As Mayor, Kevin has helped lead the way in many significant changes in and around the City of Meriden over the past six years, but the work is far from over. While we have seen great improvement, here are a few key areas that Kevin will continue to make a priority for Meriden and our residents.

​

Business Growth

Since taking office, Kevin pledged to work closely with existing businesses and help new business open and grow in Meriden. Despite the many economic struggles due to the pandemic this past year, Meriden continued to welcome new businesses and has seen several expansions of existing businesses. Given the many challenges business owners faced after being forced to close or change their business practice due to COVID-19, Meriden quickly rallied behind the business community to offer grants for small local businesses negatively impacted by the pandemic. Kevin continues to work with Meriden’s Economic Development Director and staff to ensure Meriden remains competitive and open for business, attracting jobs and expanding the tax base. Specific areas of focus include the development along East Main Street, the Meriden Mall, downtown, and the West side of Meriden, leveraging the expansion of a new commercial tax incentive program to spur investment. Kevin works closely with the local businesses community, private developers, and the Midstate Chamber of Commerce to help make Meriden as business-friendly as possible.

​

Public Safety

The safety of our residents and neighborhoods has been and continues to be a top priority. Kevin has worked closely with our Police and Fire departments to ensure our community remains safe. With technology upgrades in our Fire Department, our crews are able to receive real-time information from our dispatch center, resulting in a safer and more efficient rescue. Response times have improved across our City since Meriden Fire has moved our South Meriden station to a full-time engine company, working with our volunteers. Our Police Department was among the first in the State of CT to deploy body-worn cameras to our officers to enhance transparency and safety for our residents and officers. We have dedicated additional personnel and resources to combat the rise in gun violence and arrest the violent offenders. Meriden Police and Fire are NARCAN trained and carry it to calls to save lives and fight against the opioid epidemic. Additionally, both departments have hosted a Citizen’s Academy to educate the public on department practices, policies and trainings. Our first responders have been on the front lines, battling this pandemic head on, while continuing to provide exceptional service to our residents to keep them safe. Kevin will continue the fight to punish repeat offenders, support our public safety personnel, and work to provide an even safer community for you and your family.

​

Education

Meriden Public School students continue to make exceptional gains as the district has achieved some of our highest test scores in history. Meriden outperformed urban school districts and several suburban communities; all while continuing to offer a more advanced curriculum, challenging our students daily. When COVID struck, our students and teachers quickly picked up their laptops and devices to begin remote learning in the spring of 2020. This is a testament to the many technological advancements our Board of Education has made over the past decade, to ensure our students are learning in a 21st century environment. With the help of City and Board of Education staff, parents, teachers, and students, our schools reopened for in-person learning for all grades in September 2020, while many other school districts kept their doors closed. Our teachers and administrators kept our students safe, while maximizing state and federal resources to provide a quality education in the classroom. With budget struggles continuing year after year, our school system continues to receive competitive private grants to help fund new student and teacher initiatives. Kevin believes in a safe and healthy environment in our schools, working with the Health Department to ensure our students remain safe during this health crisis, and our Police Department on the placement of School Resource Officers (SRO’s) in each of Meriden’s secondary schools. Kevin stands with our educators as an advocate, fighting for an investment in our children and schools to ensure our students and teachers have the necessary services for success.