Town native Hine mounting Democratic bid for mayor
NEW MILFORD — Lifelong New Milford resident Ted Hine plans to run for mayor of New Milford in November on the Democratic ticket.
The self-described hometown boy from one of the town’s oldest founding families said he wants to give back to the town that has given him so much.
“I’ve been watching town politics for a very long time,” he said. “My family [has] always been involved in town politics, but on the Republican side.”
Hine, 56, said he’s been watching what “worked and didn’t work” in town politics since Pat Murphy was in office from 2003 to 2013.
With his official paperwork already filed, the Democratic Town Committee will be endorsing Hine as their official candidate, according to Mary Jane Lundgren, committee chair and current town council member.
“I’m just totally delighted that he’s going to run,” Lundgren said.
Since 2017, the town has been under the leadership of Mayor Pete Bass, a Republican, who has served two terms thus far after unseating incumbent Democrat David Gronbach. Bass said he plans to run for a third term, but declined to comment on Hine’s candidacy.
Specifically, Hine is running on the idea of creating an “evenkeeled budget,” that doesn’t result in a surplus— as seen this year and last year— and that strengthens New Milford’s school system.
The town council cut the board of education’s initial budget request by $1 million in 2020
which resulted in spending cuts across the board.
“For a town to be viable you have to have a good education system,” said Hine.
Hine was also opposed to the town council’s recent plan to spend the town’s roughly $2.2 million budget surplus on capital items, which they approved on Monday night. He said that should a surplus occur, the townspeople should have more say in where that money goes and what it’s spent on.
Hine also said he’s committed to providing transparency and unity among New Milfordites.
Lundgren said Hine has shown an ability to bring people together, and work on issues from many different sides. She’s also supportive of the candidates business background.
Hine brings with him more than three decades of experience in information technology management, having worked at G.E. Capital — the financial services division of General Electric — for 23 years. Before retiring at 54, he held roles that included chief information officer, IT production and control manager, and global IT project management. Hine said the budgets he has worked with in his career resemble the town’s.
While Hine has never served in any official capacity in the town, he said he’s been on a number of boards and is a longtime supporter of nonprofits— and specifically those related to the arts. Hine served as president of the town’s historical society from 2015 to 2018.
On July 7, Hine is expected to officially announce his candidacy at the Homestead Inn, where he said he used to deliver the News-Times on his afternoon paper route growing up. The Democratic committee will be following up with their official endorsement on July 21, Lundgren said.
Hine has already met with some executive members of the committee to talk about his candidacy, according to Lundgren.
Theresa McSpedon, who is also on the Democratic committee, called him “smart, involved, caring, [and] well educated, with impeccable corporate experience at managing large operations.” She also noted that he is “devoted to maintaining and improving New Milford’s quality of education for all of New Milford’s families.”
Hine said he feels confident that his background and the issues he cares about will help him garner support from residents of all political parties and unaffiliated voters.