Editor’s note: The Easton Courier asked candidates to submit a profile and a statement discussing three top issues facing Easton and how the candidate will help address them. David Bindelglass, Democratic incumbent First Selectman, submitted the following response.
Profile
David Bindelglass has been Easton’s First Selectman for the last four years. He is the first Democrat elected to that position in approximately forty years. He has lived in Easton since 1994, raising two graduates of Easton public schools and Joel Barlow High School with his wife Gloria. He grew up in White Plains, NY attending Harvard College and Columbia Medical School. Although pre med in college he actually majored in political science. He completed his training in Orthopedic surgery, specializing in hip and knee replacements.
He was a partner at the Orthopaedic Specialty group in Fairfield where he served on the executive committee of this large medical practice for many years. He was also the chief of Orthopaedic surgery, the President of the medical staff, and for ten years, a member of the board of directors of Bridgeport Hospital. In 2018 he was named physician of the year at Bridgeport hospital and recently was recognized by the Greater Bridgeport Medical Society for lifetime achievement. He has been named on lists of top Doctors by New York Magazine and the Connecticut magazine. He has volunteered overseas as an Orthopeadic surgeon with Operation Walk and recently traveled to war torn eastern Ukraine to meet with local leaders of our sister city. He believes in transparency and communication and an inclusive democracy where all participate and all ideas are welcome. He brings a wealth of business and leadership expertise which has paid dividends in leading Easton through difficult times and solving long standing problems.Â
Statement
I am writing to ask for your support to be reelected as your first selectman. You have seen me lead this town through an unimaginable pandemic. During that time we were able to keep providing services to our seniors. Communicating regularly, we kept our infection rates low and our town functioning. We navigated a terrible storm and now have educated our people about further storms and improved our resiliency. We have improved internet services and we have managed our budgets and our services to keep spending low and improve services. We continue to improve senior services and town hall efficiencies. We continue working to preserve our open space. While in office the town has preserved two farms that could have been sold and provided a farming environment that allowed for the transition and survivability of two others. We have reconvened our land preservation and acquisition authority to explore options for other farm properties.
I have ensured the right of all people to be heard and more importantly I have listened. I have worked with all different groups to help move Easton forward. We have passed a historic ordinance to give people the power to control the management of public land. I have made sure that on public matters, all citizens can weigh in with their votes if they so choose. I have written approximately 200 posts to keep people informed. I have worked to make everyone in Easton feel valued, included, and welcome
Lastly, we have taken a problem that has plagued this town for, some say 50 years, the fate of the South Park property, and since my first election, I have set up a commission to study the property and then led the efforts to preserve it with a combination of a sale to the Aspetuck Land Trust and a conservation easement, again worked out with political opponents.
Of course, we still have challenges. How we manage land in Easton is always an issue. I have described above what I have accomplished but we need to keep looking for solutions as different properties become available, so we preserve Easton as it is. We need to complete a renovated EMS headquarters so that we can continue to provide high-quality service to our community. We need to keep and improve on the excellence of our schools and of our senior center. In order to do all these things we need to continue to inform our citizens with accurate information to promote honest discussion and action by the people of Easton.
This is what I have accomplished in the last four years and what we must do in the next two. I realize that it is a privilege to serve you and I hope that you will continue to allow me to do so.
