Norwalk Election 2021: Scott Goodwin For Common Council

Norwalk CT

28 October, 2021

12:42 PM

Description

NORWALK, CT — Election Day is approaching fast, and a number of key positions in town will be on the ballot. To help readers make an informed decision on Nov. 2, Patch has reached out to local candidates to share their views on a few topics. Independent Scott Goodwin, 57, is running for the Common Council (District C) in Norwalk. Occupation: Business Strategy, Marketing Consultant Family: Lynn Goodwin (wife) Experience: I've never had any previous desire to work in city government or run for office. Family in government: No. The single biggest issue in town is ______, and I plan to do this about it: The greatest immediate issue is density for density's sake. We've taken state funding to densify neighborhoods like the TOD zone being pushed here in East Norwalk. That will add up to 1, 200 new residents along a half-mile strip of East Avenue, along with the traffic and infrastructure challenges that come with that. Meanwhile, the administration doles out huge tax breaks to developers to build these fortress apartments, shifting the cost of the infrastructure to homeowners and area businesses.I would focus our planning to invest in infrastructure commensurate with population growth. Not just roads, sewers, electrical grid and water treatment, but schools, police, fire and city services. We need green spaces to build back our tree canopy, and light and noise pollution mitigation. And I'd ensure developers are funding those instead of taking hefty tax breaks that leave homeowners and residents short-changed. Critical differences between me and my opponents: As an Independent, I bring a different point of view, focused on solving problems more than toeing a party line. Today, 14 of the 15 council members are all from a single party and we've fallen into the dangers of groupthink, where too often, they go along with the party line to get along. I've voted for many of them before, including Mr. Kydes, only to realize we need more critical thinking and unique initiative to Norwalk's problems at hand. Accomplishments: Over the course of my career, I've worked with diverse teams and clients to deliver results. Sometimes I've led those teams, sometimes working with other leaders. Universally, I can say that I've delivered meaningful results, on budget and on time. One example was a project for Walmart, using data from multiple sources to build online sales and help customers save money, which resulted in $1.3 billion incremental revenue. Other issues: First, I'd re-evaluate the uses for ARPA money. We've been given a $39MM windfall via the federal government and I heard the town's CFO joke last week, "what's a million or two here or there. Oh, I shouldn't say that." Instead of sprinkling the money in small doses across everyone's pet projects so you can say that "90% of the requests are funded", I'd place fewer, more meaningful investments.2. I would work to stop giving developers 7-15 years tax incentives that put the burden of new fortress apartments on homeowners and local businesses.3. I would expose the city business to the public instead of doling out information in dribs and drabs or requiring people to get a freedom of information act to see who's cutting what deals. Additionally, I would work to make more city data available via an open data platform. We currently only have about 80 data elements available, mostly related to developers' needs, and rarely updated. Compare that to New York that has over 1, 100 open data sources available to the public, some updated daily, that ensure transparency in government and better services for the people. What else would you like voters to know about you? I've lived in East Norwalk for 16 years and have loved it. I have no political aspirations beyond this, and was not even considering running for office until three months ago. I can promise you'll never see a Goodwin for Mayor website. I only want to help steer us through the next several years of managed growth, rebuild trust with our Board of Ed and parents, modernize our infrastructure with greater transparency and keep from giving away East Norwalk to the take-the-money-and-run developers.