Joseph DiCandido

Republican, District 1

 

Personal info: Age, Address, Profession — Age 62, 4 Whitewood Road. President and founder of Nutek Aerospace Corporation. Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, CCNY.

What personal qualities do you have that you believe will benefit the Legislative Council? — Focused on achieving results; lead by example; inspire and guide others toward achieving their goals; effective communicator; and maintain a high standard of personal and professional conduct.

What will be the council’s biggest challenge in the next two years? —  1. The town is more sensitive to the national economy than one might think. Should there be a shortfall in revenues, I believe that many of our state-mandated programs are going to be in jeopardy. I would attempt to put pressure on our state legislators to lobby Hartford for additional funding to off set the cost of these programs; 2. Development of Fairfield Hills; and 3. Implementing the new charter revision mandates.

Do you favor economic development at Fairfield Hills, or should the campus be used solely for municipal purposes? — If some of the existing buildings can be renovated at a reasonable cost, I would move all of our municipal offices to Fairfield Hills. However, I would also like to see most of the land kept as open space with some improvements such as bike trails and jogging paths, a sort of mini Central Park. I would also like to see some of the land set aside for upscale senior citizen housing, with zoning for a limited medical center to service the community. The entire project, however, should be pedestrian friendly so that people could use the facilities at any time of day or night.

The proposed changes to the charter may fail on November 6 because of confusion and concern over the need to implement the changes in just 30 days because of a clerical error. Would you be willing to reappoint a charter revision commission next year to bring these changes before the public again a year from now so that they may be considered solely on their merits? — Yes I would.