Simsbury Citizens First Nominate Candidates for November 2011 Election

Simsbury Citizens First, a political party established in 2007, selected three candidates for town land use positions for the November 8 municipal elections at its caucus Tuesday night.

“We made a decision to focus on the land use positions because Simsbury is at a critical crossroads in the planning for future development,” said party chairman Bill Walsh.

In the past four years, Simsbury Citizens First has worked to bring attention to the vital role of placing land use in the forefront of maintaining the character of Simsbury.

Bruce Elliott was nominated for a seat on the zoning commission. He has served on the zoning commission for the past four years.

"Bruce will continue to ask the hard questions to ensure the land use process is adhered to as required by state law," stated a press release from Simsbury Citizens First. "He will continue to press for more specificity and predictability in our town zoning regulations."

The party nominated Rick Wagner for the planning commission. Wagner has deep roots in Simsbury with a family legacy of service to the town. He has been actively engaged this year in the town’s planning process as a member of the Route 10 Corridor Steering Committee and has served on the boards of the Simsbury Free Library and the Simsbury Chamber of Commerce. His family recently donated 62 acres of land (named “Wagner Woods”) as open space to the Simsbury Land Trust.

In addition to Wagner, another new nominee for Simsbury Citizens First is Cathy Brown, a candidate for zoning board of appeals. Brown has had first-hand experience with the land use process in Simsbury "and as an elected member will make a positive contribution to the board," the press release stated. "Cathy advocates for a transparent, thorough and legally competent process in all decisions rendered by the zoning board of appeals."

For information regarding Simsbury Citizens First or the candidates, call Sue Bednarcyk at 860-651-5130.