Diana Stricker Photo
The sole Democrat on the three-member Board of Selectmen (BOS) is not planning to take the town by storm, but he does plan to make a difference.
Dr. Bruce Storm, a former Branford school superintendent, is serving on the BOS after attaining the third-highest number of votes in the November election. He ran for office anticipating that former Second Selectman Andy Campbell would win the first selectman’s seat, and he would round out the Democratic majority. That didn’t happen; the Republican sweep put Jamie Cosgrove and Joe Higgins at the helm, and also put a Republican majority at the Representative Town Meeting (RTM).
“My interest is to try to be a good citizen, a good participant and good selectman,” Storm told the Eagle during a recent interview. “I see no value to being a complainer. I’ll complain if I think somebody has been treated unfairly, but my desire is to be a part of the three-person team. I have a lot to offer. I’ve been doing this kind of work a lot longer than either of them have. With all due respect, I believe that I’ve been in the public eye and involved sufficiently in Branford, that I have something to bring to the table. Sure they can ignore me, but I hope they don’t.”
Storm is not used to being called the titular head of the Democratic Party.
“On this issue of being leader of the Democratic Party, I’m really just learning what’s expected of me and what I can contribute and I’m taking it in a thoughtful way,” he said.
“I think that the party has some outstanding folks in terms of their dedication and their thinking,” Storm said. “I may be the most visible Democrat in some ways, but the RTM members are visible too,” he said, adding that it will be a team effort to reinvigorate the Democratic message.
Storm said the outcome of the recent election was unexpected. “It was a surprise to me…but I would be very disingenuous to say I wasn’t gratified and thankful that folks voted for me.” He said voters apparently remembered his 13 years as superintendent of the Branford School District. “I had a lot of visibility and a lot of name recognition.”
LESSONS LEARNED
Although this is Storm’s first elected position, he is familiar with Branford politics from his years as superintendent. “You become sensitive to the cross-currents and the interplay and I think that’s something that I understand,” he said.
But he added that a true grasp of politics can be illusive. “There’s something about Branford politics — - it’s like the weather in New England —- you think you figured it out, but then it’s different.”
Storm was an unaffiliated voter most of his life, until about six years ago when he registered as a Democrat. A native of Buffalo N.Y., Storm has degrees from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY; and the State University of New York at Buffalo; and a doctorate in supervision and curriculum development from Harvard University. He is also a certified mediator, having completed mediation training at University of Connecticut.
Storm taught middle school and high school English until he was appointed associate superintendent in the Lexington, Mass. schools. He accepted the job as Branford superintendent in 1992, and later served five years as superintendent in the Region 12 School District in the Shepaug Valley area in northwestern Connecticut.
After retiring from Region 12, Storm became involved in the Branford Early Childhood Collaborative (BECC), where he serves as co-chairman. “I did miss being in the middle of things,” Storm said of his post-retirement months. “So I did enjoy getting involved in the BECC… I had a warm spot in my heart for early childhood issues when I was here. I was instrumental in getting the after-school program going, and instrumental in getting the family-resource center going, and the school-based health center.”
Storm said he came to have a broader view of Branford life over the years, especially through his affiliation with the schools.
“I was always concerned about the fact that Branford was somehow misrepresented as a community with everyone living along the water and everyone belonging to a country club and everyone being extraordinarily well-off, but the fact is that there is a quite substantial economically-challenged population,” he said.
It was at the BECC that he became reacquainted with Campbell and became interested in running for the BOS. “I spent a lot of time thinking about it. So many people said to me, ‘Are you nuts, haven’t you had enough politics?’”
He said the journey has been worthwhile. “I really did get to know some great people as a result of the campaign and getting involved in politics — people who are committed and dedicated.”
GOALS FOR THE NEW YEAR
Storm said education was always his passion and he enjoyed the supervisory role as an administrator. “It was mentally stimulating and it felt good to be able to make a difference,” he said, adding that BOS position has the same potential. Two of his priorities for the coming year are assessing the possibilities of a new senior center and school renovations; and asking hard questions about development, especially the proposed Costco and master plan for Exit 56.
“I’m going to want to be very prudent about decisions we make in terms of construction, Attention to infrastructure is another one my interests. … I was sensitive to the fact there were whole sections of town that were cut off during Storm Sandy that were totally isolated because of flooding. That’s a concern to me.”
BUILDING PROJECTS
Earlier this year, the architectural firm of Silver/Petrucelli & Associates, presented a feasibility study calling for more than $140 million in renovations to Walsh Intermediate School and the former Branford Hills Elementary School. The BOE accepted the proposal. Click here to read that story. The Board of Finance (BOF) is currently assessing the proposed building projects.
“It’s a complicated, interrelated set of issues between a senior center and the schools,” Storm said. “They have to be planned for and looked at in relation to each other. I think that’s what the BOF is looking at. I don’t want debt service to go through the roof. I’ll be very interested in that, and that will be one of my major focuses.”
He is concerned about the impact that building projects will have on taxpayers, and has been following the BOF’s discussion about bonding. “I’m very sensitive to the implications that has for future borrowing and what we will use that money for. So I’ll be very tuned into and participatory with regard to what major projects are undertaken and what are not. We made a very strong commitment to a senior center, and I think that the public works building could possibly be done very economically.”
Storm is also concerned about the future of Walsh Intermediate School, and is a proponent of renovation at a reasonable cost. “I think there are ways you can be efficient and economical,” he said.
Storm has first-hand knowledge about Walsh renovation proposals since a master plan for the school was issued during his tenure. In 1998, a local architectural firm compiled an 88-page report calling for construction of a fifth-grade wing and renovations to the rest of the school at an estimated cost of $28 million. The so-called Kosinski Report was shelved by the Board of Education at that time; the report has been discussed again in recent years. Click here to read about that.
“It’s a facility that just needs to be modified,” Storm said in regard to Walsh. “I do not see a need for $140 million worth of renovations. I’ll be paying very close attention to that. I’ll work with the Board of Education and the superintendent to the degree I can.”
COSTCO
In recent weeks, tentative plans have surfaced about a Costco store and other retail establishments being proposed for property off Exit 56. First Selectman Cosgrove has said he favors such development as a way of increasing commercial taxes and taking the burden off residential taxes. Storm said that may be overly optimistic, and he is concerned about the effect it could have on senior citizens who are struggling to pay property taxes.
“With all due respect to the first selectman, I do not see a Costco development as helping those seniors stay in their houses. At some point, I will ask for a cost/benefit analysis where you look at the investment the town has to make versus the tax income you’ll get,” Storm said. “I think you’ll find … it ends up being fiction that you’re going to get huge tax relief from a big-box store. We need to be sensitive to where the senior citizens find themselves in terms of taxes.”
Storm said he’s seen figures indicating there will be an increased cost to the town to boost safety services if another big box store is built.
“I’m skeptical and only would support it if every single card was on the table so that there weren’t any false expectations that this is the going to be the be-all, end-all, cure-all to any fiscal woes that we might have or senior citizens might have,” he said. “I hope tough questions get answered and that folks pay attention to those answers and hold people accountable down the road.”
Anyone wishing to contact Storm may reach him through .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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