyatt Chocolatier). From 1998 until her retirement in 2010, Wyatt was also a successful model in areas including professional bikini and undergarment modeling.
A self-described "visual thinker," through the years, Wyatt has created professional renderings and supporting documents outlining new, interesting, and environmentally sensitive development opportunities for Branford. She's shared many with various boards and commissions, including her design plan for Public Works at the town's Transfer Station. Another is to develop Brushy Plains Park into a 60-acre recreation and community center complex with a new town emergency center/elementary school.
She also envisions a centralized safety zone comprised of key town roads revamped with underground utilities and pedestrian sidewalks.
"With all of the storms we've been seeing, I see the need to improve the town's underground power system and add sidewalks to create a safety zone. I see we need a new school/emergency center that's not 100 feet away from flood tide like the high school," said Wyatt.
She's also conceived of a Branford Merchant Village within a historic corridor (anchored by the historic Harrison House). A past Branford Historic Society vice president, Wyatt said the village would lend itself to the town's history, offer educational opportunities for Branford students, and improve the town's offerings of retail space for budding businesses.
With connections made during her multi-faceted career, Wyatt said she has "big-box" developers and tourism-geared hoteliers interested in coming to the Exit 56 area and other Branford locales. She's even put together an idea which re-creates a portion of Branford as a college town, with its own namesake, Branford University.
Wyatt began appealing to Town Hall to consider her as a viable candidate for open seats on boards and commissions several administrations ago, but to no avail. In 2011, she changed her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican and was supported by the Republican Town Committee (RTC) as its tax collector candidate.
"I saw an ad that the RTC was looking for first selectman candidates, and I wanted to be involved. I've always been a 'let's get things done' kind of person," said Wyatt. "I've been through elections, and I see that as more good experience."
The Independent Branford Voters Coalition will offer a full slate of candidates for all seats on the November 2013 ballot, Wyatt said.
"By offering a third-party ticket, we're allowing people to go in to vote for the person. It gives one more option to go and vote for somebody," she said.
Wyatt believes many Branford residents want to see intelligent planning move Branford into a new era.
"I'm so tired of bringing ideas and hearing, 'We don't do that here in Branford,'" Wyatt said. "I'm so fed up with knocking my head at meetings and coming away disappointed. For every one person who says, 'We don't,' I think you're going to get five people who say, 'Why not?' I want to bring a different perspective to the town, and bigger designs than what we're dealing with now. This golf course design-the Tabor neighborhood has emailed and said, 'I want it.' I want to go to each neighborhood and give them hope and plans."
She said she would also work to awaken a key economic driver Branford's ignoring: tourists.
"They supply business to restaurants, gas stations, [and] shops, but they're not stressing our school system or residential roads. We have a rail station that comes right through here. Shore Line East needs to add stops in Branford. We need to bring in a new bus system. People will use these types of transportation."
Wyatt, 42, said her Branford public school education was hindered by a late diagnosis of dyslexia, but the diagnosis led her to work even harder to succeed and to develop her abilities from a visual perspective. After college and launching her career, she spent several years out west. She came back to Branford full-time in 2010 to help her mother recover from a stroke.
"I took care of her for two years and now, she's healthier. Within the last year, I've been able to get out more and that's why you've been seeing me at town meetings," said Wyatt, who's been planning her third-party declaration since November 2012.
"I have a great group working with me, and a lot of people telling me they also feel our town is deteriorating," Wyatt said. "Someone with a grander plan needs to understand our town. I'm a viable candidate, I offer a lot of never-seen-before ideas, and I can get it done."
Independent Branford Voters Coalition invites those who'd like to join the party, assist with the campaign, or receive updates on events and planned town hall meetings to seek more information via email at wyatt@branfordvoters.com or by visiting www.branfordvoters.com or www.facebook.com/independentbranfordvoters.