Announcements

Organizational Meeting Also Hears from Joe Visconti, Candidate for Congress

MANCHESTER - The Manchester Republican Town Committee met last night for the purpose of electing new officers for the 2008-2010 term. The following RTC Members were chosen as officers:

David Carlson, Recording Secretary
Sue Holmes, Corresponding Secretary
Paul McNamara, Treasurer
Heath W. Fahle, Vice Chair

The recent resignation by RTC Chair Wally Irish has temporarily left the position vacant. Vice-Chair Heath W. Fahle will be serving as the Acting Chairman until a new Republican Town Committee Chair is elected.

“I look forward to working with the new officers and our elected officials - Mayor Lou Spadaccini, Deputy Mayor Matt Peak, Director Cheri Pelletier, Mark Tweedie, and Jeff Beckman,” said Fahle. “In the recent elections, Republicans were elected on the basis of our Covenant with Manchester Taxpayers. This Covenant will continue to be our mission statement for improving Manchester - accountability, fiscal responsibility, and quality of life”.

A prospective candidate for the First Congressional District, Councilor Joe Visconti of West Hartford, spoke to the Members of the RTC briefly about his campaign for Congress. He addressed several topics in his speech, such as the War in Iraq, defense spending, and immigration. Fahle commented, “Joe Visconti certainly seems ready to make an energetic campaign for Congress.”

Update: The Journal-Inquirer’s Kim Phillips covered the story in today’s edition.

Mayor Lou Spadaccini announced yesterday his intention to host a Mayor’s Economic Summit in partnership with the Manchester Board of Directors and the Manchester Economic Development Commission. The summit will address issues facing business owners in Manchester and how to improve the Town’s business climate. “Our goal is to improve the business climate in Manchester and make sure that job creators choose Manchester when locating their businesses. I am calling this Mayor’s Economic Summit so that we can learn about the problems and challenges faced by local businesses and how we can make Manchester more attractive to the business community and improve our Town,” said Mayor Lou Spadaccini.

In the wake of troubling business news and businesses struggling with the regulatory process in Town, the Republican-majority Board of Directors is dedicated to improving the business climate and bringing new jobs to the Silk City. “Manchester is perfectly located for business - two major highways, a highly-educated and motivated workforce. As community leaders, we need to ensure that our laws do not prevent us from reaching our goals,” said Spadaccini. “I intend to invite leaders from the local business community, Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN), and State Business Advocate Rob Simmons to Manchester to talk about these issues and how we can improve our business climate.”

“What we learn from this summit will help Manchester develop strategies to pursue sound economic development policies that bring new employers with good paying jobs to Town. We hope to hold the summit it late February. Mayor Spadaccini will be consulting with the Manchester Economic Development Commission and the Manchester Chamber of Commerce in the coming days to work out the details of date, time, and attendees to the Mayor’s Economic Summit.