Joseph Paul's interview in the Connecticut Post

Having read Joseph Paul’s interview in the Connecticut Post recently regarding his entering the race for Mayor in Stratford, I came away feeling that Mr. Paul is very good at injecting himself into the discussion without really saying very much either about his past issues with Bank of America, which, surprise surprise, he doesn’t even acknowledge or his plans for Stratford’s future other than the obvious, Army Engine plant and the Shakespeare, which he claims he “ can see from his front porch”.

He says while at Bank of America, he managed 3,000 employees. Mayors do not supervise or manage thousands of employees; they supervise about a dozen department heads, police chief, fire chief, public works, etc. Our current mayor did not have 2 EMS directors; he demoted one and hired another one which has led to another law suite which the taxpayers will eventually have to pay for along with the cost of the town attorneys, the court costs and any punitive judgments. This case along with the Peiger case and the Pereira case will wind up costing the taxpayers many additional thousands of dollars.

The Shakespeare theater, although I am 100% in agreement about its future, just fixing  the building and the grounds is not going to be Stratford’s salvation. It will take time and an infrastructure to support this venue. The Army Engine plant can only work if the federal government picks up the cost of a massive cleanup. The Town can’t do it alone.

Regarding the Miron /Harkins election, Mr. Paul claims he did not live in Stratford during the Miron “Era” and has already said, “So if I’m the Democratic candidate, my opponent can’t blame any of its problems on me”. Mr. Paul seems to be already taking a defensive position and predicting his opponent’s campaign strategy months before the election. I would like to ask Mr. Paul exactly how many years he actually has lived in Stratford, and what years were they?