Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti
ANSONIA — Mayor David Cassetti announced plans Tuesday (Feb. 14) to seek re-election to a sixth term in office.
“Ten years ago, when I launched my first campaign for mayor I had a vision to breathe new life into my hometown,” Cassetti said. “We called that vision Ansonia Recharged. Now, 10 years later, the vision has become a reality. Behind me, as I speak, decades of industrial blight and decay are being brought to the ground. The past is literally being cleared away to make room for a bright and prosperous future.”
The 62-year-old father of five told the small group of supporters gathered near the former SHW building in downtown Ansonia that he wants to continue the progress he promised to make when he was first elected in 2013.
Cassetti said he’s proud of the relationship he’s built with Superintendent of Schools Joe DiBacco and is looking forward to the prospect of building a new middle school to replace the aging, 85-year-old school on Howard Avenue. He also lauded Ansonia’s commitment to reinvesting in old, vacant buildings and hailed last year’s opening of a new police headquarters downtown, where a new senior center is also slated to open this year in the same complex. Transforming the long fallow Olson Drive into a soon to be built, multi-million-dollar sports complex is also something Cassetti is proud to have achieved on his administration’s watch.
“This is a development that will make downtown Ansonia a destination for families for years to come,” Cassetti said.
In addition, Cassetti said Ansonia continues to “explode” with new restaurants and apartments downtown. He also briefly touched on the city’s financial picture, and how Ansonia last year achieved $1 billion dollars on the city’s Grand List, and said the mill rate “is still lower” than when he first took office 10 years ago.
Taking on the former vacant Ansonia Copper & Brass buildings downtown is something Cassetti said represents Ansonia’s biggest challenge. However, he said he’s committed to revitalizing those 60 acres of vacant factories.
Because Cassetti decided to make his intentions to run again on Valentine’s Day, he quipped that he was giving the city a 10-year anniversary gift to mark his decade in office.
“It’s Valentine’s Day so I thought it might be appropriate to see what gift is traditionally given for a 10-year anniversary,” Cassetti said. “I thought it might be something expensive like diamonds or gold, but what it is, is aluminum. That’s a little disappointing, so today as Mayor of the City of Ansonia I am going to assign a new gift for our 10-year Recharged Anniversary- copper and brass.”
“Ansonia Recharged” is a marketing term used by the administration that is now morphing into a political slogan.
Cassetti said making his announcement on Valentine’s Day was appropriate for him.
“It’s because I love the city and I couldn’t think of doing anything more than continuing to recharge and revive our great city as we usher in the next decade of progress,” Cassetti said. “My team and I look forward to earning your vote and maybe your hearts this November.”
As far as a Democratic challenger for the mayor’s seat, that will have to wait a little longer, according to Ansonia Democratic Town Committee Chairman John Feddern.
“We are still in the selection process, but the Ansonia Democrats will have a strong, viable candidate for mayor, as well as the rest of the ticket,” Feddern told the Valley Indy via an email Tuesday (Feb.14).
The Dems didn’t have a challenger to run against Cassetti during the last municipal election, which saw them lose seats on the Board of Aldermen.
