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07/30/2019 12:00 AMWestbrook Republicans unanimously approved a slate topped by First Selectman Noel Bishop and Selectman John Hall for the November elections at a party caucus on July
Donald Perrault nominated Bishop for a sixth two-year term as Westbrook’s first selectman, warning of an “impending and potentially dangerous storm” heading toward the state, characterized by businesses fleeing and college graduates seeking jobs elsewhere.
“One only has to look to a small shoreline town like Westbrook to see what a model of success looks like,” Perrault said. “Under conservative, thoughtful, and ethical and responsible leadership, Noel Bishop continues to lead this small town as a model of economic growth and stability. Under Noel’s watch, business in town continues to grow and expand, Westbrook’s downtown attracts new ventures, solutions are found to solve environmental problems like contaminated property, and years in the making, a plan for continued maintenance of infrastructure, roads, bridges, sidewalks all carefully planned and budgeted for.”
Bishop thanked Republican Town Committee Chairman Harry Ruppenicker, Jr. and “all of you who have enthusiastically built a strong Republican presence in Westbrook and Hartford.”
Everything the town government has accomplished over the last 12 years, Bishop said, was the result of teamwork.
“Our municipal house is in good order; responsible budgets have been overwhelmingly passed at referendums and town meetings,” Bishop said. “In fact, this past May, when we adopted a budget, only eight people voted against that budget.” The fund balance, at 13 percent of the budget, exceeds state requirements, he said, and the town’s bond rating is AA2, which allowed the town to refinance long-term bonds and save “over $325,000.”
“Our marine industry during the summer months expands,” Bishop said, and “at least 8 to 10 percent of our business is dependent on the marine industry.” Thus, dredging is important to the town’s economy and is achieved with “limited funds...from the town budget.”
Bishop also mentioned the expansion of the Shoreline Medical Center, the Lee Company’s contributions to the success of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and the resolution of issues involving the former site of Turnpike Wreckers, which is back on the tax rolls with plans to develop the property. Three new businesses have been approved for the town center in the past two months by the Zoning Commission.
“[W]e’re a team—a team of action—and we get things done,” Bishop said. “[T]hese accomplishments have not been achieved by accident. They’ve been achieved because we are all engaged, not only as a party but as a municipality.”
Bishop spoke about his partnership on the BOS with Selectman John Hall and also a “very fantastic relationship with the person who represents the Democratic party, Mary Labbadia. And we work together as a team, we listen to points of view, we get things done, and at the end of the day, sometimes we just put our party labels aside.
“[T]his election, like all elections, is not about the past,” Bishop continued. “It’s about the future. [We can’t] rest on our past achievements.”
The top priority must be “to keep our tax rates down,” Bishop said. In addition, “[w]e have to continue to build alliances because Westbrook’s not an island. I probably spend about 10 percent of my time with regional and state organizations because we have to figure out what the issues are and we have to work together.
“We know that the number one challenge for all of our small towns is the major deficit that the State of Connecticut faces,” he said. “In my opinion, we must proceed with budgets that [do] not count on one single dollar from the state.”
While Westbrook comes in at 37 on a list of all 169 towns when sorted by wealth, “We’re not rich,” Bishop said. “Why we have those numbers is because we have a good fund balance. We budget carefully. We don’t make any assumptions. We save money...in our capital fund. When the state looks at that they say, ‘You’ve got a fund balance, you’re rich, therefore you don’t need money.’ That’s kind of a Catch-22.”
An increasing need for social services is a problem faced by town leaders across the state, Bishop said. He mentioned the volunteer efforts of the Shoreline Basic Needs Task Force as an “example of what people can do to get things done.”
State Representative Jesse MacLachlan (R-35) formally nominated John Hall for another two-year term on the BOS.
“John’s a family man,” MacLachlan said. “He’s a small business owner. He’s a man of faith and integrity. And he and his wife, Bonnie, happen to have the best bacon that money can buy over at Maple Breeze Farm. So get on over there and try it. It’ll change your life.”
Hall kept his acceptance speech characteristically short, saying that Bishop had “touched on everything” and that “it’s pretty obvious what our record is after 10 years of working together.”
“First of all, I want to thank all the volunteers that make our job easier,” he said. “As I look around the room, almost everyone here volunteers in some capacity for the town. Thank you for that.
“My family’s been here almost 400 years,” he continued. “We were either too stupid or stubborn to move west. I like to think we like it here.
“I heard from someone tonight about how much they like Westbrook. This is in an environment where everyone is running out of Connecticut as fast as they can,” he added. “I think that says a lot about our town. I’d like to think it says something about how we manage the town.”
The 2019 Westbrook Republican Slate:
First Selectman: Noel Bishop
Board of Selectmen: John Hall, III
Town Treasurer: Jane Spanilo Butterworth
Tax Collector: Kimberly Bratz
Board of Finance: James Dahl, William Cumming
Board of Education: Christine Kuehlewind,
Michael Esposito
Zoning Board of Appeals: Bonnie Hall,
Vincent Neri
Planning Commission: Tammy Niedzwiecki
Library Board of Directors: Kit Bishop,
Megan Ruppenicker