Who are your Tolland Democrats?

Tolland Democrats believe:

To truly love our community, we must invest in it. Tolland Democrats know that our town is a great place to live, and it can be for generations to come. Regardless of why new residents move here, maintaining our services and infrastructure is vital. Over the past four years, our elected leaders have made decisions based on short-term benefits, without consideration for long-term impacts. This stalls progress, delays regular maintenance, and can lead to emergency repairs or a lapse in services for our most vulnerable neighbors. Democrats believe that making strategic, responsible investments will create cost savings in our future. Our community is #worthit.

Every child should receive an excellent education in our public schools. We are lucky to have staff and administrators that work so hard to provide a great education for our kids. Over the last four years, the Republican supermajority has ignored needs-based budget requests from Tolland’s school administrators in favor of even more cuts to what our school can offer. The results have been larger class sizes, lack of equitable resource allocation and reduced access to educational programs. We have endured harmful cuts to sports and extracurricular activities, annual staff layoffs, and reductions to the arts and world language programs. If Tolland schools are forced to continue to reduce budgets, the district will have no choice but to return to expensive outplacement services or hiring costly outside consultants because the needs of our students will not be satisfied in-district. Tolland Democrats believe that strategic investment in our schools is #worthit.

A well-supported school district benefits all residents. Even if you do not have kids in the schools, it is important to consider the correlation between a strong school system and your home value. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, for every dollar spent on public schools in a community, the value of a home increases by up to $20. Tolland Democrats believe that investing in our community is #worthit.

Establishing revenue sources that will support Tolland’s future. Tolland Democrats believe in keeping personal property taxes as low as possible by seeking balance with alternative revenue sources. By increasing multifamily and affordable housing options, utilizing zoning to encourage business growth, and helping residents repair their crumbling foundations – we have the opportunity to reduce the reliance on property taxes to fund our community’s needs. During the past six years, the Republicans have prioritized cuts to town services to control property tax increases. The answer to a stronger Tolland is not cutting town services. Tolland residents know that growth in Tolland is #worthit.

Our differences make us strong. It is in the best interest of every resident of Tolland to pursue equity. Tolland will truly be stronger when all voices and perspectives are embraced, honored, and represented in our town. Tolland Democrats are proud to endorse a slate of candidates with diverse life experiences and point-of-view to move our town forward. Earlier this year, the Town Council wrote a Statement Against Racism. This is only the beginning of the conversation, not the end. Democrats will make sure that the promises in the Statement Against Racism are implemented so that we can grow as an inclusive community where every resident is #worthit.

We can do more to unite as one community. Tolland Democrats believe that Tolland residents deserve to have leaders who have long-range, proactive strategic plans. Crumbling foundations, mental health crises, and the pandemic have certainly been challenging, but this is not the Tolland story. The Tolland story is one of resilience, compassion, and looking forward. Tolland Democrats will work hard for this vision. After all, Tolland is #worthit.