Petitioning Candidate for Tolland Town Council

I am running for re-election to the Tolland Town Council this November as a petitioning candidate.  My name, DELANEY TUTTLE,  will appear in Row 1 - C on the ballot. 

"Running as a petitioning candidate" means that I was not endorsed by either of the political town committees in Tolland, and that I exercised my right to be on the ballot by garnering sufficient signatures on a petition to be certified as a candidate for the council.

Over the past 19 years, the voters of Tolland have elected me to each position I have offered my service: two terms on the Board of Education, one term on the Planning and Zoning Commission, and four terms (one non-consecutive term) on the Tolland Town Council. These years of service have given me a unique perspective on the culture of our town, and they have taught me how important cooperation, respect and integrity are to a successful town.

The town has changed over the 24 years that my family has lived in Tolland. There are things we each value and want to keep in some form, and there are others we might consider changing! Public discourse must take place so that we can reach consensus about separate issues.

I see that the role of local government is to provide for the health, public safety and welfare of the community. We must be confident that our infrastructure is adequate for the needs of the citizens, that we can ensure the safety of all our residents, and that all the children are provided a free and appropriate education. This needs to done on a local level with consideration of the townspeople's ability to pay. That is the primary job of the Tolland Town Council. It is a job that I have experience doing, and that I have done to the best of my ability over these past years.

I hope that you will use this medium to ask questions and comment on issues in Tolland that are important to you. Some of the things about which I would like to hear your voice, and which I will willingly comment, are the role of municipal government in your life: expenditures, budgeting and taxes; roads; recreational issues, including open space, playing fields and recreational programs; sewer services; water services, health and human services, including senior services; and public safety; etc.  Although land use is not under the governance of the town council, use of town-owned lands, access to open space, and roads and public ways are influenced by the council. 

I look forward to reading your comments and to serving on the Tolland Town Council next year.