Chester First Selectman Rivals Debate Town Issues *Updated With Video*
Video is courtesy of the Chester Common Ground Party.
By: Charles Stannard
CHESTER— Republican First Selectman Tom Marsh and Democratic challenger Chuck Della Rocco sparred over economic development and other issues during the single public debate of the campaign for the Nov. 3 town election.
About 70 residents turned out for the session Tuesday that was co-sponsored by the town’s Democratic and Republican town committees and Chester Common Ground, a group that is running candidates for some board and commission seats on the ballot. The videotaped debate, moderated by former state Rep. Claire Sauer of Lyme, will be broadcast at various times next week on the Comcast public access channel.
The 90-minute session, which included questions from reporters and members of the audience, was cordial, despite occasional sharp criticism of Marsh from Della Rocco, a former Old Saybrook police officer who currently serves on the local board of education.
Marsh, who unseated six-term Democratic First Selectman Martin Heft in 2005, said his record over the past four years merits a third term. Marsh said the current town budget is lower than the budget he inherited in 2005, with no major reduction in services. Marsh said ten new businesses have opened at two industrial parks and other locations in Chester over the past four years.
Della Rocco contended Marsh has become aloof from residents and has acted unilaterally on several issues, including a decision not to take advantage of a new state law that would have allowed the town to defer a property revaluation update completed last year that resulted in sharply higher assessments for some homeowners. “He’s listening but he doesn’t hear you,” Della Rocco said.
Della Rocco also claimed Marsh failed to prevent the relocation of a new regional probate court from Chester to Old Saybrook, and has failed to maintain some town buildings, particularly the Chester Comminity Center property on Route 154.
Marsh said delaying the revaluation was “a sword that cut both ways,” and would not have helped more than a third of the town’s residential property owners who experienced no major jump in assessments from the update. He said the town would have “wasted” the $80,000 spent on the update while still being required to complete a revaluation by 2011. Marsh said the decision on the location of a regional probate court was driven by the larger municipalities, such as Old Saybrook and Clinton, and suggested Chester Town Hall would have had difficulty accommodating the staff for a larger probate court serving nine area towns.
On the proposed Parker’s Point riverfront land purchase, Della Rocco claimed Marsh has not provided residents with all information on the purchase. Marsh said all information on proposed bonding and grant funding for the purchase would be available before a scheduled Nov. 10 referendum, adding “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.”
The two rivals agreed on some issues, rejecting the idea of a four-year term for first selectman and board of selectmen, and opposing Chester participation in a regional health district that is now comprised of Clinton, Old Saybrook, and Deep River.
The candidates each expressed some support for a developing plan for a full regionalization of Region 4 schools, while avoiding making a firm commitment until a detailed proposal is presented by the Region 4 Board of Education. Marsh said the district’s current governing structure, including four separate school boards and a Supervision District Committee managing shared services, “is too cumbersome.” But he expressed some concern about how the district’s budget preparation process would function under a single elected regional school board made up of representatives from Chester, Deep River, and Essex.
Della Rocco said residents will have to weigh the possibility of cost savings against a possible loss of control over the local elementary school when a regionalization plan is presented to voters of the three district towns in a referendum expected sometime next year.
