Editor’s Note: Mayor Cassetti’s podcast was on the front of the website yesterday, Tripp’s podcast is on today.
ANSONIA — Second Ward Alderman Phil Tripp says he should be elected mayor because he’s a consensus builder who has dedicated his life to public service — first in the National Guard, and then as an Ansonia legislator.
Click play to listen to an interview with the candidate. The podcast is also embedded as an audio-only YouTube video if you scroll down.
Tripp is challenging incumbent Mayor David Cassetti, a Republican trying for his fourth, two-year term. Click here to listen to an interview with Cassetti.
When Tripp sat down with The Valley Indy last week for an interview, no questions or topics were provided in advance. There were no ground rules.
Please click play to listen.
Cassetti cruised to a third term in 2017. But Tripp, a Republican until he switched to the Democratic party in May, says he has a politically diverse base ready for change in Ansonia City Hall.
Click play to listen.
The following is a “show guide” for the interview.
The minutes and seconds noted below correlate to the point in time during the interview during which the topic described was broached.
Start of interview to 5 minutes, 30 seconds: The Intro
A statement regarding journalistic integrity, and then the intro to the interview — including a rebuttal from the Cassetti campaign about no-bid contracts, an issue raised by Tripp during the podcast.
7‑minute mark
Tripp responds to the assertion that he’s not a Democrat, but a Trump Republican who a year ago was regularly sharing right-wing memes on his personal Facebook page.
Tripp says he has apologized and “walked away from the ugliness of all that.”
Regarding his decision to run for mayor, Tripp says that people from all over the political spectrum have been talking to him about running for mayor for more than a year.
10-minute mark
Tripp says that his change of political ideology came from talking to friends in the Democratic Party — and that he will not vote to re-elect U.S. President Donald Trump in 2020.
12-minute mark
Tripp explains the “Tripp coalition” on the Board of Aldermen from a few years back, and how he and Mayor Cassetti went from running on the same Republican ticket to becoming political rivals.
Bottom line, according to Tripp — Cassetti doesn’t like opposing views. In addition, the mayor’s treatment of former comptroller Bill Nimons in 2016 didn’t set well with Tripp.
And then there’s the education funding issue …
17 minutes, 56 seconds
Tripp talks about the “chaos” he said the Cassetti administration caused when the Aldermen voted to take back about $600,000 in Ansonia school funding.
“I’m told you had teachers crying in the hallways,” Tripp says, causing the situation “inexcusable.”
Tripp also talks about why he didn’t challenge Cassetti in a Republican primary.
22 minutes
Tripp talks about retiring from the National Guard after 30 years of service, and how he transitioned into serving the City of Ansonia on the Board of Aldermen.
23 minutes
Tripp talks about what he sees as the most pressing issue facing the City of Ansonia — the city’s financial situation.
The candidate says if elected he would immediately ask for an audit of city finances, and that he would ask Nimons from the school board to help.
25 minutes
Tripp talks about the city’s reserve fund, the use of which was pointed out as a weakness by S&P Global Ratings Direct when the organization recently downgraded the city’s credit rating. Tripp also talks about Ansonia’s tax bills — and says the city has not done enough to cut spending.
32 minutes
A message from the sponsor, ValleyGivesBack.org!
36 minutes
Tripp responds to the question — “Are the days of zero mill rate increases over?”
38 minutes
Where would he cut spending?
Tripp says there’s been “an incredible amount of paving and road work.”
He says the work isn’t being done by the city’s Department of Public Works, but by a private contractor, which Tripp questions.
40 minutes
As of Oct. 28, no formal debate had been agreed to by the two mayoral campaigns.
While Cassetti accepted an invitation to debate Tripp on a Valley Indy podcast, the Tripp campaign said no — and said that they would only debate in public at a public venue. Team Cassetti said no thanks, initially saying they wouldn’t participate in a debate without a neutral moderator.
If Tripp was serious about a public debate, why did his campaign wait to challenge Cassetti until after The Valley Indy sent an invite? Why wasn’t the debate work started months ago, given the negotiations that needed to take place?
42 minutes, 53 seconds
Tripp gives his stance on the Derby-Ansonia school regionalization committee, and an effort to build a new middle school in Ansonia.
48 minutes
Tripp talks about growing up in Hamden, joining the U.S. Army, and relocating to Ansonia to raise a blended family.
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“Navel Gazing: The Valley Indy Podcast” is a weekly talk show on this website.
Music courtesy of The Bad Slugs.
In addition to being on YouTube and Libsyn, the Valley Indy’s “Navel Gazing” podcast is available on:
Pandora (find the app in your app store)
Click here for previous episodes.
