Ridgefield Candidates '97
First Selectman

Rudy Marconi

Rudy Marconi is a native Ridgefielder who was educated in the Ridgefield Public School system. As a young man, he was a three-letter athlete, leading the RHS football, basketball, and baseball teams in the 1965 and 1966 seasons. Rudy has been married to Peggy for 14 years; Peggy Marconi is an established businesswoman who owns and operates the highly successful Fitness Studio in Ridgefield. Rudy has three sons - Andrew, Jason, and Alex - from his first marriage, and a daughter, Amanda, from his marriage to Peggy.

Marconi's business background has given him insight into both large corporations and small business. After graduating from Nichols College of Business Administration, he worked in the paper and printing industry from 1971 to 1986. At that point, he returned home to Ridgefield to join his father in the family's excavation business. With his father's passing in 1995, he became an officer in the business his uncle started over 30 years ago.

In 1989, Rudy decided to run for Ridgefield's Planning and Zoning Commission. "Once I returned to Ridgefield, I saw the many changes that were taking place, affecting my town. I felt P&Z offered an opportunity to influence the future of the town, so I could help preserve the Ridgefield I knew as a child and as a young adult." He served four years on Planning and Zoning, and based on his highly successful record, was encouraged to run for the Board of Selectmen. He was elected a Selectman in 1993, reelected in 1995, and is now seeking election as the First Selectman. During his four years on the Board of Selectmen, he has been outspoken in his belief that a strong educational system protects not only our children's future, but the town's economy as well. "A good educational system keeps property values high and draws people to Ridgefield, insuring a strong local economy," he stressed.

Marconi's past and current stands on the issues that matter to Ridgefield set him apart from the run-of-the-mill local politician:

Education -- Rudy Marconi has been an outspoken advocate of reducing overcrowding in our schools. He has blasted the Republican team of Manning/Morelli and Yanity for always voting together in order to stop any project the Board of Education recommends. Mr. Marconi's original idea to utilize the old high school long before any contracts were signed was shot down by Mrs. Manning. His efforts to protect the $1 million the town spent on architectural fees for the East Ridge Middle School Project were squashed by the Republican team. Mr. Marconi, who has a daughter at the East Ridge Middle School, says he sees this problem as a result of poor planning and also an effort by his opponents to increase class sizes by dragging their feet on any potential solution.
Arts Center -- Rudy was alone in supporting then-Selectman Jeremy Wilmot's proposal to convert the old High School auditorium into an Arts Center when it was first proposed. Today the idea of an Arts Center in this important Town space is becoming more widely accepted.
Open up town government -- "Let's use the media we already have available, as well as new media, like the Internet, to get Ridgefielders involved in local government as never before," says Mr. Marconi. "We can use public access TV to bring the proceedings of Town meetings into the homes of people who are too busy to attend meetings in person. Let's use the town's new Web site for two-way communication between town officials and citizens on issues of importance to the community. The current town Web site is a good start, but it's all one-way. Let's use it to solicit ideas and opinions from Ridgefielders, as we're doing with the Ridgefield Democrats' Web site." Marconi adds, "We have a tremendous pool of human resources in the community; let's benefit from the ideas of all the very successful people who live in Ridgefield. I want them to have an avenue to communicate their ideas, even if they don't personally have time to get involved in Town politics."
Expand the tax base -- Responsible corporate development can expand the town's tax base and reduce our reliance on homeowners' property taxes. An example of how the Town is bungling this issue was the recent rezoning of 90 acres of land in northwest Ridgefield, which residents had spent $750,000 to prepare for corporate use, from corporate use to residential. The loss of this land from the potential corporate tax base will be hard to make up. "We must now restructure our goals for corporate development and incorporate them into the Master Plan," said Mr. Marconi. "An immediate concern is the expansion of the existing sewer plant on Rte. 7. At this time, there is no additonal capacity available, and several corporations have been thwarted in recent attempts to develop in Ridgefield. The result: Lost tax revenues!" Rudy will address this situation immediately upon being elected First Selectman in Novemeber, to show companies that Ridgefield welcomes appropriate corporate development.
Zero tolerance of underage drinking! -- A year ago this issue was addressed in a special meeting of the Ridgefield Alcohol and Drug Commission and other Boards and Commissions. A great deal of interest was generated and a number of very interesting ideas came forth. But, without effective leadership from the First Selectman, there has been no follow-through. "There is no more important issue to me than protecting our young people - stopping underage drinking is a priority for which I will provide the leadership Ridgefield has been lacking," Rudy vows.

First Selectman candidate Rudy Marconi invites Ridgefielders to call him with questions and comments at his campaign phone - 431-9357, or to E-mail him at the Ridgefield Democrats Web site. Ridgefield Democrats are extremely proud of our First Selectman candidate, and encourage all Ridgefielders to join us in electing RudyMarconi to be Ridgefield's next chief executive.

Rudy Speaks Out!
on the issues facing Ridgefield

The following issue papers have have been archived. They are no longer available on this web site. Please e-mail the webmaster if you would like access.

October 30: Voters Will Make An Educated Decision

October 23: There Is A Difference

October 16: Tap The Surplus To Lower Taxes

October 9: Our Kids Are Waiting

October 2: Bring Government To The People - Using Internet and TV

September 25: Solving School Overcrowding

September 18: Drop the bypass, save a million

September 11: New firehouse needed

September 4: Weir Farm compromise