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(STAMFORD, CT) – Today, William Tong, Stamford State Representative 147th District, announced his candidacy for Mayor of Stamford. Joined by his wife, Elizabeth, two young daughters, Eleanor and Penelope and son Sasha, Tong told the standing-room only crowd of supporters gathered at Sorrento Pizza on High Ridge Road that he is ready to run a [...]
(STAMFORD, CT) – Today, William Tong, Stamford State Representative 147th District, announced his candidacy for Mayor of Stamford. Joined by his wife, Elizabeth, two young daughters, Eleanor and Penelope and son Sasha, Tong told the standing-room only crowd of supporters gathered at Sorrento Pizza on High Ridge Road that he is ready to run a campaign for Stamford’s future.
“For the past three years, we’ve simply been going through the motions. I’ve heard over and over again from people here in Stamford they are ready for more, ready for a vision, bold leadership and fresh thinking that moves our city forward,” said Tong. “It’s time for a plan that capitalizes on our city’s many strengths to build a stronger, more vibrant and successful city for all of our families.”
Tong, a Democrat, is actively seeking his party’s nomination.
“I am working hard to earn the support of the Democratic Party in Stamford,” said Tong. “I am excited to begin a grassroots campaign that goes neighborhood to neighborhood, block by block to earn the support of Stamford voters as well. This is a campaign for Stamford’s future, a future that belongs to all of us. I am up to the challenge, and ready to get to work.”
Tim Curtin, who has been active in Stamford politics for over 45 years and served as Director of Operations during the Malloy Administration is Tong’s campaign treasurer. “I’m honored to be part of this campaign,” Curtin said. “When you meet William, you just know he is the kind of dynamic mayor that Stamford needs.”
Board of Finance member, Democrat, John Louizos will serve as Deputy Treasurer. “As a member of the Stamford Board of Finance, I have worked with William for many years and he gets results for our City,” said John Louizos. “William is intelligent, hard working, diplomatic and tenacious. I am pleased to endorse William Tong for Mayor of our City of Stamford.”
Tong’s campaign has hit the ground running, actively signing up volunteers, accepting campaign contributions and campaign website, williamtong.com, has been launched.
William Tong was first elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives – 147th District representing parts of Stamford/Darien in 2006 and has been re-elected three times since, including this past November. Tong is House Chairman of the Banks Committee and a member of the Judiciary and Energy and Technology committees. He is Of Counsel at Finn Dixon & Herling LLP, a Stamford based law firm, where he practices in the area of commercial litigation. He and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Stamford with their three children, Eleanor (6) kindergartner in the Stamford Public Schools, Penelope (4) and son Sasha (19 months).
Stamford is Ready
Created: Monday, February 04 2013 09:00 AM
By: William Tong Stamford is ready. As I speak with my neighbors and friends across the City, people are ready and eager to push forward again and embrace a vision that spans generations. We are ready to move past the political drama and disagreements that hold us back and leave that baggage behind. We’ve been [...]
By: William Tong
Stamford is ready. As I speak with my neighbors and friends across the City, people are ready and eager to push forward again and embrace a vision that spans generations. We are ready to move past the political drama and disagreements that hold us back and leave that baggage behind. We’ve been through so much and we’ve managed in difficult times. But we are now ready and anxious for what comes next.
I am ready to lead the charge forward as your Mayor. As a city, we need to stop going through the motions and do what we all know we have to do to get our city going again. We cannot continue to drift and wander, and find our future by neglect. This mayoral election gives us a fresh opportunity to determine where we are going. We have what it takes to succeed. Stamford is a vibrant, well-educated community full of energy and possibility. Our businesses, from smallest to largest, are invested and ready to grow. Legions of volunteers are ready to pitch in.
First, we must reconnect with who we are. I believe that Stamford is a city for families. Families like the Uvas, who have owned Sorrento Pizza on High Ridge Road for the past 24 years. Like my parents did, the Uvas work six days and nights a week in their restaurant. They are the very best of us; they have a strong family that has remained close across generations, they’ve been patient and resilient in a tough economy and they run their business honorably and in service of our community. The Uvas are a constant reminder to me of how I was raised, and of the sacrifices many families make every day for each other.
Next, we need to decide where we are headed. When I think of what Stamford can be, I see a city where families look to strong schools and can confidently raise their children. Where children grow up and return one day to raise families of their own. Where parents and grandparents can enjoy a comfortable retirement in the neighborhoods they know so well. Where all of our family members can find good paying jobs, housing they can afford, and stay tight with each other across generations. A city where we come together in a larger family, from the young single person who lives in an apartment downtown, to our seniors who debate world affairs in the Senior Center, bound together by our common strength and ambition to be better.
We are ready. Together, I believe we can make it happen. That is why I have started work on a plan forward called Stamford 2020: A City for Families. By 2020, Stamford will be the finest city for families in America. In the first 100 days of my administration, we will hold town hall meetings across the city to develop a 2020 Plan for every neighborhood. Our focus will be on rebuilding our infrastructure, investing in schools, fostering small business growth, keeping families safe and doing as much as we can to ensure that we can all afford to live here. Each 2020 Plan will be complete by the end of my first year in office, and I will appoint a cabinet-level Director of Resident and Community Affairs to make it real.
I am ready to work hand-in-hand with the Boards of Representatives, Education and Finance and unite our city in this shared vision. As one of your representatives in Hartford over the past six years, I’ve done just that. I took the lead on gun control legislation, the Lost and Stolen Firearms bill, and worked with my colleagues to secure its passage, despite staunch opposition from the National Rifle Association. As Chairman of the Banks Committee, I worked hard to keep homeowners facing foreclosure in their homes, and pushed banks to lend to small businesses. While we’ve had to make tough decisions to balance our state budget, I’ve fought for families and the affordable housing, health care, and social services they need. As Mayor, I will bring people together and leverage the relationships I’ve built in Hartford to increase funding for education, public safety and capital investments in our neighborhoods.
Some people have asked me, why do you want this job? Its simple: Stamford is our home. It is the ground in which my wife Elizabeth and I have anchored our dreams, as have so many other families. And it’s where we’ve chosen to raise our family. Elizabeth and I have discussed the immense responsibility of serving as Mayor, and we know it will be harder than we can imagine. But we’ve never shied away from hard work. And that’s why we are here, at home in Stamford, ready to begin our campaign for Stamford’s future.
