Republican mayoral candidate Mary Alford release this press release this morning:
Alford Releases
the “Alford Doctrine.”
(Bristol) Mary Alford, the
Republican nominee for Mayor of the City of Bristol, today released a document she
entitled the “Alford Doctrine.” The
package lists the projects and the goals for the first 100 days of her
administration.
“I believe
that the voters of Bristol, who will be going to the polls on Election Day need
to know what my priorities are and what I hope to accomplish in my administration,”
Alford added, “No Mayoral candidate in recent memory has issued such a document
and I believe it’s time that the voters know that the next Mayor won’t be
winging it.”
Among the
top priorities will be public safety, flood control, blight and fiscal responsibility. “All these issues are aimed at one goal –
improving the quality of life in Bristol
and reducing the tax obligation that we annually pass on to the tax payers of Bristol,” Alford said.
“Government
has the attitude in these tough economic times that they can spend our way out
of this recession – it hasn’t worked,” Alford continued, “ The only thing that
has happened is more people are out of work and the cost of government has
increased.”
Alford
insisted, “My administration will change that trend. I will roll up my sleeves
and I expect out Department Heads to do the same thing and find areas of
government where we can streamline and not reduce services to the people of Bristol.” Alford added, “This will require creativity
and I believe that the more we open our ears and listen to the people of Bristol, the more we will
find common ground.”
“This
document represents my goals for the first 100 days of my administration,”
Alford concluded, “there is much work that needs to be done and these bullet
points are just the beginning of changing the status quo in Bristol.”
The Alford
Doctrine
Goals set
forth by Bristol Republican Mary Alford for her first 100 days in office as
Mayor of the City of Bristol.
Public Safety: I am extremely
concerned about the staffing levels of the Bristol Police Department. I believe that we are woefully understaffed
and I find the fact that we only have 9 Police Officers on third shift
troubling.
My first priority as Mayor will be to
sit down with Chief Osanitch and the Bristol Police Commission to determine
what our needs are and bring the staffing levels up to par.
Flood Control: I will not wait until
the next hurricane or tropical storm to seek funding for flood control in our
community. These areas: the center of
Forestville, Frederick Street, Rockwell Park area, Broad Street among others
have heard the promises of many administrations and those promises have born no
fruit.
In my administration, the Flood
Control Commission will return to monthly meetings. I will also be sitting down with our state
and federal legislative delegations to make sure we receive any and all funding
available to Bristol
to fix this problem once and for all. In
addition, I will direct our grant writer to apply for all available grants
regardless of dollar amount.
The time for doing nothing with
regards to the flooding that has plagued Bristol
residents has ended.
Blight: It is amazing to me that we still have to talk about this
issue campaign after campaign. The issue of blight has escalated, partly due to
the number of foreclosed homes in Bristol. Neighborhoods are being ripped apart by blighted
properties which is lowering property values and driving up taxes.
I will unleash our Building
Department and allow them to do their job to rein in absentee landlords who
create so many of these problems.
Unfortunately, in today’s economy, many Banks and finance companies have
become absentee landlords themselves.
As an example of blighted property, I
will direct the Building Department to notify the owners of the abandoned Pat’s
IGA on Divinity Street to either clean up their property, tear it down or price
it too sell. Allowing this property to
continue to deteriorate in plain view adds another eyesore to the West End and it’s a problem that could have been fixed if
we had real leadership at City Hall.
Downtown Redevelopment: This is an easy solution – stay out of the way and
let Renaissance Downtowns do their job while City Hall does its job by
streamlining the bureaucratic processes to assist those efforts. The proposal recently approved by the Bristol
City Council and the BDDC will be a boon for Bristol.
Since the purchase of the Mall
property in 2004, the residents of Bristol
have been waiting with interest to see this property developed. I intend to lift the thumb and allow them to
get this project underway.
I am especially excited to see the
number of young Bristol
residents participating in the new group, “Bristol Rising.” I encourage all Bristol residents to join
this group, ask questions, make suggestions and volunteer your time. Come down to
City Hall, pick up your orange shirt and become part of this nationally
recognized trend. Bristol is leading the way with respect to
community involvement in its downtown redevelopment and I intend to be its
biggest cheerleader.
Marketing Bristol: With the recent completion of Route
72 and the new plans for our downtown property, now is the time that we foster
a real working partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and learn to use the
tools they already employ to market our community.
One quick suggestion is now that
Route 72 is complete the time has come to consider to once again allow on
street parking in the center of Forestville. This will enable more businesses to prosper
and grow and return the Village
of Forestville to its
small community roots. The Center of Forestville can once again become a
quaint community and our job is to facilitate that development along with the
Forestville Village Association and the BDA.
With the closing of three Bristol schools we now
have the opportunity to solicit Request for Qualifications (RFQ’S) from
developers and private enterprise to put these properties back on the tax rolls
and help lower your property tax burden.
No more $70,000 studies with no
resultant actions being taken – the time for action is now and I will ask the
City Council to issue these RFQ’s within my first 100 days.
Mass Transportation: I have said
it before and it bears repeating, Bristol
residents view our roads as parking lots with houses on them. The number of cars and trucks on our roads
has swelled to record numbers. The number one solution to this problem is light
rail.
Unlike the current Mayor, I will be
an advocate for Bristol
on this issue. I won’t turn my back on
the taxpayers as a favor to another Mayor, Governor or Congressman. I will put the needs of our community first.
My first priority is to use the
Mayor’s Office to help stop the funding of the New Britain to Hartford bus way. This 1 billion dollar boondoggle, strongly
supported by our Mayor, needs to be halted……. immediately.
Studies have shown that the most
prosperous communities all have rail as their anchor mode of mass transit,
supplemented by buses. Property values increase and economies grow. Now, that’s a “jobs bill” I’m in favor of. It
works.
Open Government: In my travels around
town during this campaign I have heard a chorus of complaints from Bristol voters that they
feel their voices aren’t heard. They
feel that they voice their opinions on an issue and then the politicians do
whatever they please.
No more!
I intend to hold monthly office hours
around town. I will institute a “Mayor
on the Street” program so you can come and meet your Mayor. In addition, I will also block two hours each
Thursday from 3pm to 5pm where you can come to City Hall
and meet me in my office, no appointment necessary.
We may not always agree and city
government may not be the entity to solve your problem. I and City Hall staff
will do our best to see to it that you do get to the right place to address
your concern. In the end you will know that I listened to your concerns. You
deserve a government that is more open to you.
In addition to the above concerns I
have also heard that many Bristol
residents are upset over what they call secrecy in government at City
Hall. They feel that the left hand
doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.
My administration will no longer be
negotiating budget cuts and consolidations in private. I intend to create a Mayor’s Task force on
Education spending that will have members of the Board of Education, Board of
Finance, City Council and PTO’s. We will
open these sessions up to the public and let you offer suggestions to help
reduce education spending and put more money in the classrooms where it
belongs. We will then take these suggestions to the Board of Education
meetings. At the end of the day, if you, the parents who are the “consumers” of
education, hold them accountable, we may just be able to make a real difference
for our children.
The days of parents and students
coming to beg for funding are over and I will stand with you to hold the Board
of Education accountable for the way they spend every dollar.
Youth: Have you noticed the apathy of
some of our young people in regards to government and voting? We had that
pointed out to us loud and clear this year. We need to develop a comprehensive
plan to offer our youth opportunities to learn how their city works and
opportunities to serve.
The solution to this problem is not
going to be easy, but I’m not going to talk about it any longer – I’m going to
take action.
I intend to work with City
departments and the unions about creating a High School Internship Program at
City Hall that will help our children learn valuable skills and instill in them
that government is important and service even more so.
It’s all going to be turned over to
them some day. They need the knowledge and skills to do that today, not
tomorrow, and I believe it is our responsibility to teach them.
General Government: Within the first 100 days, I intend to ask each of our
department heads to provide me a list of capital needs. We won’t be hiring a consultant to do a
capital needs assessment, instead, we will use the talent we have right here in
Bristol. I also intend to ask the employees of each
department to make suggestions to my office directly as to the equipment they
need to help them do their jobs.
For example – why do the employees of
the Park Department mow our lawns with 20” inch lawn mowers and not riding lawn
mowers? These are some of the questions
that need answers and if it’s equipment they need I will put forth a plan to
the City Council and Board of Finance.
As you can see, there is much work to
be done. I intend to hit the ground
running. Now that you know some of my
priorities as Mayor, I hope you will weigh in and offer suggestions to not only
help to identify problems but to solve them as well.
As Mayor, I will be the CEO of your city. You have the right to
expect open and honest government. You
have the right to question your elected officials and you should demand that we
solve these problems and not let them linger administration to administration.
When you consider your vote Please
remember to “Make Mine Mary” and vote on November 8th.
I look forward to becoming your Mayor
and working for you.
Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
