Nominating speech 2015

Thank you Chairman Reed and Members of the

Ansonia Republican Town Committee. I humbly and
graciously accept the Republican nomination to run
as your Mayor for the Great City of Ansonia and the
great people of Ansonia.
My life has been blessed with many people and many
experiences along the way that have lead me to this
path, but one thing is for certain, I did not begin this
journey alone and I can only continue with the help
and guidance of everyone here tonight. To that end,
my lovely wife Ina stands by my side and my five
wonderful children, four of whom are with me
tonight, Lillian, Jennifer, Dave jr. and Alderman
Anthony Cassetti. I see the future of our city in their
eyes.
When you are born and raised in a city and you raise
your family in that very same city - it becomes a part
of you. My hopes and dreams for this city can only be
realized with a strong team. I dont know of any
Mayor who doesnt rely on and need the help of his
Aldermen and conversely I dont know of any
Aldermen who can work independently of the Mayor.
We both need one another to move the City forward.
Lorie touched on the teams past accomplishments,
but I am a person who likes to look forward. We need
to continue the progress we have made and build on
that for the future.

 We have helped to ease the unnecessary and heavy

tax burden that has been placed upon the residents
of Ansonia by giving them unprecedented back to
back tax decreases. These decreases are sustainable
because we will continue to streamline city
government with sound accounting practices,
minimizing red tape resulting in cost savings for the
taxpayers.
The capital plan we put in place means that for the
next five years your government will be able to
forecast the direction the city is moving in and what
needs to be done in order to maintain our facilities,
infrastructure and equipment. Sound fiscal planning
leads to a healthy future for our City. A capital plan is
a solid sign that our city is on its way to recovery.
We are ensuring that our reserve fund doesnt ever
grow high enough to create over taxation as has
been the case in the past. We will look to maintain
what bond rating agencies prefer - a reserve fund
balance that is reasonable and allows for a moderate
cushion to avoid surprises.
Lowering taxes is our key to economic growth and
prosperity in the future. We attract, retain and
expand businesses by keeping the tax rate down.
Economic development depends on that and cannot
be achieved without it.
Our economic future relies on our continued
partnerships. We have been able to retain companies

like Farrel who have been here for over 160 years
because we are willing to partner with them and
show them that the city will come to the table to
create incentives. The partnerships that we have
established will grow and blossom in the future,
creating a healthier economic climate for Ansonia.
Over time, we will continue to lower taxes and create
a strong foundation to build upon. Our economic
development efforts have created movement where
there was stagnation. We are seeing new businesses
and restaurants opening up and our continuing goal
must be to bring more foot traffic into the downtown.
The message is and will continue to be Ansonia is
Open for Business.
Our blight efforts have beautified the City and these
efforts are going to eventually have a domino effect,
creating cleaner and better neighborhoods.
Our grant efforts have resulted in over $6 million in
funding for assessment, infrastructure, demolition,
roadwork and police funding. Thats $6million more
than we had two years ago. And we will continue to
secure state and federal funding for our future
economic development projects.
Last Wednesday we put a banner up on Main Street.
Its a picture of Ansonia as it once was. The
significance of that banner is that I see the future of
Ansonia as bright and hopeful as it once was with a
vibrant downtown full of promise and bustling with
activity.

 I am prepared to continue the journey towards

economic prosperity and I want everyone to join me.
The rebirth of Ansonia is right around the corner.
Lets continue to take that journey together and
make Ansonia a better place than we found it.

Thank you and Good Night.