Martin Visits with Stamford's Women on Watch

Stamford's Women on Watch hosted mayoral candidate David Martin Wednesday in a forum that focused heavily on education from Martin but covered a plethora of issues and topics facing the city.

WOW, which formed in 2008 to aid democratic election efforts, hosted Martin at the Harry Bennett Branch of the Ferguson Library. Martin was highly praised by WOW's coordinator Joan Kranz and front person Ann Weiss before taking the mic for roughly 40 minutes. 

"No other candidate has [Martin's] depth of experience," Weiss said. "In sum, none of the other candidates can claim the level of municipal and business experience that David Martin would bring to the office of mayor, and none of the other mayoral candidates can claim David's level, and years, of commitment to our children, to our residents, to our tax payers."

It was one of Martin's first scheduled campaign appearances since his win in the Democratic primary last week over Rep. William Tong. He took the opportunity at the mic to note many issues he'd attack head-on including the WPCA, the city's handling of the revaluation and tax assessment process and a number of school and education-related issues. He highlighted deteriorating buildings, the achievement gap and what he considered the current mayoral administration's lack of communication and commitment to the Board of Education. 

"We've got issues with honesty and integrity and transparency in government right now," Martin said. "There are a series of issues that continue to plague our city and we need somebody to start addressing those and not give us vague promises based on experience they may have had that's not completely relevant. I'm putting Stamford first and the people of Stamford first." 

Martin also said the city and state have been underfunding the school's efforts for years and said the district has fallen behind while facing more severe issues as a larger city than surrounding towns that, while more consolidated, receive about the same level of funding. 

"I've talked to hundreds, maybe thousands, of people at this point and asked them what are the issues most important to you... and invariably, it's about improving the reputation of our schools," Martin said, adding, "I don't want to say you can have your cake and eat it, too, but the point is, we can make progress on solving the problems of the schools while maintaining fiscal responsibility."

Martin promised he'd be far more transparent in the role of mayor than what he considered the current administration and much more involved in education and the city as a whole as a detail-oriented person. 

Hot topics like Bridgewater's presence in the city and the handling of the boatyard deal were brought up as well following questions from the audience. Martin said he wants the company in the city and to do well, but only if Bridgewater can find success in an appropriate manner.

"I tell you clearly, I am pro-business," Martin said. "And I want BLT to succeed in what they are doing on the South End. But that doesn't mean I'm going to agree or swallow every fish they expect me to swallow... I want BLT to succeed, but they're going to succeed according to the rules that everybody must follow. We are going to negotiate on behalf of the city of Stamford to make sure that we get the best things for our citizens in terms of jobs, in terms of tax revenue and in terms of community that we all love and are proud of. They're doing great things, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with everything that they're doing."