New Councilman Wants to Improve Stratford

Why did newly elected Councilman Craig Budnick (R-7) run for a seat on the Town Council?

"It’s not one of the more popular positions in town," said Budnick, 41, who has never held elected or appointed office before.

His only previous incursion into town politics was at age 10 when he held a sign protesting the closure of Garden School at a Board of Education meeting.

He said he’s bracing for complaint calls, although since he was sworn in last month he has only received a few calls related to Town Council business and they would not fall into that category.

"It’s been not too bad so far," he said. "What I’ve been warned about is wait till the first snow and you get calls at two in the morning, ‘Why isn’t my street plowed?’"

Budnick said he feels Stratford is a good town, but it could be a better town, and promoting more unity would be an improvement.He made the surprising statement that Stratford’s biggest drawback was its "diversity," surprising because that word usually has a positive connotation.

What he means is that some people are interested in sports events, some in plays and cultural events, some in popular musical events, but few Stratford residents patronize attractions in multiple categories, at least in his opinion.

An example is the summer concert series at Paradise Green, which is in his district. Budnick notes most audiences are small, under 100 people. A similar concert series on Huntington Green in Shelton attracts much larger crowds, he said.

"The town's very segmented and you’ll have some people who will support only Shakespeare and some people who will only support the fireworks," he said.

"There’s people who have lived in this town 20 or 30 years and I don’t think they’ve been to the fireworks once," he added.

Budnick feels residents in his district are mostly satisfied and want little, besides keeping Wilcoxson School open or making improvements at Paradise Green.

One thing he would like to see is the start of a business association for the Paradise Green business district. He doesn’t understand why it doesn’t have one.

Other priorities are outside his district. Top among them is the development of the Stratford Army Engine Plant property, which is the last big tract available for economic development in Stratford.

"If I were to call myself anything it would be Mr. Stratford," he said. He graduated from . Except for two years in Washington, DC right after college, he has lived his whole life in Stratford, and he coaches the girls soccer team and assists running the Sterling House soccer program.

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