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To the Editor:

At 33 years old, I’ve been proud to call West Hartford my home for nearly a decade. When I’m not representing law enforcement (including several officers here in town) or travel businesses as an attorney, I’m often out walking our beautiful town and the Trout Brook Trail with my German Shepherd. And recently, I’ve become a father to a wonderful baby boy, which has only deepened my passion to help build a better future for all families here.

West Hartford is a remarkable place, but we all know it’s facing challenges that threaten the community we love. Apartment development is rapidly reshaping West Hartford, while simultaneously, traffic safety issues proliferate. That’s why I support a moratorium on all new apartment projects until we’ve had meaningful community forums to hear from you – what YOU want for the future of our town. This is also why I support the non-partisan Stronger Towns movement, which emphasizes financial resiliency, sustainable infrastructure, and community engagement over expansion and sprawl. I want to focus on walkability, mixed-use zoning, infill development, and ending parking mandates – not dozens of knee-jerk apartment developments with little to no net benefit to existing residents.

Affordable home ownership must also be a priority – the trend of mass developing apartment complexes and pushing people to rent from oftentimes out of state landlords must end. Young people in their 20s and 30s, and our retiring neighbors, deserve a chance to own small, smartly designed single family homes. Unfortunately, the tax burden of West Hartford falls overwhelmingly and disproportionately on homeowners, not commercial properties or apartment owners.

This is why I’m committed to reducing the tax burden on our homeowners. I reject the unsustainable notion that taxes must inevitably increase by 3-5% year after year after year. I promise you that I will not vote for any budget next year that fails to hold the line at a 0% tax increase. If the City of New Britain can do it, the Town of West Hartford can too. The Democrats are also pushing us in the direction of regionalization, which I believe will harm the quality of our local services.

Finally, transparency is non-negotiable. Your tax dollars belong to YOU, and you deserve real-time access to how your money is spent, which is achievable with modern technology. Imagine a system – a spending genome project – where you can see every payment and every dollar flowing through the town’s treasury, just as clearly as you would view your own personal checkbook. We also urgently need a forensic audit to uncover exactly why West Hartford’s spending has become uncontrollable and unsustainable. Property taxes have soared almost 10% in the last two years and nearly 20% over the past decade – resulting in West Hartford having one of Connecticut’s highest property tax burdens. This trend is strangling our middle class, leaving just the wealthy and those dependent on government assistance to be able to live here.

After over 25 years of exclusive one-party rule, our town’s leadership has grown complacent and aristocratic. Accountability is a foreign concept. Freedom is participation in power, and the Democrats would rather mow the flowerbed than pull the weeds. I want to restore balance to West Hartford – to bring back the opportunity for hardworking families to thrive without fear of being priced out. I ask for your vote because I’m committed to fighting for a sustainably developed West Hartford that values its long-time residents, respects fiscal responsibility and transparency, and builds a future where all families can grow and prosper. Please also consider the rest of the diverse and qualified Republican slate this year.

Thank you.

Kyle Zelazny
Republican Candidate for Town Council