Sen. Blumenthal, newly elected officials, honored guests, ladies and gentleman…thank you for joining us today as we embark on this new chapter in West Haven’s long and storied history.
I want to congratulate my fellow elected officials who are here on stage. I pledge my support and commit to working with each of you for all the residents of West Haven.
I want to thank State Rep. Dorinda Borer, the members of the clergy, and the Inaugural Committee for participating in this event. I also want to thank my family, who have always supported me, even when my public service meant sacrifices for them. Thank you to my husband of 36 years Arthur, my sons Angelo and Stephen, and, of course, my grandson Arthur, who was my biggest supporter throughout the campaign and one of the reasons I worked so hard. I also want to thank my mother-in-law Carmelina and the entire Rossi family, and my brothers Kenny and Roger for their continued unwavering support and love.
I would also like to pay tribute to my parents, Harold and Rae Lane, and my father in law, Angelo Rossi and Uncle Louie Rossi! They are watching from heaven above. All four were examples of honesty, integrity, and working hard for what you believe in!
I would also like to thank all of my volunteers, without all of you, today would not be possible! Thank you to my campaign managers, Michael Last and Thomas McCarthy, truly these two men care about West Haven, I could not have been standing here today without their help! I would be remiss if I did not thank Ernie Charelli, truly another person that cares about West Haven and was instrumental in keeping me focused each and every day. Thank You to Rose McDonnell, my treasurer, she took care of the day to day financial transactions during both the primary and the election. Thank you Rose and also thank you to her granddaughter Ella, next to my grandson Arthur, Ella was my second biggest supporter!!
Another thank you to former Mayor John Picard, although we did not see eye to eye when he was in office, former Mayor John Picard did indeed support my candidancy for mayor, and forever I will be thankful.
Today, West Haven begins a new path: a path that will take us to balanced budgets and a new culture of fiscal responsibility. You may have heard I am a CPA. Tomorrow, I will be in my office bright and early and put in place a hiring freeze of all non-essential personnel and a spending freeze for all expenditures that are not required to deliver services to our residents. We will begin the process of auditing our cell phone inventory and fleet assignments. We will institute internal controls to make our government services more effective and efficient. We will look for ways to do our jobs smarter and at lower cost to taxpayers.
I will work with the Board of Education and Superintendent Cavallaro to ensure we deliver a first-class education to our children, within our available resources. The success of our educational system will be critical to attracting new businesses and residents to the City of West Haven. We have many dedicated education professionals in West Haven. We will work together to improve the system and schools.
We have some exciting opportunities in economic development. My administration will evaluate and expedite projects in the pipeline and aggressively promote the City of West Haven to potential investors. We have some great opportunities with the area around the train station, Route One, Beach Street, and, of course, our beautiful and historic downtown. I will work with our federal and state legislators to find and apply for grant funding to get the arts center open. I believe the arts center will be the catalyst for business in the downtown district.
My team and I look forward to improving our parks and athletic facilities city-wide. Our parks need attention, repair, and ongoing maintenance. Our athletic facilities and courts need to be a priority to give our residents and youth a well-maintained and safe environment to enjoy.
As elected officials, we are, and have to be, accountable to our residents. I am committed to making West Haven’s government more transparent and accessible to our residents. We need our city website to include the notice of all meetings, agendas, and minutes. We will stream as many city meetings as possible on social media and public television. Our residents should know what is happening in City Hall. There will be regular city posts on Facebook and other social media networks to keep residents updated on city business and events.
I believe if we work together, no matter our faction or party a path to future success. Let’s not just say it today and forget it tomorrow. Let’s make it happen–let’s make a difference and make West Haven a place where people want to live, work, and visit.
West Haven is a diverse community and has great restaurants and small businesses, a growing first-class university, great parks and nature preserves, the finest stretch of beach in the state. With all that, our biggest asset is our community – the people who call West Haven home. We have rich natural resources and so much potential – Let’s all work together and make West Haven the destination it deserves to be.
Thank you again for joining us today and congratulations to all our elected officials. I truly look forward to working with all of you over the next two years to make a positive difference.
God Bless the City of West Haven, the State of Connecticut, the United States of America, and all of you! Thank you.