Architects listen to people and then translate their aspirations into a concrete, tangible plan. It’s a mindset that architect Joseph Calabrese believes will help him as Oxford First Selectman.
“That’s something that translates well to the town. You need to do planning and have a vision, and listen to what the residents are looking for, and come up with a plan that accommodates that,” Calabrese said.
Calabrese, 55, is an independent running on the Democratic line for First Selectman.
He was appointed administrative assistant to current First Selectman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers in January 2010. Prior to that, he operated Joseph Calabrese Architectural Design.
Calabrese, an owner of a 1950 Dodge truck he restored himself, moved to Oxford from Milford in 1997. He is an active volunteer with the Quaker Farms Fire Company.
He is a native of Northport, N.Y., on the north shore of Long Island.
This is Calabrese’s first attempt at public office, but he’s been involved in municipal happenings for years.
He previously served on the Oxford High School Building Committee and he was the chairman of the Great Oak Middle School Roof & Solar Panel Committee.
More recently, Calabrese has served on Tax Collector Advisory Committee — the group collecting information and working with state police and the town attorney to “advance the town’s actions against the former tax collector.”
Running for political office first entered his mind last winter, when he was approached by Democrats who were aware that Drayton-Rogers would not seek a third term.
He was, and remains, unaffiliated to either the Democrats or the Republicans.
“They knew I was unaffiliated. It was a question I had asked them, to make sure it was understood I was not looking to change my affiliation for the benefit of a party. Their decision was a matter of feeling I was the best person in town for the job, and that superseded party affiliation,” Calabrese said.
Dan Gramigna, a lieutenant with the Oxford Fire Department, said he didn’t want to talk about Calabrese in terms of politics or holding office, but knows Calabrese as a firefighter.
“Joe is the type of guy who when he gets into something, follows through and works hard on it. He would never volunteer to do a project in the fire department if he didn’t put all his effort into it,” Gramigna said.
Calabrese has served on several fire department committees and has helped with projects, such as the annual Firemen’s Carnival, Gramigna said.
“He helps out tremendously at the carnival,” Gramigna said. “He helps run the booth, on fireworks night he is on standby with the truck when the fireworks go off. He’s always the first one to be there, the first one to ask what do you need. Give him a task and he does it.”
If someone has no familiarity with Calabrese, the one thing the candidate said he wants them to know is that he cares about Oxford very deeply.
In fact, the theme of his first press conference as a candidate was, essentially, “Oxford is a good place.”
“This is a town I’m very proud of saying I’m a part of, and that I am looking to lead the town in a professional and intelligent direction,” Calabrese said.
Most voters in town are unaffiliated, like Calabrese. He believes that will be a good thing for him.
“I’m looking to call upon the fact I am someone who is not affiliated with a particular party, to make it easier to work with all the groups in town, all the different political persuasions, for the betterment of the town. And I think most people in town want that.”
Calabrese has identified some meat and potato issues he wants to address as First Selectman, such as road maintenance and repairs.
“A big goal for me is to come up with a comprehensive plan for maintaining Oxford’s roads. It’s not only population growth. Developers have built new subdivisions, and those roads are now a part of the town’s road systems. In the past developers did not always build roads to the highest standards, and we are finding those roads deteriorating faster than we anticipated. We need a plan to address those roads, with correct drainage situations,” Calabrese said.
He sees road repair as a capital project, but not a one-time fix.
“It needs to be woven into the town budget,” he said.
Oxford’s challenges include getting more economic development, to offset the burden paid by homeowners in the tax base, he said.
“If residents want to get services and not feel the burden of taxes as great, we need that commercial economic development,” he said, saying there has been development in the last four years. “It’s very important we continue to do that,” he said.
In the end, Calabrese hopes to continue what he believes has been the good direction of Drayton-Rogers, for whom he has served as administrative assistant nearly two years.
“I have a lot of respect for Mary Ann. I do get to see her working on a daily basis. She has been a good leader for the town, has worked to lead the town in a professional manner,” Calabrese said. “I’m willing to take the base she has started and build on that, work to improve it.”
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