Ridgefield Candidates '97
Board of Finance

Ray Kuhn

Mr. Kuhn was born in Germany during the Second World War in the town of Cuxhaven. He attended public schools there and in the late fifties served an apprenticeship in the hotel and restaurant business. His family moved to New York soon after that, and Ray immediately found jobs working at some of the Big Apple's finest eateries: The Four Seasons, La Fonda Del Sol  and the Tower Suite, to name a few. As his managerial skills became as well-known as his hospitality, he was invited to manage the food service operations at the Barkley Hotel, the Roosevelt Hotel  and later served as one of the senior managers at Windows on the World.

Eventually, Mr. Kuhn knew that he wanted to run his own restaurant, entertaining visitors using his own style and taste. In Ridgefield, he found the perfect setting at what is now The Inn at Ridgefield, on West Lane. With his partner, Ray bought the Inn and refurbished it, and it has been the center of fine dining in Ridgefield since.

But the hospitality business is a tough environment "and the mortality rate on new restaurants in very high," Mr. Kuhn notes. "Only the best businesspeople can make it in this business." Vendor support and pricing is one critical element. "We are in daily negotiations with our suppliers to get the best products at the right prices," Mr. Kuhn says. In that sense, the fact that The Inn at Ridgefield  has prospered for more than a decade suggests that Ray has the business acumen the town needs on the Board of Finance.

The greatest challenge facing Ridgefield today is instituting business-like financial controls and planning, Mr. Kuhn feels. "From my perspective, the town is a $58 million dollar business," he says, "and it needs to be managed in a much more business-like manner." He summarizes by noting that "only through good budgeting and good financial controls will the taxpayers be certain they are getting the best value for their dollar."

Identifying his priorities, Mr. Kuhn specified three targets for his efforts when he begins serving on the Board of Finance:

• Reduce taxes -- The Board of Finance must act as the financial watchdog for the Board of Selectmen, helping them understand the give-and-take of the proposed spending plans. Most importantly, this includes doing everything in the Board's power to keep taxes down. "This town has wasted vast quantities of money on great projects burdened with sloppy internal management," Ray notes. "Just one small change -- the requirement that every contract be awarded based on bidding -- would save the town hundreds of thousands of dollars every year; maybe millions."

• Balance the budget -- By law, the town is required to balance the budget each and every year. Yet Ridgefield has not had a real  balanced budget for years because the town has increased its expenditures without raising income. To balance the budget, the Board of Finance must act as the watchdog of fiscal responsiblity and cut unnecessary budget items.

• Eliminate the hidden tax increases -- Ridgefield's tax-and-spend Republicans have created a $9 million surplus which has been carried from year to year. This is a "slush" fund which the current administration uses to finance pet projects and create the impression that they are keeping taxes stable when in fact they are increasing the town's spending annually. This slush fund is simply illegal, and the process must be stopped. The town is not supposed to generate a profit! Excess monies should be returned to the taxpayers.

Ray is married and has three grown children, ages 30, 28 and 26.

The Democrats of Ridgefield are proud to urge their friends and neighbors to vote for a tough businessperson; an entrepreneur with a proven track record; an able manager who also is a most gracious host, our friend, Ray Kuhn.

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Brought to you by the Ridgefield, Ct. Democratic Town Committee, John Kukulka, Chairman.

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