Politics & Government

Meet Your Candidates: Rocky Vitale, Burgess

Mr. Vitale has served on various committees and boards in Naugatuck for several years.

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Name on Ballot: Rocky Vitale

Position Sought: Burgess

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Party Affiliation: Democrat

Born May 1, 1955

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Education: 

Classes Waterbury State tech - Fire Science technologies, Post College – Business Management, Sacred Heart University – Computer Science, Associates in Claims from the Insurance Institute of America.

Length of time in Naugatuck – 28 years

Party: Democrat

Family – Married to Susan Vitale 32 years, three children ages 24, 27, 31.

Political Experience: Naugatuck Finance Board 2 years, Board of Education 16 years, Member Democratic Town Committee. Various subcommittees for the Borough.

Work: The Harford Insurance Company-Outside Claim Representative

Winner Raymond K. Foley Memorial Award 2002, Prospect Street School Service Award 2001.

Priorities and goals:

I enjoy and get great satisfaction by being involved and hoping I can make decisions that benefit everyone. I worked on a volunteer ambulance for 32 years and as a volunteer firefighter for 15 years.  I always reflected after an emergency call hoping that I did something just a bit better than someone else may have. An action I performed may have saved a life, comforted the sick, or said the right words to someone who lost a loved one. I believe, as a Burgess, I can always make informed decisions to benefit the Borough.  

As with any municipality, the first order of business is planned, controlled growth. Any municipality must be welcoming to new businesses, support existing ones and encourage a mix of both large corporations and mom and pop stores. This is the only way to alleviate the tax burden. The number one issue with residents is taxes. While there has been tremendous effort and some success in negotiating collective bargaining agreements, the momentum must keep going. Infrastructure repair and maintenance should also be a priority. We need to continue to support integrated shared services both within the Borough and with our neighbors. Municipalities are in the business of service delivery. We should have a clear attitude of inviting in the public through proper phone etiquette and a customer friendly attitude by Borough departments when dealing face to face. Encouragement for groups such as the Naugatuck Education Foundation which serves a great purpose to support education, the Whittemore library with it’s many programs and services, and all non-profit resources that target specific areas of service. 


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