In anticipation of the November 2 ballot, candidate and Choate alum Riley O’Connell ’14 will run against incumbent Republican Mayor William Dickinson Jr, who is seeking a 20th consecutive term in office.
Mr. Dickinson’s campaign is based around maintaining the town’s finances and providing dependable services to create a safe, caring, and responsible community. Recently, he has appropriated funds for a new police station on a recently purchased property, added additional staffing in the fire department, and implemented a 24/7 ambulance service. Through the pandemic, he has expressed pride in the Wallingford Health Department’s ability to staff vaccine clinics and help small businesses reopen and serve the public – which is one of his priorities for the town.
Mr. Dickinson also hopes to continue purchasing and preserving as much open space as possible. He highlighted a program that allows citizens to lease public land for agricultural use, calling it “an important part of what we see for the future because we don’t want Wallingford to lose its rural heritage.”
When asked about his campaign for re-election, Mr. Dickinson responded, “It’s the unfinished business that now stretches before us. I believe there are things that must be accomplished and pursued, and I feel that my energy could certainly be part of making Wallingford an even better place.”
Challenging Mr. Dickinson is Mr. O’Connell, a fifth generation Wallingfordian and a member of the Choate class of 2014. He later earned his bachelor’s degree at Bowdoin College. Mr. O’Connell was inspired to run for mayor after working as an assistant to the Attorney General in the Department of Justice. Soon, he realized that he could bring much more positive change at a local level than he ever could as an employee at the federal level. “We need the next generation — our generation — of leadership to start taking the reins to bring us where we need to be and where we want to be in the future, as opposed to being stuck in the past,” said O’Connell.
Mr. O’Connell has expressed disapproval over several issues in Wallingford, including many unfilled positions in town. He also mentioned the most recent census data that showed Wallingford’s first-ever population decline. He stressed that the 25 and under population has dropped in what he described as a “death spiral,” decreasing by 15% in the past ten years.
Determined to create a long-term strategic plan for the town, Mr. O’Connell has focused his platform on three main priorities. His first proposal is to freeze the mill rates for a few years. While Wallingford’s tax rate is rising, the town’s savings account is also growing. Mr. O’Connell notes that “this basically means that we are taking more money from people who are spending more money.” He believes that if Wallingford’s tax rates continue to rise, it will make it increasingly difficult for people, especially retired residents, to live in the town.
Mr. O’Connell’s second priority stresses a need to invest in more infrastructure. He argues that not only are schools, roads, the community pool, and the town hall itself are decades behind, Wallingford also lacks basic technology development, such as email capacity in the town hall and the ability to pay bills online. “These are all common sense 21st century things that we don’t have because the mayor is kind of stuck in the 80’s,” he commented.
Mr. O’Connell’s third priority is to transfer more power from the mayor to the town council by pushing to revise the town charter. Currently, although the town council can make decisions via vote, the mayor still has the authority to veto completely. “My argument is that whenever one person has complete unilateral authority, things tend to slip through cracks, and mistakes are made. I’m just asking essentially for checks and balances to be reestablished between the council and the mayor,” Mr. O’Connell explained.
As a Choate alumni, Mr. O’Connell credits much of his current political philosophy to the School, noting that “[I] would have never been exposed to so many different perspectives from all over the world.”
One memory that Mr. O’Connell highlighted was of an eye-opening field trip to Washington D.C. as part of a course on American Political Institutions, which gave him insight into government and the public service sector. HPRSS teacher and JFK program adviser Mr. Ned Gallagher, who was also Mr. O’Connell’s cross-country coach and government teacher, said, “I kind of discovered over the summer that this is what he’s been wanting to do, and I think it’s terrific […] he’s doing a very good job running a high-profile race.”
Mr. O’Connell urged young students to explore politics. “Most of the issues we have in Wallingford and in our country would be solved if we had more people, especially people our age, participate in the democratic process.”
