As East Hartford’s finance director for 23 years, and before that with CIGNA for 11, the one thing Mike Walsh knows well is a balance sheet. But as someone who was prompted to enter the political arena as the path to solving a simple matter of equity in how taxes were being assessed for trash collection at his condominium, Walsh understands the power of politics as a solution to getting justice and change when the math might be right but doesn’t make sense.
Walsh was a young newlywed when the Wethersfield native bought a condo at Carriage Park on High Street, charmed, as many were, by the flamboyant Texan builder Gary Cutsinger.
The condo residents had to pay for a service to collect their trash; however the town did not take that into consideration when it came to taxes. So Walsh petitioned the Town Council to listen to him as leader of the condo association. The effort led to local Republican Marylee Hickey enticing Walsh to register with their party in 1991, and he became a rising star, a Town Councilman and eventually GOP town chairman.
Yet when Democrat Bob DeCrescenzo was elected mayor in the mid-1990s Walsh had the financial acumen, and inclination, to be part of a fresh outlook inside Town Hall where the finance director plays a key role in budget matters. His natural evolution over to the Democratic team followed the logic of the budgetary math.
The logic of numbers has both pleased and discomforted a succession of East Hartford mayors since. Walsh knows how to arrive at solutions to the budgetary surprises and surpluses, the seasonal shortfalls and the contractual obligations. For anyone paying attention he has faithfully represented the town’s interests as well as heeded the political will of the mayor, the town’s powerful chief executive whose word is final. Yet he has managed to be so darn reasonable, and always comes prepared with charts and PowerPoint that it is hard to refute the reality of everything from subsidizing the golf course to issuing bonds for tens of millions, balancing the numbers of potholes against the taxpayers’ ability to pay for fixing them.
Policy wonk, political junkie and Wall Street watcher all are tools in his toolbox. Friday he stepped down from his job at the State Office of Policy and Management as Undersecretary for Strategic Initiatives & Accountability to devote his attention to his mayoral campaign. And for that he brought charts, naturally.
The charts contain his five focuses for East Hartford; focus on vaccinating everyone, deliver on the promise of equity, link economic development to initiatives in the health department, such as attracting a grocery store to the north end of town using some of the $4.5 million set aside during budget time or the American Rescue Plan money, grow jobs, spur growth in development and reset the relationships between Town Hall and the town’s major employers.
“In a Mike Walsh administration I want to look at the day-to-day operation, and push the work down to the directors and department heads. They can shoulder more autonomy and responsibility,” says Walsh. As an observer of the last three administrations Walsh offers praise for the strengths of each mayor he served under. Mayor Marcia Leclerc paid the greatest attention to detail, Mayor Melody Currey was someone who was focused on policy and Mayor Tim Larson’s strength was his personable touch.
Walsh, as a father of two young women, both on professional paths in life, always was on the sidelines as they competed in sport and East Hartford school activities. And he understands the way that the town and schools are funded have much to do with equity and justice as East Hartford often doesn’t get the credit it deserves for being a model for success in it’s public schools. One third of the town’s $200 million comes from state grants, and additional funding fills the gap in delivering quality education here, he knows.
“We need to grow the grand list, that is clear,” he says, noting the town’s 50-mill tax rate. Attracting new businesses is the simplest way to do that, and investing in infrastructure, such as high-speed internet, could attract the new generation of work-from-home employees.
The town needs to make more of an effort to hire a diverse staff at Town Hall. And East Hartford should have a business group or chamber of commerce of its own to bring local business perspectives to the fore at Town Hall.
Walsh issued 10 policy letters to the 101 members of the Democratic Town Committee, which meets July 22 to select a candidate.
Thus far Walsh has raised nearly $38,000 for his campaign compared to Lee Griffin’s campaign filing of $3,700 July 10. The winner and the loser of the East Hartford Democratic Town Committee vote appear destined to face off again in a town Democratic primary before the November election. The last time that happened was back in 1985 when Democrats Robert F. McNulty and incumbent George Dagon faced off with the nomination going to McNulty, who served two terms before being defeated by Republican Susan G. Kniep in 1989.
This year Republican Matt Harper has announced his mayoral candidacy, hoping to be the party’s pick at the GOP July convention.
