Issues

John believes in improving the openness and transparency in city government. John believes in building a thriving city and maintaining the uniqueness our neighborhoods. Our downtown will be vibrant and walkable with restaurants, shopping and entertainment. Our schools will be funded and rank highly in the state matching or exceeding performance with neighboring communities. John believes in Shelton’s potential as a model city for Connecticut and a destination city for new residents and visitors.

A Harmon administration will:

Deliver open, honest and efficient governance

Transform our Board of Apportionment & Taxation into a true Board of Finance with budgeting authority and the ability to perform a forensic audit
Reform the Board of Ethics to make it independent of City Government
Improve the budget process to set goals and success metrics for city departments
Create a memorandum of understanding between the City and the Board of Education recognizing that the State-provided Special Education Excess Cost Grant belongs to the School System
Publish all budget documents on the City of Shelton website-- attached below are both the 2019&2020 city budgets that are currently not on the City of Shelton website
- 2019 budget:
- 2020 budget:

Improve the quality of our schools

Invest in our children is an investment in Shelton’s future attracting families, increasing property values and maintaining our attractively low tax rate
Achieve at least 85% of possible points in the Connecticut State Department of Education Next Generation Accountability Assessment
Study the financial, technical and professional aspects of all our schools and create a prioritized plan for improvements, driven by feedback from the entire community

Invest in Shelton’s future

Revitalize downtown with improving pedestrian friendliness and providing better parking options that will attract high quality restaurants, businesses and visitors
Maintain the character of our communities and respect zoning in residential neighborhoods limiting high density residential to appropriate areas
Engage the business community, state and regional government organizations and residents to develop an infrastructure plan to address traffic congestion and promote Shelton’s growth
Invest in improvements to our civic buildings, parks, walking trails, bike paths and open spaces
Provide a spectrum of social services to support Shelton’s senior population, wider ranges in family incomes and the greater ethnic diversity of our younger generation of residents