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Rabinowitz & Ahern Seek Top Town Democratic Slots

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A former school principal and a former fire chief will seek the town’s top government posts on the Democratic ticket this fall.

Mark Rabinowitz (at left in photo), 63, former principal of the Mary R. Tisko Elementary School, and Jack Ahern (at right), who was 54 when he retired as fire chief in December. are expected to run for first selectman and selectman respectively. Both men will go before the Democratic Town Committee (DTC) caucus July 28, where candidates will be officially nominated. The Republican caucus is slated for July 21, when incumbent First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove plans to seek the nomination for a second term with Selectman Joseph E. Higgins, Jr., as his running mate..

The Board of Selectmen in Branford consists of three elected members. The third member is Democrat Bruce Storm, a former Branford superintendent of Schools.

Together Rabinowitz and Ahern have lengthy education and municipal experience and are well-known in town. In a joint statement to the Eagle, they wrote: “Our backgrounds have positioned us well to take on the responsibilities of First and Second Selectmen.”

Rabinowitz said his leadership as a school principal for 27 years “has given me much experience with successfully working with people, setting goals and standards that can be measured and working with budgets to ensure that public funds are judiciously spent. We believe that the key to success is not more taxing, but rather more closely reviewing how the tax money is spent. My partner was the Branford Fire Chief for 12 years having been employed by the department for 35 years. He is also very skilled with working with others to bring out their best, knowledgeable about town processes and experienced with creating and managing budgets.

“We envision a town that attracts young families to a high quality school system. We envision a town that attracts businesses that will employ well trained and appropriately compensated employees. We envision a town that prides itself on preserving open spaces. We envision a town that plans how it wants to develop and works together to implement those plans. We envision a town where decision-making is transparent. In short, we envision a town where individuals and families prosper and are proud to be Branford citizens.We are excited about new possibilities for our town and look forward to working with all Branford citizens to achieve them.”

A Vision For Branford

Rabinowitz retired early, at age 59. Since then he has helped principals and teachers across the state in various programs. “I think it is kind of neat to change gears and look at the world from a different lens,” he said. “As a first selectman you are looking at the world from a very different lens. I think that could be very exciting.”

Asked about his vision, he said: “One of the things that makes a town get better over time is that it attracts young people, young families to settle here because of the school system, because of safety, because of jobs nearby, because of governments they trust. There are things that pull young people and there are things that repel young people.

“And I would like to work with the town departments; I like working with people and help them figure out what would be their place in a long-term plan to make Branford a great place. That means looking at what they do from a different perspective or maybe not. I haven’t talked to them. But I would like to.

“Public issues should be public; people should share their thoughts. Leaders should listen. When you get divergent points of view, particularly people who don’t agree with you, you get a much richer solution to problems. You need that,” he said, in expressing what worked for him as a school principal for 27 years.

Rabinowitz and his wife Frances live in Hotchkiss Grove. She is currently the interim superintendent of schools in Bridgeport. They have three grown children.

Rabinowitz said he admires Ahern who will also seek elected office for the first time and has deep roots in Branford. He and his wife Lisa have raised five children, Leah, Caitlin, John, Michele, and Charlie. After Ahern retired he went to work for a private communications company, Northeastern Communications, as customer support manager. The company is based in Naugatuck. He works on designs, sales, and service for two-way radio and data systems.

“Their long history of serving the citizens of Branford is impressive,” said Chris Sullivan, chair of the Democratic Town Committee. Each, he said, has shown “strong leadership and commitment to public service. Branford is lucky to have this caliber of candidate stepping up to run for office.”

Cosgrove Seeks Second Term

Cosgrove, 42, who ran his grandfather Dan Cosgrove’s construction business before becoming first selectman in 2013, has indicated to Republican party loyalists he plans to run but as the town’s top elected official. He made no formal announcement, either by way of a press conference or by way of a press release. He is expected to be endorsed at the Republican caucus this month.

When he ran for first selectman in 2013, Cosgrove campaigned on bringing a Costco to Branford, specifically to land at exit 56. Tonight the Planning & Zoning Commission is expected to vote on the issue, the first step needed before the Costco application may proceed to the Inland Wetlands Commission and then back to P&Z. The meeting takes place at Fire Headquarters at 7 p.m.

Cosgrove has told his followers that one reason to run again is to complete projects he set out to do, including a combined senior/community center, a new public works building, and the long-awaited school project at Walsh Intermediate School discussed a few years back. The senior center is in its early stages. There has been no movement or public discussion on the public works building or on Walsh until today, the day of the Costco vote.

This morning Cosgrove announced that he has hired a Hamden firm to conduct a study on three options to transform the Walsh school. He said he will be working with Schools Superintendent Hamlet Hernandez. Cosgrove said prior cost estimates were “simply not practicable.”
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