Mayor Maturo Says Goodbye To East Haven As Days In Office Dwindle

EAST HAVEN, CT - East Haven will - for sure - have a new mayor come November 5th.

Nine-time Republican incumbent Joe Maturo, Jr. shocked the town earlier this year when he announced he wouldn’t be seeking a record-breaking tenth term.

Instead it will be Republican “Big” Steve Tracey, Democrat Joe Carfora or Independent Oni Sioson left in charge of the town.

Maturo was most proud of the fact that he was able to minimize the impact of state budget cuts on town taxpayers during his tenure; his critics believe he did that to the detriment of investment in needed town work. The critics added that Maturo’s sometime prickly personality hurt the town’s reputation.

It should be noted that while Maturo won re-election in 2017, he won by a very close 1 percent margin over Sal Maltese, who two years ago ran as a Democrat.

Patch asked Maturo about what his thoughts were on stepping down.

Here is what he told us.

Dear fellow residents:

“Just six months ago, I delivered my eighteenth and final “State of the Town” address as Mayor of East Haven. That evening, I proudly stood on the stage at our beautiful high school and boasted about how, despite the State’s ongoing fiscal woes, we have fortified our pocketbooks and elevated our community to become a model of fiscal excellence for others across the State and a “community of choice” for new families and upstart businesses.

“Leading our community has been one of most rewarding and humbling experiences of my life. This position is certainly not one that I expected to hold for over 6,570 days. However, looking back on it all, I can say without hesitation that I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of those days - even the difficult ones.

“I have had to make difficult, sometimes unpopular decisions during my time as Mayor. I do not expect that residents will have agreed with every decision I have made during my eighteen years as Mayor. However, I sincerely hope that this community understands that I approached each decision and each day with thoughtfulness, seriousness, and with an eye on keeping East Haven a safe, affordable place to live, work, and raise a family.

“I have enjoyed tremendous success as our community’s CEO and I owe a great debt of gratitude to my coworkers and colleagues who worked tirelessly alongside me these eighteen years and who helped me chart a path of pride and prosperity for our community. We have accomplished so much and yet, even after eighteen years, there is still much work to be done.

“I am incredibly thankful to the residents of this great community, not only for the privilege to have served for eighteen years as Mayor, but for the lifetime of love, goodwill, and friendship I’ve enjoyed throughout my life here.

“Although I will be rooting for our community from the sidelines now, I will never stop rooting for East Haven. As I leave my position and reflect on our tremendous success and progress since 1997, I leave with the firm belief that our community’s best days still lie ahead.

God bless this great community.

Very truly yours,

Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr.”

Maturo’s goodbye message will also be read to the Town Council Tuesday night.