Tim O’Neil is running for First Selectman of Southbury, setting up a rematch of the 2023 race that was decided by fewer than 600 votes.
A Democrat and fourth-generation Southbury resident, O’Neil says the issues that motivated him to run two years ago have only intensified.
In an interview with The Southbury Record, O’Neil said his campaign is rooted in concern for the town’s senior citizens, many of whom, he says, feel increasingly neglected.
He pointed to a recent Board of Selectmen meeting where seniors voiced frustration over the town’s four-day workweek pilot program and the resulting Friday closures at the Senior Center.
“My opinion is, if you’re a town employee, you’re a public servant,” said O’Neil, confirming his position to keep the Senior Center open on Fridays. “You’re there to serve the taxpayers of Southbury.”
O’Neil said affordable housing is another growing challenge, especially for older residents. He noted that Grace Meadows, a housing complex designed for seniors with disabilities, has an eight-year waiting list.
He said some mistakenly equate affordable housing with low-income housing, creating resistance to new development.
“Anytime it came up, low-income housing was always brought up,” he said. “There’s a lack of understanding between low-income housing and affordable housing.”
O’Neil, a Certified Property Manager with years of volunteer experience in youth sports and conservation, also cited concerns about the condition of the town’s playing fields and parking lots. He said upgrades are overdue and would improve safety and quality of life for families.
Traffic safety is another area O’Neil says requires stronger leadership. During his current term on the Board of Selectmen, residents of Burma Road raised speeding concerns. He proposed exploring speed bumps, but says his suggestion fell upon deaf ears.
He has since watched nearby Washington become the first town in Connecticut to implement automated traffic enforcement cameras, collecting over $20,000 in fines within the first two weeks. A similar idea should, at least, be explored in Southbury, O’Neil added.
“Heaven forbid something happens there when the town has been notified of a safety issue,” he said.
The challenges for both O’Neil and Republican incumbent Jeff Manville revolve around striving to maintain a balance of economic growth with the town’s rural character.
This time, the race unfolds with a newly re-zoned industrial parcel – the former home of IBM, once the town’s top taxpayer.
And while both campaigns agree that Southbury’s “small town charm” should be preserved, the way of achieving it could look different depending on who occupies the First Selectman’s office in Town Hall.
“I think with my real estate background, my property management background and my business management education, I could do a lot with, not only the Volpe-Rosen property, but also the IBM site to try to get that developed,” said O’Neil.
O’Neil believes the town overpaid for the Volpe-Rosen parcel two decades ago, which came at a price above $6 million.
“Nobody did any due diligence at the time,” he said.
His local roots run deep. His great-grandfather, Sidney S. Platt II, once served as a State Representative for Southbury. His grandmother, Edith Platt, later married lifelong Southbury resident and former First Selectman Edward Hveem.
And while his lineage ran on the Republican line, O’Neil says he has spent most of his life undeclared. He says winning support from Southbury’s large bloc of unaffiliated voters will be key to flipping the First Selectman’s office.
The slate of Democrats running for the Board of Selectmen this year include Cathy De Carli, Wendy Bernard and Kelly Keenan.
“Ed Edelson was the one and only Democrat in the last hundred years that was elected in Southbury,” said O’Neil. “Hopefully we can change that.”
The Southbury Record 