Written by PaulMichael Mullally |

RESULTS UPDATE: Willie Fritz was re-elected First Selectman. Fritz was fortunate to keep is polotical team including Selectman Carol Walter, who won by re-election, as well as Raymond J. RIgat, John Giannotti, and Lynn Pinder.

This past Tuesday (10/28) the Morgan Political Club hosted Clinton’s First Selectman Debate. The three candidates, Vin Cimino, Willie Fritz, and Phil Sengle, were each given three minutes to state their opening statements, three minutes to respond to pre-populated questions by the Morgan Political Club and audience-questions, and one minute for rebuttals.

Each candidate is introduced and their platform is explained below:

Vin Cimino: Cimino is a member of the Clinton First Party, a new, bi-partisan political party. Cimino focused greatly on the current waste-water issue that continues to remain a problem. Cimino stated, “If we fix the water-water issue, there is no limit to how we (the town of Clinton) can grow.”  In addition to the waste-water issue, the candidate focused greatly on education improvement. Cimino believes that currently Clinton Public Schools is not where it needs to be. Also, he potentially mentioned the idea of closing the Pierson School and merging the students into other schools, and re-modeling the current Pierson building into a community center/multi-purpose building.

Willie Fritz: Fritz has been the democratic First Selectman since 2005. Fritz mainly discussed the waste-water issue, improving education, and economic development, specifically regarding a downtown revitalization process. Fritz stated Clinton has great potential because of its prime location on the shoreline and its lower-tax rate in comparison to other surrounding shoreline towns; “It’s a big sandbox, and we’re trying to work together (to continue town improvement).”  In terms of a ten/twenty year vision, Fritz said with an abundance of pride and excitement,  that the new Morgan building will encourage more families with children to move to Clinton, causing a major influx in town population.

Phil Sengle: Sengle is running as a republican in this year’s First Selectman Debate. Sengle, similar to other candidates, argued for an immediate fix of the waste-water issue, stating that “We’ve (the town of Clinton) has failed to plan.” Sengle also focused greatly on the need for downtown economic improvement, making Clinton more business friendly, and marketing the town for future initiatives. In terms of education. Sengle would like to see a “Talented and Gifted” program become implemented within the school-system and a push to market the new Morgan to all families; “we don’t want our kids going to private schools. If they are, there is something wrong.”

Cover image courtesy of queens-politics.com