‘I am extremely proud of my tenure’
To the City of Stamford, it’s officials, residents and visitors:
I would like to thank former Mayor Michael Pavia and Mayor David Martin for the incredible privilege to serve Stamford. I was fortunate to work alongside talented and dedicated public servants. I enjoyed learning from them, sometimes challenging them and growing with them to benefit this great city.
As a father of five, I am extremely passionate about children and public school education.
Despite my children not attending Stamford schools (they are in public schools where we live), I worked tirelessly on behalf of the students, teachers and administrators to ensure that they were provided with a suitable environment in which to learn and thrive. As chief financial officer of the city, I was even more passionate about finding a way to do it with the lowest burden possible to taxpayers.
My work on behalf of Stamford students and teachers was not finished. I recognized, as most will soon come to realize, that several of our school buildings require major capital investment or physical replacement. To accomplish what our city deserves requires dynamic leadership and action. It was and remains my conviction that our traditional model of designing, constructing and maintaining our public school buildings cannot effectively address our needs.
I developed a potential plan — sure it might have been unconventional, but it was certainly innovative and had a logical premise. It was met with skepticism and resistance, both anticipated and warranted on some level. Subsequently, the Board of Representatives made it abundantly clear that this concept would not be explored further. Meanwhile, our problems are only getting worse and we have seen no viable alternative.
I cannot speak to the motivations of our legislators. I can only speak to mine which was to find a solution to a major problem. Because I believe my public/private partnership approach has significant merit, I made the personal choice to explore possibilities of how to effectively implement this transformative concept, albeit somewhere other than Stamford. My decision to join Building and Land Technology will allow me to pursue my idea with an organization that shares the same vision of how to deliver a smarter method of ensuring the best facilities for our children’s education.
I am certain that I made a positive difference in the city and encourage the mayor and his administration to thoroughly review any and all of my work. The only thing I am more certain of is the integrity with which I executed my position. I am extremely proud of my tenure in Stamford and grateful for the opportunity to have served.
My work on behalf of Stamford students and teachers was not finished. I recognized, as most will soon come to realize, that several of our school buildings require major capital investment or physical replacement.