Mayor shares forum with council hopefuls

WALLINGFORD- Since Mayor William W. Dickinson is running unopposed this year, the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce decided to include Town Council candidates in its forum Thursday at the Wallingford Senior Center, held in advance of the Nov. 3 election. The forum was attended by 13 council candidates: seven Democrats- incumbents Vincenzo Di Natale, Nick Economopoulos and Vincent Testa, as well as Don Harwood, Robert Gross, John Sullivan and Geno Zandri - and six Republicans - incumbents Jerry Farrell Jr., John Le Tourneau, Robert Parisi and Rosemary Rascati, and Vincent Cervoni and Craig Fishbein. The candidates expressed their individual views on business-related topics and fielded a prepared question from the chamber's moderator. Fishbein, a newcomer to the Republican's ticket and local attorney, said he thought Wallingford needs to develop a strong, intertwined, self-sustaining relationship amongst its current businesses. "It's always been my credo to buy local. We have to buy local in order to stimulate job growth," Fishbein said. "I think that that is the key to everything here, to our economy. We can't worry about what's going on on the national level- we have to control our own economy locally." DiNatale, co-owner of Ives Road Wine and Spirits, said he favors the town exploring ways to avoid a tax increase in the coming year, including possibly taking more money from its reserves and funneling it into the budget. While Cervoni, an attorney who ran unsuccessfully for a spot on the council in 2007 on the party's ticket, said he wanted to explore ways to attract more businesses to town, which he felt would lower taxes for residents. But Harwood, who serves as director of operations for Bristol- Myers Squibb, said he felt the town couldn't merely look to private business to cover the tax burden. "I think we all are going to be dealing with a lot of counting," Dickinson said. "We're in difficult times and I don't think that should be lost on local government - it shouldn't be lost on any level of government - but these are serious times and we have to count every dollar." Candidate forums featuring the mayor, school board and council candidates will be held Oct. 21 and 22 in Town Hall, 45 S. Main St., at 6:30 p.m. They are sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Cheshire/Wallingford and the Wallingford Junior Woman's Club.