With Tuesday’s election nearing, The Bristol Edition recently invited the candidates of both political parties to introduce themselves and answer some questions about major issues in Bristol. We will present their answers to you unedited in the next few days. We will start with the two candidates for mayor, Democrat Ellen Zoppo-Sassu and Republican Jeff Caggiano.
Ellen Zoppo-Sassu
Ellen Zoppo-Sassu, 53, is the City of Bristol’s first female Mayor. First elected in November 2017, and re-elected in 2019, Mayor Zoppo-Sassu, a Democrat, has been involved in Bristol politics most of her life and has dedicated herself to making Bristol a great place to live and work.
She became interested in local government while in elementary school when she would attend city meetings with her father, who served on the Board of Finance. After graduating from Providence College in 1990 with a degree in Political Science, Zoppo-Sassu went on to earn a Masters Degree in Public Administration with a concentration in local and urban government from the University of Connecticut in 1992. Previously she had worked for the Connecticut Pharmacists Association as the Director of Communications; as Development Director at the Boys & Girls Club and Family Center, and at the New Britain Chamber of Commerce. She also served as the part-time Director of Development & Grants for the Bristol Historical Society where she has worked to bring in over $1,000,000 in the last 18 years to restore and renovate the city’s first high school as a cultural hub.
In 2001, Ellen ran for the City Council representing the Second Council District, which marked the beginning of 6 productive years on the City Council career of working for issues of importance to working families, seniors and children in Bristol. She quickly earned a reputation for getting things done, and solving long-standing problems and issues for both the departments she worked with, and for the people in her council district. In that period, the city’s code enforcement initiative was organized, the library was renovated on time and under budget, the City created the TEAM (Tourism, Arts Entertainment and Museums) Committee and 3 city parks were renovated.
She previously served as Chair of the City of the Bristol’s Cemetery Commission from its inception in 2008 until June 2013. During her tenure, the Commission secured almost $25,000 in private grant funds and in-kind donations to restore the ancient cemeteries, created a management agreement for the city-owned Lake Avenue Cemetery and garnered a national preservation award from the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Elected to represent the Third Council District in 2013, Ellen served as the Chair of the Code Enforcement Committee which aggressively coordinated a city policy response to the sub-standard housing issues and blight in the City. She also chaired the Task Force to develop a building and construction plan for the re-use of the historic Memorial Boulevard School and theater.
She was re-elected to her second term as Mayor in 2019 and has spent the last 3 years encouraging efficiencies and collaborations among city departments and creating new initiatives such as the Task Force on Opioid Prevention, the Arts & Culture Commission, the Diversity Council and the Senior Tax Relief Committee.
During her second term, Governor Ned Lamont and Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz asked her to serve on two State Commissions — the Police Officers Standards & Training Council and the Historic Preservation Council.
Others have recognized Ellen’s leadership ability as well. In May 2017 she received the Bristol Historical Society Volunteer of the Year award. She had previously received the McCabe-Waters Little League Volunteer of the Year Award and the 2015 Special Recognition Award from For Goodness Sake; as well as the Bristol Boys & Girls Club & Family Center “Positive Leadership Unselfish Service” P.L.U.S. Award.In 2018, she was one of two ACE Award recipients recognized by the New England Carousel Museum. In 2020, she received a Certificate of Appreciation from St. Vincent DePaul for her hands-on efforts to assist the St. Vincent DePaul Shelter in keeping their operations running during the pandemic; the Health Care Hero Award from Bristol Health and the Public Service Award from the CT State Parks & Recreation Association.
Ellen is married to Peter Sassu who recently retired as the School Resource Police Officer at Bristol Eastern High School. They have three children, Michaela, 24, a Probation Officer with the State of CT Probation division in Derby; Zachary, 22, a 2017 graduate of BEHS who served in the U.S. Army and is currently using his G.I. Bill in Florida; and Carson, 20, a 2019 graduate of BEHS who is attending Tunxis Community College. Ellen has been active in various community groups including McCabe-Waters Little League, Bristol Girls Little League Softball, BEHS All-Sports Booster Club, Friends of the Library, St. Joseph Church and For Goodness Sake. For the last 5 years, she has also served as the Host Family Coordinator for the Bristol Blues Baseball, matching summer league college players with host families in the community and is active with the Bristol Historical Society.
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.
Over the course of this last term, the City Council team and I have focused on resiliency so that the City was well positioned to adapt to unexpected circumstances, to quickly recover from adversity and bounce back. I believe that Bristol excelled during the pandemic and showed the depth of its experienced employees in keeping residents safe, services running and businesses assisted. Meanwhile, our team welcomed 40 new businesses, engaged in strategic planning, are discussing the $28 million in American Rescue Plan dollars and are putting the finishing touches on the future of downtown.
2. What work have you done to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in Bristol? Is there more that needs to be done?
This is an ongoing effort. We have made strides by actively encouraging participation by people of color and different religious and ethnic backgrounds on boards and commissions. In 2017, there were 5 or so; today there are over 40. Departments have also begun the efforts internally to have the DEI discussion, and we had Police and Fire collaborate on a hiring diversity initiative last spring to attract more minority candidates to these critical positions.
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?
No one will ever agree that any tax is fair, so we work hard to ensure that all public services are high quality, while we continue to search for efficiencies. I do believe Bristol residents receive very good “bang for their buck,” whether it is education, Public Works, great Parks, Library and Senior Center offerings, or professional paid police and fire response, which is linked to homeowner insurance rates, and more. We have combined departments, have eliminated over a dozen positions and repurposed duties to achieve greater efficiency with the staff, as well as ensured we have solid leadership in the departments. We have had a 2% cost of living increase each year which is about what households and businesses are facing as well. We are sympathetic to fixed income households, and enacted 2 senior tax credit programs to help.
Jeff Caggiano
Jeff Caggiano opted to decline the invitation to participate in our questions. The following is his answer via email:
“Sorry, I have a very specific and busy schedule to complete 5 months of an accelerated campaign due to my late announcement. I will not be participating in your questionnaire this year. Thanks for reaching out and I might suggest you reach out a bit earlier next year.
“Sincerely, Jeff”