BRISTOL – A political newcomer hopes to claim a City Council seat for the Democrats.
“It is time to stop talking about what Bristol has been and start talking about what Bristol can be by putting programs and policies in place that will make that happen,” said Morris “Rippy” Patton.
Patton, 40, an insurance underwriter, is the first challenger to emerge for the Democrats, who hold three of six council seats. He is taking aim at a 2nd District seat in the Nov. 3 general election.
With Patton’s entry into the race, Democrats have three candidates lined up so far for council – both of the others are first-term incumbents – but still lack a mayoral candidate to head their ticket.
Their 2013 mayoral choice, Chris Wilson, announced Tuesday he would seek a fourth term on the Board of Education, joining three Democrats seeking reelection there and two others jumping in for the first time, Tina Taylor and Mayra Sampson, a former city councilor.
Democrats hope to reclaim a majority on the school board after losing control of it for the first time ever in 2011.
Patton, though, may help his party reclaim a council majority, something it also hasn’t had since 2011 despite the Democrats’ lopsided advantage in terms of voter registration in Bristol.
“We look forward to working with you,” city Democratic Chairman Dean Kilbourne told Patton at Tuesday’s town committee meeting.
Patton said he’d like to help the city build on its success in reviving Rockwell Park and renovating Muzzy Field. He said plans to restore the old Memorial Boulevard School and remake the West End would help.
“We can appreciate the old ideals that made our city what it was, but the Bristol Brass and the other factories have been gone a long time,” Patton said.
“We are in an age of technology with young entrepreneurs whose ideas go so far over our heads that I think we fear what we don’t understand. Yet in other areas of this great country, cities are depending on these industries and demographics, and are capitalizing on the growth potential. We must do the same,” he said.
Patton called for “a unified city government” that can put aside party ties to push for “job growth for our residents, support for our local business owners, recruitment of outside employers, and marketing initiatives allowing Bristol to better capitalize on being the home city of ESPN will all better position this city for the long term.”
Patton, who is divorced and has an 8-year-old daughter, attended Bristol Central High School and earned a communications degree from Southern Connecticut State University. He works for the Guardian Life Insurance Co.
The 2nd District’s council members are Rich Miecznikowski and Henri Martin. Miecznikowski is stepping down in November to spend more time with his grandchildren. Martin was elected as a state senator last year and has said he likely won’t seek reelection to the council.
Bristol has three council districts, each with two representatives. They serve two-year terms for about $9,648 annually.
Patton’s remarks prepared for Tuesday’s Democratic Town Committee meeting are available on The Bristol Press website at bristolpress.com.
Steve Collins can be reached at (860) 584-0501, ext. 1801, or at scollins@bristolpress.com.
MAYOR
Ken Cockayne (R) (incumbent)
CITY COUNCIL
1st District
Eric Carlson (R) (incumbent)
Calvin Brown (D) (incumbent)
Anthony D’Amato (R)
2nd District
Jodi Zils Gagne (R)
Morris Patton (D)
3rd District
Mary Fortier (D) (incumbent)
Incumbents who haven’t announced their plans
City Councilor Henri Martin (R)
City Councilor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu (D)
Incumbents who are stepping down in November
City Councilor Rich Miecznikowski (R)
Announcement for City Council – District 2
May 26, 2015
Good Evening,
My name is Morris Frank Patton IV, Rippy to most, and I am here tonight to ask the Bristol Democratic Party to endorse my candidacy for City Council, representing the 2nd District.
I am not a politician. I have held no elected office since my term on Student Council in the 8th grade at Memorial Boulevard Junior High School. I am a simple son of Bristol who was educated at Ellen P Hubbell, Memorial Boulevard, and Bristol Central. After earning my degree from Southern Connecticut State University in 1997, I could not wait to get back home.
1999, I began what has been a fairly successful career as an Underwriter, currently employed withGuardian Life Insurance Company. What I do on any given day is collect as much data as I can on some of the largest employers in our nation and make sound, fundamental, financial decisions on whether or not to invest in them or their employees, and if so, just how much. Determining financial risk versus potential reward is my forte.
My motivation for this campaign is built upon the expertise I have, but also something much bigger than the hurdles that currently face our city. I grew up close to the Forestville section of Bristol, yet I just purchased my first home for myself and my eight year old daughter in the West End last September. As I work in Enfield, I gave serious consideration to moving to the Eastern part of our state, however the eternal optimist in me drives through this city and I see nothing but opportunity…. a city being reborn.
I have seen Rockwell Park completely restored and it has become a place where a significant amount of time is shared by my daughter and me. Muzzy Field looks great, we have a viable solution to West End traffic coming, blight is being aggressively attacked, and the former Memorial Boulevard School, which I personally view as a crown jewel building for Bristol, is again hosting events – and in my perfect world – a potential location to serve as our future City Hall.
Of course there are challenges.
The city doesn’t need me to tell it that the efforts to revitalize our downtown area over the last 10 years have been a disaster.
I am sure I speak for more than myself when I say that I would rather open The Bristol Press to find articles about how our Board of Education views Common Core Standards than how taxpayer dollars are being spent in litigation to privatize cafeteria workers, which, from the outside looking in, never seems to be in the best interest of our residents.
My vision is one that includes a unified city government. One where regardless of party, we are all in agreement that job growth for our residents, support for our local business owners, recruitment of outside employers, and marketing initiatives allowing Bristol to better capitalize on being the home city of ESPN will all better position this city for the long term.
We can appreciate the old ideals that made our city what it was, but the Bristol Brass and the other factories have been gone a long time. We are in an age of technology with young entrepreneurs whose ideas go so far over our heads that I think we fear what we don’t understand. Yet in other areas of this great country, cities are depending on these industries and demographics, and are capitalizing on the growth potential. We must do the same. It is time to stop talking about what Bristol has been and start talking about what Bristol can be by putting programs and policies in place that will make that happen.
I am a firm believer that all of us: Democrats, Republicans, young and old, each want what is best for Bristol. I am asking for the opportunity to do my part, so that 15 years from now, God willing, my now eight year old daughter will graduate from college and have the option to make a life, have a career, and raise a family back home – just as I did.
I look forward to being part of a successful ticket with other Democrats who care as much as I do. Further, I look forward to getting to know all of you this summer and fall as we work together toward Election Day.
Thank you.
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