Mayor Harkins Touts Bringing Civility Back to Stratford

Stratford Mayor John A. Harkins says the image of the town has “improved dramatically” since he took office in 2009.

“I think moving the town forward is probably the best thing that I’ve seen happen,” Harkins said in an interview about his bid for re-election this fall.

“The fact that we’re not in the papers anymore for negative things – people are a lot more optimistic, they’re bullish on Stratford,” he said.


Harkins, a Republican, said when he was elected as the second mayor of Stratford there were a number of long-pending issues, which among them included safety and flooding concerns at the Bridgeport-owned, Stratford-located Sikorsky Memorial Airport.

“That was something that had been pending in this town for literally decades and we were able to resolve it,” he said. “It shows that if you are willing to work with others and have discussions as oppose to just throwing rocks at each other you can actually get things done.”

The deal brokered with Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch last year does not require any funding on Stratford's end. It allows for a runway safety zone to be installed adjacent to Main Street, a portion of which, per the agreement, will be remediated of Raymark waste, rerouted and raised to mitigate flooding.

Stratford agreed to withdraw pending lawsuits against the Federal Aviation Administration and the city of Bridgeport, which reportedly had cost the town upwards of $85,000 in legal fees, and our neighbors to the west agreed to lock in runway dimensions at current lengths.

Additionally, about 45 acres of airport property, including the Long Beach West parking lot and wetlands and marsh, was agreed to be conveyed to Stratford at no cost to the town.

“Mayor Finch and I were able to negotiate an agreement through the federal government and state of Connecticut to create a safer, smaller airport,” Harkins said.

Before being elected to Stratford’s top municipal seat, Harkins served 13 years in the 120th District of the Connecticut House of Representatives.

“Bill Finch was a state senator when I was a state representative so we knew each other from the State Capitol,” said the mayor. “We got along there and we had issues regionally and that helped move the airport agreement forward."

Harkins, who left Hartford as the deputy minority leader, served there on committees involved with transportation, aging, veterans, insurance, real estate and finance legislation. The Republican said his years as a state representative put him into contact with a laundry list of lawmakers.

“I can pick up a phone and call a commissioner now,” said Harkins, adding that, yes, he’d say that sets him apart from other candidates running for Stratford mayor.

“One of the things that we brought back to Stratford is civility between the parties,” Harkins said. “Working as a legislator you learn to work with the other side.”

More from our interview with Harkins, including his thoughts on “closing an agreement” on the Stratford Army Engine Plant and cleaning up a “woefully underfunded” pension obligation, to come.