Deb is the Majority Leader of the Town Council, where she works hard to deliver responsible budgets, an exceptional education system, and town services we all can rely on.
A lifelong educator, Deb worked for two decades as a high school teacher. She’s now a bookseller at River Bend Books in Glastonbury, where she also runs a middle school book club.
Deb is passionate about ensuring Glastonbury is a great place to live and work for ALL of us, and she serves on the bipartisan Commission on Racial Justice and Equity.
She and her husband Tom have lived in Glastonbury with their three sons since 2012.
Voting History
Affordable Housing
- Voted YES to add a 10% inclusionary zoning policy on rental units
- Voted YES to purchase the Nye Road property to build affordable housing
- Voted YES to the renovation of a town owned affordable residence
Social Issues
Education
- Voted YES to expand the Naubuc School Open Space Classrooms
- Voted YES to building the GHS fieldhouse
Business
- Voted YES to prohibit cannabis establishments
- Voted YES to the Right to Farm in Glastonbury
- Voted YES to allocate $150,000 of ARPA funds to the Small Business Program
- Voted YES to Grant $150,000 to the Farm Assistance Program
Town Management
- Voted YES to hire an assistant town manager
- Voted YES to increase the town staff’s wage by 2% and give a retirement bonus to the town manager
- Voted YES to reduce the pension rate from 6.5% to 6.25%
- Voted YES to close the recycling center at Hebron and Manchester road
- Voted YES to urge our community to behave in a calm way leading to election day
- Voted NO to Increase the Building Height in Town Center
Senior Citizens
Citizen Questions
The range of response: strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree
What are the three greatest challenges facing the community, and how will you address them?
Inflation. With revaluation last year, most of us are dealing with increased property taxes. Town Council can continue to make thought ful choices about spending, apply for grants to offset project costs and be mindful of “nice” vs. “necessary” projects. Housing. Finding ways to keep Glastonbury affordable for our seniors and our workforce is essential. Whether through public initiatives or incentives for developers, we have tools to expand our affordable housing inventory. Supporting farmers. Finding grant programs, local or otherwise, is fundamental. In this time of constant weather challenges and rising costs, we need to ensure that those who have put themselves into their land can continue to make our community a vibrant, abundant place.
Zoning ordinances in town do not allow for adequate supply of housing across the income spectrum.
Neither agree nor disagree. I think that zoning is only part of the issue. While zoning, specifically that which pertains to density, can be a hindrance to creating an adequate supply of housing options, there are other considerations. We need to be careful not to crowd any one area in town with high-density housing. We have incentivized inclusion of affordable units for private developers. We must be willing to envision other approaches, like an affordable housing trust.
Towns should implement programs to remove food waste from the trash stream.
Strongly agree. Glastonbury has already initiated a compost pilot program. My family has a countertop compost bin, which we empty once a week at Town Hall. Our municipal waste issues have not disappeared since the closing of MIRA. We need to keep finding ways to reduce our waste stream. Food waste accounts for 24% of our waste stream an easy reduction!
Letters to Editor
You can often learn a great deal about a candidate from their letters written to the Glastonbury Citizen. The link to to the letter text is found in the dates below.
The letter discusses the unanimous support by Democrats on the Town Council for a proposal to offer grants up to $10,000 to struggling farmers, funded by Federal ARPA money, and aims to address the hardships faced by the farming community due to adverse weather and inflation
October 5th 2023 (co-wrote with Larry Niland)
The letter refutes the claim that the creation of the Racial Justice and Equity Commission was on partisan lines, emphasizing that the resolution received unanimous, bipartisan approval.
Spring 2021