Tom is the Chair of the Glastonbury Town Council, where he works to pass responsible budgets, protect our businesses and farms, and maintain our excellent school system
In the 1980s, Tom served two terms on the Board of Education and two terms as Vice Chair of the Town Council before retiring from public service. He returned to public office roughly 10 years ago.
Tom previously served as the CEO of a children’s social service agency, taught in the state university system for over 40 years, and was an academic author/editor focused on adolescence and mental health promotion.
Currently, Tom is a gentleman farmer, bibliophile, and owns a book auction company that donates its profits to charity.
Tom’s Quote from Glastonbury Life
Glastonbury’s three greatest challenges are: 1) Preserving farmland and open space. 2) Re-establishing a New England village atmosphere in the center of town and 3) Addressing in a positive manner the challenge of 8-30g (Affordable Housing).
In addressing these challenges I have been an unwavering advocate of farmland and open space preservation and take pride in being a member of the council that in the late 1980s started the town’s land acquisition program. Regarding the reestablishment and preservation of the town center’s New England Village feel, I led the effort to establish the town’s Village Center overlay district and established the study to develop architectural guidelines to guide future center devolvement. Lastly, to address the town’s need for workforce housing and begin to address the challenge of 8-30g, I was a leading force in purchasing the Nye Road property and urging that the Glastonbury Housing Authority be chosen as the preferred developer.
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 urge our community to behave in a calm way leading to election day
- Voted NO to reduce the pension rate from 6.5% to 6.25%
- Voted NO to close the recycling center at Hebron and Manchester road
- 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?
Glastonbury’s three greatest challenges are: 1) Preserving farmland and open space. 2) Reestablishing a New England village atmosphere in the center of town and 3) Addressing in a positive manner the challenge of 8-30g.
Zoning ordinances in town do not allow for adequate supply of housing across the income spectrum.
Neither agree nor disagree. The challenge to creating a diverse housing stock is assuring that, when that housing is built using 8-30g, that it remains affordable in perpetuity. Presently, this is not the case. To increase a diverse housing stock in Glastonbury, I voted for rental inclusionary zoning in perpetuity; I voted for the acquisition of Nye Road and its sale to the Glastonbury Housing Authority for workforce housing in perpetuity.
Towns should implement programs to remove food waste from the trash stream.
Strongly agree. The town has at its waste dump provided the means to recycle food waste and has encouraged citizens to recycle. On several occasions, I have publicly called for the BOE to institute a food recycling program in their lunchrooms, which I suspect are the largest single generator of food waste in town.
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.
This letter outlines Glastonbury’s FY 2022-23 budget, emphasizing its fiscal health and diverse allocations, and calls for civil discourse in future community discussions.
Spring 2022
This letter addresses concerns about Connecticut’s housing crisis and proposed solutions, sharing Glastonbury’s challenges with deed-restricted housing, lack of infrastructure, and financial constraints, while urging reconsideration of current methodologies for counting affordable housing units.
Fall 2021
The letter discusses various reasons why Glastonbury police might not be using license plate readers, including concerns about false positives, logistical challenges, privacy issues, and potential misuse of collected data
Summer 2021
The letter advocates for a bi-partisan initiative to create a town center village district in Glastonbury, aimed at preserving the town’s historic architectural character and giving the Planning and Zoning Commission a tool to prevent undesirable building designs.
Spring 2021 (cowrote with Kurt Cavanaugh)
