Jake’s Quote from Glastonbury Life
I work at the Office of the Attorney General as an assistant attorney general representing the legal interests of our state’s various public safety agencies and employees. I have devoted most of my career to public service, and previously served as a state prosecutor. Through my education and professional experiences, I have learned to respect diverse opinions, carefully analyze issues from multiple perspectives, and engage in thoughtful discussions on challenging topics. I have served on the Town Council for five years and previously served on the Town Plan and Zoning Commission. My wife and I are the proud parents of a very active four-year-old and his equally active two-year-old brother.
I believe strongly in public service and the importance of giving back to your community. I also love our town and want to see it thrive. My family set roots in Glastonbury for its excellent schools, open spaces and small town feel. I believe that maintaining these qualities while wisely managing town finances will ensure Glastonbury remains an excellent place to live, work, and raise a family. This is what I have always strived to do in my service as a Town Council member.
A fair and reasonable tax burden is essential for Glastonbury’s continued success. We must always focus our yearly budgeting on necessary spending and smart investments for our future. Funding our education system and our essential services are, in my opinion, important. As is paying our pension obligations on schedule and maintaining our AAA bond rating. Every year I strive to balance these obligations with the realities of inflationary pressures, with the ultimate goal of minimizing the tax impact on our citizens. I will continue to do so.

Relatedly, we must encourage the growth of businesses in town and control residential development through public land purchases. This is partly why I championed apportioning some of our federal COVID relief funds toward assisting local small businesses that had been impacted by the pandemic. I have also supported public land purchases, not just to preserve open space in our community, but to help prevent unsustainable development that would drive up town operational costs.
On the subject of development, Glastonbury is a growing community. As we remain one of the most desirable communities in the greater Hartford area, this growth will continue. This growth has brought a vibrancy to our downtown and has benefited our tax base, but it has also, at times, threatened the unique charms of our community. We must continue to preserve our green spaces. We must ensure that future development maintains the character, charm, and history of our community, and protect our historical structures. We must preserve our agricultural heritage and protect our working farms and orchards. These goals can be accomplished by continuing to purchase open land for preservation and public use, pushing back against developers where needed and establishing appropriate zoning regulations, and ensuring that our local farmers have support and the ability to adapt and survive in an evolving industry. This is why I have supported, for instance, the creation of a village district in the town center, the adoption of town design standards, the preservation of local farmland (like Rose’s Berry Farm), and the apportionment of federal funds towards disaster relief for our local farmers.

Voting History

Affordable Housing

Social Issues

Education

Business

Town Management

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?

A reasonable tax burden is essential for continued success. We must focus yearly budgeting on necessary spending and smart investments. I strive to balance these with the pressures of inflation, and maintain a minimal tax impact on our citizens. Growth brings vibrancy, but we must also protect our charms. We must preserve open spaces, farms, character and history. This is why I have supported open space and farmland purchases, town design guidelines, and creation of a village district. Many citizens have difficulty affording housing in town. I have supported efforts to require affordable units in rental development and have supported partnership with the Housing Authority for responsible development of affordable options in town.

Zoning ordinances in town do not allow for adequate supply of housing across the income spectrum.

Neither agree nor disagree. Our ordinances protect the town from unsafe overdevelopment. The roadblock to affordable housing is that, for a private developer, such development does not provide the highest value. Some ordinance updates have been necessary, but I support the town partnering with organizations like the Housing Authority that can develop diverse housing stock based on the needs of the community in perpetuity and in keeping with local scope and character.

Towns should implement programs to remove food waste from the trash stream.

Strongly agree. I support the implementation of food waste recycling programs throughout town. Reducing food waste is not only helpful for the environment, but also has the practical impact of reducing traditional refuse disposal costs for the town. We have a food waste recycling program at our Transfer Station and offer a yearly program for citizens to purchase compost bins at a discounted rate. I also support BOE’s implementation of a food waste program.

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 criticizes attempts by Republicans to claim sole credit for a fiscally responsible budget in Glastonbury, arguing that recent budgetary decisions were the result of bipartisan efforts led by a Democrat-majority council.

Spring 2021

Social Media

Jake has a facebook page which he updates regularly.

2021 TALK Forum

In 2021, Jake attended the T.A.L.K. Forum. In this forum, he answered the following questions. Please click on the question to see the full transcript of his answer.