Kosty
I’m Kevin Kosty, and I’m making my first campaign ever running for Alderman in Shelton.
When I was preparing to go door-to-door, Jack Finn told me that you do it with two ears and one mouth.
I thought that was great advice because making observations is an important part of that scientific method. My background is as a scientist with a degree in biochemistry, not politics.
I would like to share with everyone a few of the things I’ve heard knocking on 1,000 doors here in Shelton’s Second Ward as my conversations with voters influence my goals as an Aldermen candidate.
Overdevelopment has become a huge concern for most citizens. Out of 1,000 doors I only found 1 person who liked the proposed Town Center at Shelter Ridge.
Everyone else thought it was too large, inappropriate and would have a negative environmental impact. They’re also concerned about high-density developments in previously zoned single-family residential neighborhoods.
But they’re not against development.
There is bipartisan support for development downtown, even higher density, as downtown is the appropriate location.
They want better sidewalks to improve access to businesses, better traffic flow and parking downtown and street lights for safety, more and better parks and green spaces. There is a strong feeling that these improvements, beautification of downtown and also sprucing up city hall will put Shelton’s best foot forward and attract more diverse private investment.
Streets are another big issue.
I’ve heard concerns about both the frequency of repaving and the quality of the work. And snow plowing was also frequently addressed; every out of the way road and cul-de-sac in the ward complained that they would either be forgotten about entirely or only one of two lanes would get plowed.
Openness, transparency and accountability are also a concern. Citizens noticed that the budget section of our city website is completely empty of any documents. Too many citizens are afraid of the way city hall functions.
Everyone loves low taxes. I support that, as does the rest of the Democratic team, any candidate, or political party would.
But we can still address these concerns and plan for better Shelton while maintaining our low mill rate.
I’ve heard many other issues as well and I know it will take time and effort to address every concern. But I’ve also heard from voters that simply by knocking on doors and talking with them I’ve already made a dent in the issue of openness and transparency.
These conversations will not stop once I am elected. I intend to keep seeking citizen input into how we can make Shelton great and encourage them to come to city hall.
I will be thinking of everyone I’ve spoken with on Election Day, and I hope the voters will remember our talks and trust in me when they fill out their ballots on Tuesday.
The writer is running on the Democratic line to represent Shelton’s Second Ward on the Board of Aldermen.
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