We-Ha.com is offering our readers the opportunity to meet the candidates running in the Nov. 7, 2023 municipal election. 

Compiled by Ronni Newton

We-Ha.com is offering our readers the opportunity to “Meet the Candidate” – designed to help them get to know the candidates running for office in the 2023 municipal election.

Identical questionnaires have been sent to all candidates, and each profile received has been submitted directly to We-Ha.com by the candidate or the candidate’s campaign management. The responses have not been edited but have been formatted to match our publication style. Questions left blank have been deleted.

As profiles are received, they will be published on We-Ha.com under the “Government” tab. We-Ha.com is not making endorsements of any political candidates but we are publishing this information in order to assist voters in being informed and prepared when they go to the polls on Nov. 7.

If you are a candidate and wish to submit a profile, please return it by email to Ronni Newton at [email protected] as soon as possible.

TOWN COUNCIL CANDIDATE

Name: Aaron Sarwar

Party affiliation: Republican

Family information: I am the eldest of 4 siblings, all of whom were born and raised here and continue to call West Hartford home. My brother, Armin, recently graduated from Conard High School. I’m grateful to have my entire family in town and I feel so fortunate to be the father of a beautiful 2-Year old daughter.

Primary occupation: I’m proud to be self-employed with several successful businesses. First, I grew up with and now manage my family’s restaurant, the Shish Kebab House located on LaSalle Road in West Hartford Center, which was opened in 1988 when I was just a year old. We recently expanded the restaurant with the opening of the “Bunker.” I’m also the proud owner of Hartford City FC, the semi-pro soccer team. The team highlights the extraordinary talent Connecticut has to offer, winning two conference titles in the last 3 seasons. I also own BareSkin Laser Hair Removal along the Park Road section of the town and I manage properties under “Sarwar Properties.” I’m honored to serve in the Connecticut Air National Guard, currently as a Captain flying aboard the C-130H as a Navigator.

Previous political experience: Owning and operating multiple small businesses in town has exposed me to the many intricacies of West Hartford politics. I also ran twice for Town Council as an Independent Candidate but my second run was cut short as I was called back to duty to serve in Operation Allies Welcome, helping our Afghan allies after our exit from Afghanistan. Over the past couple of years, I found myself listening more and more to the strategic pillars that Mary Fay, Mark Zydanowicz and Alberto Cortes were trying to implement within the Town Council for the benefit of the people of West Hartford. I realized I needed to join them in their fight and am proud to be running alongside them with this slate.

Other relevant experience that may be related to your desire to serve the community, and further qualifies you for the office you are seeking: I served in the West Hartford Center Merchants Association as both a board member and as President. While serving in this capacity I was exposed to the disconnect between what has been happening in the business districts and the majority leadership from the town hall. Also, in 2021, I was activated with the Connecticut Air National Guard to assist local hospitals and organizations in their Covid-19 Response. In my role, I helped set-up and manage multiple vaccination and testing facilities serving thousands per day. It was a phenomenal experience being able to step in, putting my operational experience to work and assisting my community.

Why are you running for office? I see policy making based on personal agendas instead of listening to the voters. I am concerned about decisions made by the majority party in town and the course that they have taken. Each month, I see a room full of residents providing feedback to the council on a myriad of items such as improvements for public safety, road improvement requests, family value and parental rights issues, as well as fiscal responsibility. However, I continue to be disappointed as this feedback falls on deaf ears with the majority rule of the Town Council.

There have recently been numerous residential and commercial developments considered by the Town Council, and there are others in the pipeline. What is your overall opinion of the pace of development in West Hartford? I think we need to take a more strategic and thoughtful approach. Developments seem to be getting “rubber stamped’ by the majority party of the Town Council as soon as they are presented. The issue is these developments will only add to the challenges already placed on our existing residents. While the majority party of the Town Council says it will increase the grand list… I ask, “at what cost?” The weight these developments put on town services far exceed the tax revenue benefits they will generate. The majority party of the Town Council has also made several blunders of investment judgement. One of the biggest was the decision not to purchase the UConn property. The state offered the 58-acre parcel to the town for 1 million dollars and the Town Council said no. It ended up selling for nearly triple to the current owner. Not to mention the Town Council paid nearly triple for the St. Brigid campus? In addition, voters want to know, where is the Children’s Museum going? As a property owner, I have several ideas and will bring common sense and sound reasoning into the conversation and decision making for the Town Council.

What issue(s) are your primary area of focus? We must listen to the EXISTING residents of our town. Instead of more buildings our town doesn’t need, we need to take a hard look at our crumbling infrastructure. The reality is we are repaving 60% less roads per year than we were 5 years ago. Where is that money going? It’s going into studies and consultant fees for “road calming,” “Vision Zero” studies and “road diets”. As a West Hartford Town Councilor, I will fight for common sense management of our town. I’ll fight for getting it done instead of wasting money talking and consulting with less than optimal results. Public safety, road infrastructure, and thoughtful development that puts family values first are my primary areas of focus!

What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing West Hartford today, and how do you plan to address it if elected? Our town budget that continues to grow at an unsustainable rate is one of the biggest challenges facing all West Hartford residents Discussions around “affordable housing, diversity, equity and inclusion” are simply diverting attention from real issues in our town. Our town has plenty of housing. We don’t need to create “affordable housing”, we need to make housing affordable in this town. Our town is a very diverse town. The true issue is we need to take a serious look at maximizing our education budget, working with state leaders on reducing and funding unfunded state mandates and learning how to better negotiate contracts with our partners.

What do you feel differentiates you from the candidates from other parties also running for this position? Differing perspectives are important and what we have now, is one party rule in West Hartford with no differing opinions within that majority party. If West Hartford is truly to be considered a town with diverse opinions and real strategic thinking, we need the Town Council to become a more balanced voice. I will bring to the Town Council a voice that comes from years of business experience bringing some critical thinking into the conversation. In addition, I think it’s very important to mention that Mark Zydanowicz, Alberto Cortes, Ethan Goldman and I are all military veterans. This brings an extremely important and valuable asset to the Town Council and Board of Education.

Anything else you would like to share relevant to earning votes on Nov. 7? The Town of West Hartford has a tremendous opportunity to create a more balanced Town Council and Board of Education. As voters, when we speak of diversity, equity and inclusion, we as voters have a great opportunity to practice what we preach. Municipal elections are where your vote carries the most weight, so I encourage everyone to GET OUT AND VOTE!

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