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10/14/2019 12:00 AMFollowing the Nov. 5 municipal election, Republican Joe Higgins will earn a fourth consecutive term on Branford's three-person Board of Selectmen (BOS). This election marks Higgin's fourth time as running mate with Republican first selectman candidate Jamie Cosgrove, who is running uncontested.
Higgins said he proud of the accomplishments the Town experienced under leadership headed by Cosgrove and the Republican team in in recent years, including the completion of the Community House expansion/renovation and the Walsh Intermediate School expansion.
A New York native, Higgins and his wife, Angela, moved to Branford in 2006 following his retirement from New York Fire Department (NYFD). The couple has one daughter. Higgins brings nearly 41 years of professional experience with NYFD including an extensive background in executive management, public safety, and government liaison work. In his career, he rose through the ranks to become NYFD deputy director of Dispatch Operations, overseeing five boroughs. Higgins was also appointed twice as special assistant to the New York City fire commissioner. Higgins was a commissioner liaison on Sept. 11, 2001 when a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center put him at the scene during the collapse of Twin Towers. He was also a member of the NYFD Anti-Terrorist Committee as well as the NYFD Commissioner's Committee.
On a personal level, when he was first elected to the BOS in 2013, Higgins was especially touched to be invited to visit Indian Neck/Pine Orchard Volunteer Fire Co. 9. At that time Co. 9 had been operating for decades out of a functionally-constrained building created by modifying a house originally built in 1911. Higgins promised to do what he could to assist and encourage support from the Town and the state. In 2018, he was pleased to help the Town welcome the approval of a brand-new facility for Co. 9, which is currently under construction on Linden Avenue.
Although he was disappointed to see Costco withdraw plans to bring a large retail business to town in 2016, Higgins said he wants to continue to help the town find ways to attract more bricks and mortar businesses here. He's also is ready to continue the current work with Cosgrove and the Town's leadership to keep taxes as low as possible while providing needed services to the community.
Since arriving in Branford, Higgins has also been a pivotal member of Branford's 9/11 Memorial Committee, which conducts an annual remembrance ceremony at Branford Fire Headquarters.