On October 9, Democratic First Selectman candidate Dan Cruson came to The Newtown Bee to participate in a round table discussion with editors and reporters. Responses to questions posed by each staff ember that day, along with personal details provided in writing before the visit, are provided for consideration by Newtown voters ahead of the November 7 local elections.

Party affiliation: Democrat

Website: crusonfornewtown.com

Family information: Wife – Bethany Cruson; Children – Daniel and Nicholas; Pets – Kina (Cat), Giada (Cat), Kim Possible (Dog)

How long have you lived in Newtown: Cumulatively 32 years; after college I spent eight years away from town before returning in 2015.

Educational information: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from SUNY Oswego.

Occupation and Employer: Owner of and web developer at CrusonWeb.

How will your body of work, volunteer, and political experience best serve the community?

Cruson noted that he has owned two businesses over the past ten years and is “very familiar with management.”

“Managing people and budgets all come with owning a small business,” Cruson said.

Cruson said he expected that being first selectman would be “easier than managing two businesses at the same time,” but his experiences doing so would “still translate into the position.”

For his experience in government, Cruson has been on the Board of Education serving on the Policy Subcommittee for six years, and the Budget Subcommittee for seven years, which he feels gives him “a good feel for municipal budgets.”

“Business budgets are different from municipal budgets, but I’m familiar with both,” said Cruson.

Professionally, Cruson said he has managed as many as 15 people working for him.

For volunteer work, Cruson has served in the Boy Scout program, both as a scout and as a pack leader. He started as a Tiger Scout and progressed through Eagle Scout, and was part of the Arrow of Light, achieving the highest level there.

How will you — in your capacity to do so — manage or advise on mounting issues at town-owned school facilities, including but not limited to air quality issues at Newtown Middle School and Middle Gate School?

Cruson noted that while the first selectman would not have direct oversight of the schools, he knows that former Superintendent Dr Lorrie Rodrigue and current superintendent Dr Chris Melillo both maintained “close working relationships” with First Selectman Dan Rosenthal.

“I look forward to continuing that,” said Cruson.

Cruson said he enjoyed his work as a member of the Board of Education and will miss being a part of that board, but he will “look for every opportunity to work with the BOE.”

As to air quality issues involving school facilities, which are municipal public buildings, Cruson said he is not positive what can be done, but he is open to whatever the town can do in collaboration with the superintendent.

Cruson said he was part of the board during a previous discussion around closing the middle school, an effort he opposed at the time because “the plan they had was not great.”

“I would definitely advocate for a project I know is important and try to get consensus on that between the Board of Selectmen, Board of Education, and Legislative Council,” said Cruson, who also noted that his BOE experience would be beneficial during the Capital Improvement Plan process.

Cruson said that while former First Selectman Pat Llodra came from an education background, his experience on the BOE was unique and would prove useful since there is a lot of collaboration between the town and school board.

“We’ll keep schools performing at a high level,” said Cruson.

What is your opinion on the advisory committee’s recommendations regarding Newtown employing a Town Administrator — and how do you plan to move forward addressing their recommendations?

Cruson agreed with the advisory committee’s recommendation, saying a town manager replacing a first selectman, was a “step too far,” and a town administrator, who would serve under the first selectman as a support staff position, was the “best place to go.”

He said “further work needs to be done to determine cost and the job description,” neither of which were part of the advisory committee’s charge.

Cruson said that the first selectman’s responsibilities had become a “large job for a single person” and that he was leaning toward an administrator as a “good step.”

Using Monroe as an example, Cruson recalled that neighboring community had a town manager, but then switched away because residents felt they didn’t have a lot of say in the government or budgets because the town’s chief executive officer was hired and not elected.

“I don’t want to take the power away from the people,” said Cruson.

In Cruson’s mind, ideally an administrator candidate would be someone who had previously served in a similar position and would be someone Cruson could trust.

“An administrator should be someone who could build relationships with department heads, not take over but make sure everyone is moving in the right direction,” said Cruson. “They shouldn’t go off and micromanage, but should be the eyes and ears so the first selectman can focus on the bigger picture.”

Share how you will balance the need for commercial tax base growth and additional workforce level housing against the wishes of residents who would like to see little or no further commercial development and/or no significant expansion of affordable housing opportunities?

While being familiar with the 300-plus year history of Newtown since his father, Daniel Cruson, was town historian for many years, Cruson also recognizes “the town needs to keep progressing.”

“We need to balance the history of Newtown and what we love about it, with increasing the commercial base and the housing that comes with it,” said Cruson. “We can’t just be all open preserving open space or developing everything, we need to balance both. We need a vision of what we have in mind across town.”

Cruson recognized appropriately developing a parcel at 6 Commerce Road that was conveyed to the town for commercial development was complicated when part of the property was given to the Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation as a nature preserve. Use of the remaining Newtown parcel was the source of some controversy after a housing development proposal.

Cruson said he leaned towards trying to get commercial development on the property, but said the town needs to be “thoughtful on how it uses land.”

Another property on Hawleyville Road once targeted for a distribution center, and then for a large residential development, Cruson said, needs more clarity around what people want it to be. He said he wasn’t in favor of a distribution center and saw “logical fallacies” in what the developers were saying, like that all traffic would go right onto Interstate 84.

“I think something should go there, but what exactly, I don’t know,” said Cruson.

What are a couple of other issues you have been hearing from residents about — and/or that concern you — that you want to begin addressing immediately upon taking office?

Cruson pointed towards traffic as a huge concern mentioned by residents, that there are complaints both of congestion across town as well as, in lesser trafficked areas, complaints of speeding. He said he would try to act as advocate for the public when he receives such complaints as traffic concerns are mainly handled by the Police Commission — Newtown’s Traffic Authority. (The first selectman can act as an ex-officio member of every board — while they don’t get a vote, they can sit in on the meetings and register their opinions.)

“That would be an excellent way to advocate — used selectively,” said Cruson.

Another thing Cruson said he was hearing, and he wrote a letter to The Newtown Bee about, was public safety. He said he wants to make sure the town’s five independent volunteer fire departments have everything needed to continue maintaining current high levels of service.

“I want to make sure our emergency services are up to the task of keeping up with the growing town and businesses,” said Cruson. “I don’t want things to get to the point that the level of service declines.”

When asked if he would be supportive of the one or two mill tax increase that might be necessary if the town switched to a professional rather than a volunteer fire department, Cruson replied, “if that is what is needed.”

Cruson said the town’s volunteer medical service should also be examined, and if the Police Department has any issues such as staffing, then the town should know about it.

Cruson said he is a “big advocate of hearing voices.”

“I want to hear people’s concerns, no matter what side of the aisle they’re on or what their ideals are,” said Cruson. “If there is a problem, we can find out in a timely manner and deal with it before it becomes a crisis.”

As submitted in his written profile before the live meeting, Cruson responded to these three additional questions:

1. What is the most critical issue facing Newtown today?

A large divide has developed in town, which has led to less collaboration and more confrontation. As a town we need to come back to a place where we can foster collaboration between people of differing viewpoints so everyone feels heard and valued.

2. What is the single most valuable skill or talent you can offer to the community?

Open-mindedness. A good conversation is key to solid decision-making, and I look to collect information from diverse viewpoints. In the past these conversations have even changed my mind.

3. If elected, how will you apply that talent or skill to best address the critical issue you identified in Question 1?

Being open-minded is a big step in being able to cultivate a collaborative spirit with others. I will look for opportunities to work with all stakeholders, including those with opposing views, to establish common ground and move forward with the best decisions for all of Newtown.