I have been serving on City Council for the last 4 years.  During these two terms in office, I have served all four years on Public Works, working to help efforts to keep Bristol’s infrastructure in place during storms and the pandemic.  On the Energy Commission, we work to reduce energy costs and our carbon footprint by employing green technology.  I serve on the Ordinance Committee, Chair of the Real Estate Committee, Council Liaison for the City Arts and Culture Commission, Joint Board and City Council.

In my spare time, I am an active in the arts community by organizing, coordinating and performing in Bristol events.  Most recently, with four other talented individuals, I started a non-profit called the Bristol Arts and Culture Fund, Inc that is dedicated to supporting the growth of creativity throughout our city.

I have an exceedingly supportive wife of 38 years, Sue, and two young adult and married children.  Life is good and I am proud to be able to give back to my community by serving on City Council.

Questions and Answers

1.     What do you think you have done well that justifies your reelection? What are you specifically going to do to ensure that progress continues.

Representing the 1^st District, I address issues over the phone and many times follow up by getting in my car and meeting face to face.  Outreach to the community has been very important during the past few years.  Whether it is distributing food during the pandemic to families in need, working with businesses making their way through the pandemic or attending public forums and listening to people at the Farmers Market, I take very seriously the role of representing the 1^st District and planning for Bristol’s bright future. 

2.     What work have you done to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in Bristol?  Is there more that needs to be done?

Improving diversity, equity and inclusion in Bristol is a priority.  This administration has added the talents of Bristol’s minorities on boards and commissions increasing from 3 positions when we came to office, to over 40 today.  Everyone should have a seat at the table when planning our city’s future. 

A Diversity Council has been created to address the concerns and challenges of all marginalized citizens.  Support is shown for our LGBTQ+ community by raising the Rainbow Flag.  We celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a concert in September. 

We have made strides, but so much more needs to be done. This administration, along with the Diversity Council will lead in the effort to work with our neighbors to make Bristol a welcoming community to all that call Bristol home.

3.     Are taxes in Bristol too high or fair as they are? If you think taxes are too high, what specific cuts would you recommend to bring them down and how would you deal with the impact on services and programs?

The 0% tax increase and the 1.78% increase in the grand list is a direct result of the efforts we have put forward since coming to office.  The reality is that up to 90% of the city’s budget is salaries, contractual or mandated by the state.  We will keep taxes at bay by continuing our fiscally conservative approach, attracting businesses to Bristol and increasing the grand list. 

Joleen Lusitani — Republican

Jolene Lusitani did not respond to our questionnaire.

Sebastian Panioto — Republican

I’m Sebastian Panioto and I’m running for Bristol City Council in the first district. I’m married to my beautiful wife Karolina and we have a 2 year old son Michael together. I’m a lead production technician at ESPN in my 17th year and I’m proud of the work our team does every day. I love my co-workers and I feel blessed to have been a part of the success of ESPN for as long as I have. In addition I serve as secretary of the Bristol Conservation Commission and Inland Wetland Agency. I’ve been a CT resident all my life and I’m proud of our state and Bristol in particular. I love the history of our state and city, and I know Bristol also has a bright future. We have to work together to solve some of our biggest challenges. We want a school system that excels and attracts those looking to move into the area and a local economy that has a coherent long term strategy. We also have a challenging tax environment in many ways, so listening to all residents in our city is important to drive our city in the direction we want for progress.

Questions and Answers

Question 1: You are arguing that things need to change. What specifically would you like to change and how are you going to change it?

Increase communication to our residents. Our local State Senators and Representatives do a great job of sending email updates and important notes on certain legislation to their constituents. The Bristol council can do the same. This can be city wide information or even better, specific to the district. This would help residents remain engaged in what’s happening in town and aware of work being done so they feel more involved in the progress of the community

Question 2: What would you do specifically to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in Bristol?

Residents are happy with the progress made by the diversity council, so that work will continue, as long as they are willing to allow diverse viewpoints to the table, and this includes diversity of thought. 

Bristol has a federally recognized opportunity zone. To my knowledge the bar of entry in terms of capital is prohibitively high to gain access to the opportunity as a retail investor, let alone residents of the zone itself who have a higher probability of being minority. Our municipality hasn’t taken that into account as the parcels are being divided up among the developers and contractors who have the means to buy a stake in these areas. So for all the views of equity the current administration espouse they’ve fallen flat on their face when the chance came around to back it up with action. Not even talk of an investment trust or some form of common fund for the residents who live there to take part in the opportunity those more well off will most likely benefit from. It’s hypocritical to me.

Question 3: Are taxes in Bristol too high or fair as they are? if you think taxes are too high, what specific cuts would you recommend to bring them down and how would you deal with the impact on services and programs?

Taxes in Connecticut are relatively high, and are varied between our income, transportation, and property, so by default taxes in Bristol are cumbersome and expensive. I have heard the tax increase last year be called “modest” and there are a couple things I take issue with on that. The first is that I would never mean to presume how modest or immodest a tax increase is on any family or individual, especially during the economic upheaval of a global pandemic. The second is that our mill rate doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Just this year the governor implemented a payroll tax on all Connecticut employees to pay for another social program, gas prices have risen significantly, inflation is affecting the cost of everything, and economic unrest is far from over for this year and going into 2022. We can’t be so tone deaf as to not see what residents are having to go through, election year or not.

Our future programs would be best left to focus on fundamentals such as infrastructure, education, and public safety. Government has a bad track record of competing with the private sector, so I would be averse to pursuing a project like municipal internet, especially given the exponential speed at which technology is moving ahead. A local government would most likely get left in the dust by private industry in this sector long term.