Letter to the Editor - Thank you District 1 Voters

Dear Editor:

Thank you to the voters of District 1 for your tremendous show of support and vote last week at the polls. I take your groundswell of support as a mandate to be your independent voice on the Representative Town Meeting, to make decisions that best serve your interests, not a political party, and to help lead our town to a bright future.

I have lived in Fairfield nearly my entire life, and I have a deep affection for it, and a strong commitment to our town. I pledge to hold the line on unnecessary spending, advocate for long-term planning solutions, to work in earnest to keep our seniors and retirees in town and to bring transparency to our government. I will be proactive, not reactive.

Thank you very much. Together, we can make our town better than ever.

I look forward to serving you during my term.

Should you have questions or something you would like to discuss, please feel free to call me at 203-424-0024.

Sincerely yours,

David M. Becker

Voter Question: How do you define "proper" funding for schools?

Earlier this evening I received an email from a local resident in my district.  He had a great question about one of my three key issues.  Below I have listed his question and my response.  I welcome feedback from readers of this blog on how to address the balance between a tight budget and proper funding for our schools.  If fortunate enough to be elected tomorrow, I will need everyone's help with this and many other issues.

Question:

How do you define "proper" funding for schools?

Answer:

I define proper funding as our school system having the financial resources it needs at all times to provide a complete and balanced education for all children in Fairfield.

My plan as your representative on the RTM is to add my voice to the call for a fully independent audit of the school board's budget.  Going door to door this past month, I have spoken to many fellow voters that share my concern for where their money is going.  Some teachers are low on school supplies and it is only November.  Situations like this should never be the case in our town.

It is my belief that we can properly fund our schools, while at the same time keeping taxes and our overall budget down.  There is a fine balance that can and must be achieved and I am hoping to have the opportunity to work towards that goal on behalf of my district.

Weekend Update Oct. 24-25

I've made two separate entries below for this weekend outlining the progress I've made_with the campaign.

Saturday Campaign Update:
Several meetings were in the morning. I was filled in on some local Southport issues from a few Sasquanaug members. There is plenty of work to do in that area.
During the rainy afternoon I took a break from the campaign. Asa new board member at the Fairfield Arts Council I felt that it was important to meet with their Executive Director now vs after the campaign. Lots of work ahead of me and I always like to jump right into things. After that meeting I attended an FAC sponsored book signing at Borders for Bruce Pollock's "By the Time We Got to Woodstock: The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Revolution of 1969"
Final stop was a meeting with Joe Demartino (running for RTM-4) (link below). He's running too and we both bounced some ideas around for our campaigns. Very helpful for both sides.

Sunday Campaign Update:
Today was a beautiful day in Fairfield! So...Lots of events and walking!
Started the day off at the Junior Women's Club "Halloween on the Green" event. One of my neighbors on Mona Terrace invited me to stop by and I was glad to accept. The kids were having a blast with all sorts of games and fun the weekend before Halloween!
After that I went to the Sasquanaug pumpkin carving event at the Pequot Library. I was introduced to a few local residents and was able to get some great feedback about local matters. This event was followed by the Sasquanaug sponsored Halloween dog parade...Bob and Erica joined in..Bob even wore a costume t-shirt supporting me!
Door to door campaigning was the best way to wrap up this eventful weekend. I hit several streets and many neighbors were home. I also ran into someone who knew me as a child which is always fun. Door to door campaigning clearly makes a difference. People are always pleased to see I'm making an extra effort and to get a chance to meet one of their candidates.

My Candidate Bio

This week I submitted my candidate bio to the RTC for their mailer. I also plan to add this to my new website which should be rolled out next week. If you would like further detail relating to the experience I have listed below please feel free to contact me directly.

-Lifelong Fairfield resident

-Graduate of Fairfield High School

-8 year active volunteer Firefighter, Southport Fire Department

-Financial Secretary and Board Member, Southport Fire Department

-Past President, Southport Fire Department

-Partner at family owned Fairfield real estate company, Becker Properties LLC

-Director of Operations and Technology, Confirmed Freight LLC, Stratford, CT
-Wife: Erica

Why I am running for political office in Fairfield, CT

Earlier in the week I was asked to explain why I am running for an RTM (Representative Town Meeting) seat in Fairfield.  To be honest, the exact question was "Why are you crazy enough to do that?"

There are many reasons I am running, and for the last month I've been working on writing those ideas down because my website needs that information. My motivation has also been questioned by potential donors and will surely be questioned further in once I begin campaigning this fall. 

Below you will find my answer.  In the near future I will be posting a full mission statement.  Soon, I will also post details regarding my positions on the issues that I plan to bring up during the fall.  If anyone has feedback please send me an email.

Question:  Why am I running for RTM?

Answer:  I am not the type that will sit on the sidelines when I encounter an issue.  Although there are other methods to be involved with political issues, political office is where I feel that I will best succeed.  The Town of Fairfield is where I have lived since I was a child, where most of my immediately family now resides, and where my brother and I both have chosen to start our families.  The Town of Fairfield is also the home to our family business where we have and will continue to invest our time, money, and energy.  My personal and professional success are both inextricably tied to the success of Fairfield. Over the years I have met some remarkable people who have given the town their all and have done a great job in protecting the interests of the town.  I am looking to expand the role that I have played in the past as a citizen running an organization that betters our community.  I am hoping to move toward a position that is inside our town government so that I can help bolster the ranks of those whom I believe have been enacting positive change while at the same time protecting the longstanding interests of the Town of Fairfield.

Blog Topic - David Becker for RTM 2009 Fairfield CT

Finally, my blog topic has been found! This will be one of the central places for everyone to follow my campaign this fall. I will be running as a Republican for an RTM seat in District #1 in Fairfield, CT. During the campaign I will update a mixture of the following sites.

Facebook (www.facebook.com/davidmbecker)
Twitter (www.twitter.com/davidmbecker)
Blogger (davidmbecker.blogspot.com)
Website [www.davidbecker.com (or www.davidmbecker.com)]

The best place to start out will ALWAYS be at my main website www.davidbecker.com. My most recent updates will be consolidated onto posts viewable directly on that site. (Thanks to some crafty website widgets..) You will also find links on that site to any other sites I am updating.

Over the coming weeks my updates will begin and will become more frequent as we enter the fall.

Thank you in advance to everyone for their support this fall!