Service that Started with Sports
“I love my family, I love this town, and I love sports.”
That simple refrain is what Chris Passante says really covers his life during a recent conversation with the Harbor News. It’s a mantra that has guided Chris during his time volunteering on various board in Clinton as well as in the larger community.
Since last November, Chris has been one of the seven members on the elected Town Council.
“When you live in a town as long as I have, instead of asking ‘What can the town do to be better?’ you say, ‘What can I do to make it better?” Chris says of his motivation to get involved.
“I think it’s a good group of people we have on the council,” says Chris, adding that the members try to keep political differences out of their discussions as much as possible.
“My desire is to overcome any politics and do what’s best for Clinton. We don’t always agree but our motivations are to do what is best for the town,” says Chris.
For Chris, being on the Town Council is the culmination of many years of involvement within the community in various roles.
Chris’s participation with civic life in Clinton began about 17 years ago, when the oldest of Chris’s seven kids started to play sports.
“It was a natural way for me to get involved, too,” explains Chris.
Soon Chris was not only coaching his kids’ teams, but moving up to leadership roles within youth soccer, basketball, and Little League.
Eventually, Chris ended up on the Parks & Recreation Commission, but Chris still felt like there was more he could be doing.
“I thought about it and I decided I wanted to be more involved than just sports,” Chris says.
Chris ended up then serving on the Board of Education for a few years before eventually successfully running for a seat on the Town Council in fall 2021.
Chris says the best part of being involved in the affairs of the town to him is seeing the positive outcomes a person can have a hand in creating.
“For someone who grew up in this town, I get a kick out of seeing the town growing and flourishing,” Chris says.
There’s also the personal relationships one can develop over time.
“I mean, it’s so much more than coaching soccer. You’re with these kids from when they’re seven and you try and teach them life skills that they can take with them and then I see them when they’re graduating high school and they say, ‘Hey coach, thanks for that and I still think about our youth team and how much fun it was.’ It feels good,” Chris explains.
That’s not to say working within the town is always easy, Chris confesses.
“Any time you put yourself in a leadership position, you will have to make decision that goes against what some people may want and they can get upset and it’s hard,” says Chris.
Chris credits his mother, a former science teacher at the Eliot School, for instilling in him a drive to get involved with Clinton.
“My mom was a teacher for like 30 years and back then there was only two science teachers, so literally half the town had Ms. Passante,” Chris says with a chuckle
Chris recalls that his mom was involved in starting the DARE program in Clinton, a nature club, and school trips to Washington D.C. among other endeavors.
“She really loved the kids in this town. She would say not to look around for people to do something [but] see what can I do to help and that’s always been a part of me,” says Chris.
For his career, Chris works in the finance field where he specialized in retirement planning.
“For the last 20 years I’ve worked for Prudential Retirement out of Hartford,” Chris states.
In fact, it’s a career that Chris says was applicable during discussions over the town’s budget.
“I think a lot of the skills apply and came in very handy,” says Chris.
Chris was born and grew up in Clinton and essentially never really left.
“I left for college and my first job, but other than that I’ve lived in Clinton for 50 years,” says Chris.
In his spare time, Chris says he can be found spending time with his wife Becky and their seven kids, doing what else but playing sports.
Sports has a special place in the Passante household.
“Every member of the family loves sports. We’re not being indoor TV people. We’ll go shoot hoops or kick the soccer ball. Whether its watching sports, playing sports, or playing in the backyard. We’re always doing something. It might even be too much,” Chris says with a laugh.
Chris can still be found on the sidelines these days and as much as possible tries to coach all his kids that are still in youth sports in town.
“Sometimes I’m coaching three or four teams a season! But I love it,” Chris says.
Additionally, Chris proudly states that he’s a member of the 1987 state champion Morgan School football team.
Asked his favorite thing about Clinton, Chris says it’s the people of the town, both those who grew up here and those who moved here to make it their new hometown.
“You can go to the store or around town and it’s a small town and see someone you’ve known your whole life. You remember having peanut butter and jelly at their house, their first dog’s name, and you get past the outer image they show to the world and it’s still the same kid on the inside you rode bikes in the woods with. You know the person who they really are,” says Chris. “But then you also have a lot of people who didn’t grow up here and want to make it great, too, and contribute to the town and that’s great, too.”
“I have immense pride in how the town is now and how it could be in the future,” he says.