As Shelton Democrats, we believe in improving the openness and transparency in city government. We believe in building a thriving city and maintaining the uniqueness our neighborhoods. Our downtown will be vibrant and walkable with restaurants, shopping and entertainment. Our schools will be funded and rank highly in the state matching or exceeding performance with neighboring communities.
We believe in Shelton’s potential as a model city for Connecticut and a destination city for new residents and visitors.
We deliver open, honest and efficient governance:
* Transform our Board of Apportionment & Taxation into a true Board of Finance with budgeting authority and the ability to perform a forensic audit;
* Reform the Board of Ethics to make it independent of city government;
* Improve the budget process to set goals and success metrics for city departments;
* Create a memorandum of understanding between the city and the Board of Education, recognizing that the state provided special education excess cost grant belongs to the school system.
We believe in quality education:
* Investing in our children is an investment in Shelton’s future attracting families, increasing property values and maintaining our attractively low tax rate;
* Our goal is for Shelton schools to achieve at least 85 percent of possible points in the Connecticut State Department of Education Next Generation Accountability Assessment;
* We will study financial, technical and professional aspects of all our schools and create a prioritized plan for improvements, driven by feedback from the entire community.
We invest in Shelton’s future
* Revitalize downtown with improving pedestrian friendliness and providing better parking options that will attract high quality restaurants, businesses and visitors;
* Maintain the character of our communities and respect zoning in residential neighborhoods limiting high density residential to appropriate areas;
* Engaging the business community, state and regional government organizations and residents to develop an infrastructure plan to address traffic congestion and promote Shelton’s growth;
* Invest in improvements to our civic buildings, parks, walking trails, bike paths and open spaces;
* Provide a spectrum of Social services to support Shelton’s senior population, wider ranges in family incomes and the greater ethnic diversity of our younger generation of residents.