The Southbury Record

Michael Carrington, 41, is a small business owner seeking a seat on the town’s Board of Finance.

Carrington has previously served on the town’s Economic Development Commission, Strategic Planning Commission, the most recent Charter Revision Committee, and the Lake Lillanoah Authority. He also chairs the town’s Democratic Town Committee.

He helped lead the effort to have Board of Finance meetings livestreamed beginning in 2024 and says he wants to bring “new blood” and younger, forward-looking perspectives to the town’s financial discussions. 

Carrington believes Southbury’s fiscal management has many strengths but also “too many band-aids instead of real discussions,” particularly in how budgets are developed between the Board of Finance and the Board of Selectmen.

“I think I have a fresh perspective, but I’d also like to see better communication between the Board of Finance and the Board of Selectmen,” said Carrington.

Self-described as “fiscally-disciplined”, Carrington says he would be in favor of exploring a tax abatement program for local businesses, possibly in the form of a task force within Town Hall.

“Whenever you’re spending a dollar, it has to be justified,” he told the Record.

Following eight years at the Carrington Law Firm, he recently joined the Giuliano, Richardson & Sfara law firm based in Woodbury.

An active member of the community, Carrington lends his voice not just in political matters, but also as a musician at town-wide events throughout the year.

Gerald “Gerry” Leventhal, 74, is a resident of Heritage Village and is seeking a seat on the town’s Board of Finance.

He has previously served as the President of the Heritage Village Master’s Association and currently sits on the town’s Economic Development Commission. 

“A priority for Southbury should be economic development, but it doesn’t seem to be,” he told The Record. 

In his professional career, Leventhal worked in the social services industry, both in New York City government during the 1980s,and for a nonprofit organization where he oversaw his own budget north of $20 million. 

A number-cruncher to some degree, Leventhal explains “I am a fiscal conservative, but not at the expense of services that are needed.”

He points to recent “insensitivities” towards the senior population of Heritage Village, like when the village’s assigned Community Resource Officer was never replaced, and how it cost the residents of the senior living complex over $100,000 per year for trash removal, following a local ordinance prohibiting commercial haulers from using the town’s transfer station.

“We brought a lot of protesters to town meetings to let it be known that seniors have needs,” said Leventhal. “We were not listened to.”

Leventhal adds that the town’s Economic Development Commission was not asked for its opinion about the role formerly held by Kevin Bielmeier, which was effectively defunded during the latest budget cycle.

He notes that the former Economic Development Director helped bring in nearly 30 businesses to Southbury.

“I managed over 200 staff in my last job,” says Leventhal. “That’s not the way I would have conducted business.”

Steven Giacomi, 47, is a current alternate member of the Board of Finance and seeks a “full” membership seat on the board.

The Waterbury native moved to Southbury in 2020 and has served on the town’s Board of Finance since 2022. He is also the treasurer of the Southbury Republican Town Committee. 

A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Giacomi is equipped with an MBA with a concentration in finance.

He has previously served on Waterbury’s Board of Aldermen for 9 years and on Waterbury’s Retirement Board for 17 years. He is currently an educator at Oxford High School, teaching various business courses, as well as computer science courses. 

Giacomi gives credit to John Michaels, the current chair of the Board of Finance, for keeping discussions apolitical, with a “focus on the facts”.

The effort to keep financial decisions data-driven,while eliminating politics in the process, Giacomi says, is one of the town’s major strengths.

“One of my priorities, if elected, is to continue that,” he explained. 

He emphasized the importance of preparing for unforeseen challenges, like a tornado or a 1,000-year flood, while maintaining the charm of Southbury that drew him to town.

“I think if you’ve been in Southbury for a long time, there’s a reason you’ve stayed so long,” he said. “The biggest hurdles in my mind are going to be striking the right balance, growing the commercial base, keeping taxes low, but preserving the sort of character that makes Southbury so attractive.”

Brian Emerick has served on the Board of Finance for over 13 years, becoming a full member of the board in 2021.

As the current president of Access Rehab Centers, one of the largest providers of therapy services on this side of the state, he has overseen the growth of two outpatient clinics to over 13 clinics today, including both inpatient and outpatient programs. 

He highlights the detail-oriented and consistent presence of members that make up the Board of Finance, including long-time chair John Michaels. 

“I would say that Southbury has been exceptionally well-run over the years,” Emerick told The Record. “We’ve managed to keep the taxes down through a pretty aggressive process of minimizing any increases and taking advantage of any cost-savings.”

He added, “If you look at Southbury in comparison to other towns in the area, you see that the taxes are significantly lower than what you’re going to find elsewhere.”

During deliberations over the most recent town budget, Emerick and his fellow board members were tasked with reviewing the town’s Economic Development Director position, previously held by Kevin Bielmeier since 2019. 

“There’s a difference between being liked and being effective,” said Emerick. “In some ways, he was very effective, but the things that the town needed to have accomplished were not necessarily being accomplished.”

“There needs to be a bang for the buck,” he said.

Aside from writing business proposals and training manuals, Emerick is also the author of a recently self-published historical fiction book titled Ship’s Champion.

John Kelly was elected to the Board of Finance in 2021 and is seeking another term on the board this November.

The Record reached out to Kelly, who provided a statement in lieu of an interview, citing unavailability until the end of October.

Kelly notes that the Board of Finance has collectively delivered non-partisan, effective, and efficient governance and municipal government services.

“I fully expect that to continue well beyond the November election,” said Kelly.

Kelly is listed as a member of the Board of Directors of the Naugatuck Valley Health District, which serves the towns of Southbury, Oxford, Woodbury, New Milford, Sharon and Washington. 

He also served on Southbury’s Road Study Committee, which has not met since 2024, according to the town’s website.

Robyn Greenspan has been a Southbury resident for nearly a decade, and is seeking re-election to the Southbury Planning Commission.

Serving on the Planning Commission since 2021, she is among some of the most active members of the community, with memberships to the Southbury Economic Development Commission, the Streetscape Review Subcommittee, and the Southbury Chamber of Commerce as a small business owner.

A certified ADHD coach, she holds a Master’s of Science in Counseling and Human Resource Development from the University of Bridgeport.

In her volunteership to the town, she has been guided by the principles of promoting “smart growth” and “smart development” that fits the characteristics and charm of Southbury.

“Economic development helps to bring people in and give people reasons to stay in Southbury, whether that is a business, as a consumer, or as a resident,” she says.

In her own words, she describes the importance of each of her roles and how they are synchronized in “setting the table” for visitors of Southbury

“Streetscape is that welcome mat,” Greenspan explains. “Economic development is hospitality. And then planning and zoning are like the blueprints.”

Similar to her peers on the Planning Commission, Greenspan says she is not in favor of a combined Planning and Zoning commission, as proposed in one of this year’s ballot questions.

“I understand the intention behind it, but I don’t know that practically it will work out for the best,” she said.