Democratic Incumbent Mayor Michael Jarjura
It's a pleasure to be able to address the Hispanic and Portuguesespeaking communities about what
Mayor Michael Jarjura we, as a city, have accomplished together in the last eight years.
When I took office eight years ago, the City of Waterbury was virtually bankrupt. Since then, through the coordinated efforts of the state oversight board, my administration, the Board of Aldermen and the taxpayers, we have achieved something that in our darkest days, no one thought possible.
Waterbury is now the model of political and fiscal stability among the state's cities, having achieved an A-level bond rating and received repeated praise from independent financial monitoring agencies. Our tax rate has remained stable, with no increase over last year and no reduction in essential services. Those things may seem unglamorous, but they are the key to the initiatives that will really matter to you in the future.
Right now, we are constructing three new, urban K-8 schools that will not only transform their neighborhoods, but will allow for greater parental involvement and less busing. This will mean that your children can be educated closer to home for longer.
The City of Waterbury also is working in partnership with the Loyola Development Corp. and Cong. Christopher Murphy's office to advance a major initiative in the South End that promises to remove blighted and underperforming housing stock and to bring new commercial opportunities to our growing Hispanic, Brazilian and Portuguese business community.
Our good position financially has also allowed for more than $10 million in road, sidewalk and park improvements in the last two years, with plans underway to make additional improvements to the North End Recreation Center, Fulton Park and Huntingdon Park.
All the good we're accomplishing today comes in the face of some serious challenges from the outside that I'm sure you're all feeling in your day-to-day lives.
Never in our lifetimes have we seen a recession such as the one the nation is facing today. Because of our stable tax structure, our low water costs and our geographic location along two major
highways, I am confident about our future.
Waterbury is weathering the current economic downturn far better than most similarsized communities, with no layoffs, no reduction in services and a crime rate that's the envy of New England. Because of this, our city will emerge even stronger once the recovery, which we are seeing on the horizon, takes hold.
There has been a lot of talk from my opponents about pursuing oneshot, "feel good" economic programs and mixed messages about economic development.
This kind of talk, and the programs advocated by the Independent Party, mirror precisely the practices that got the city into so much economic trouble over 30 years.
I would ask you, the voters, to seriously weigh what you are hearing. Promises that sound too good to be true usually are, and that's what you no doubt are hearing from my opponent.
There are no quick solutions, just hard work, discipline and continued progress. That is what my administration and my team have promised over the last eight years, and that's what we have delivered.
On November 3, I ask for your continuing support for me and the entire Row B Democratic team.
