Candidate Profile: Portia Bordelon, Groton Town Council

GROTON, CT — The 2023 municipal election is heating up in Groton and there are plenty of races with candidates eager to serve in elected office.

Groton Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as Election Day draws near.

Groton resident Portia Bordelon tells Patch why she should be elected to Town Council.

How old will you be as of Election Day?

44

If you are running in a district, you can specify the district here.

Town of Groton

Please give us your party affiliation.

Democrat

Education.

Fitch High School Graduate, Attended Becker College for Criminal Justice; Medical, Surgical & Clerical Assistant Training

What is your occupation?

Medical and Clerical Assistant

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them.

I am a mother of two sons, one who is a Fitch Graduate and now serves as a Submariner in the United States Navy stationed here in Groton and another who is a Fitch High School Senior and a member of the Marching Band, Fencing, Track & Field Teams as well as a member of the very first Naval Junior ROTC Class, this year.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

My husband, Ian Thomas, who has served two terms on the RTM and is currently running for Board of Education.

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

Groton Representative Town Meeting
(RTM) District 2
2017-2019

Now we'd like to ask a few questions about your reasons for running and your general views on politics and government. First, why are you seeking this office?

I believe in Government for the People, by the People. I believe in equitable, enriching and individualized education in our schools, creating dependable, sustainable, community-rooted and environmentally responsible economic growth.

I also believe in preserving open spaces; supporting Seniors, Youth, the Military and their Families along with ensuring all citizens of all districts in the city, town and subdivisions feel their interests are fairly represented by their local elected officials.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ____, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Transparency, Accountability & Accessibility.

The Town Council is a deliberative body that should serve as a conduit for civil conversation amongst the citizens of this town.

While it is important for a councilor to have goals and ambitions for the town, I do not believe it is essential to have a rigid agenda in mind. The most important functions for a councilor are to serve as an honest broker of information, to be a frank and efficient facilitator of civil conversation and to engage with the public as a responsive representative of the constituents.

We need to institute policies and procedures that intentionally and proactively includes community input on issues and initiatives that the Town Council may be considering.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

This position is only one seat out of a body of nine and it is highly probable that I will be elected along with several people who I may or may not be in on alignment on any given issue at hand.

All candidates are currently campaigning and posting their perspectives on this forum and others. I think it would be better to leave it up to the community to conduct their own comparisons and let the voters lead the way into the new council.

This is why I think it is so important to have the least amount of restrictions on the council’s ability to disclose information, share communications and deliberate the issues at length – that is how compromises can be constructed amongst a body of diverse perspectives, experiences and visions.

This is what I believe the community wants to see: a free and fair exchange of ideas, discussion of pros & cons regarding any given issue or initiative and to have these discussions happen in real time, on the record, so the community can understand the details and dynamics that lead to any council decision.

Ultimately, the council should function as a compromising, complementary composite group of individuals. That is what the community needs and deserves.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?

We are all running to be component parts of a what should be a complementary body of individuals. The strength of that body depends on a certain amount of diversity in thought, experience, temperament, and philosophy.

I don’t think it is practical or beneficial to hope or think that the body as a whole should either be in complete alignment or constant conflict with each other. We need different viewpoints on the council, but those different viewpoints only matter if the rules and procedures are used to facilitate fair deliberation and not to stifle debate or diminish one’s right to dissent.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

If re-elected, I will continue to advocate for actions that will grow the grand list in a smart, environmentally responsible, community-rooted and socially sustainable manner with small businesses, local contractors and project labor agreements as a priority. I will advocate for equitable management of resources across all districts of the town and serve as a frank, open and honest broker of any discussion on issues that of concern to constituents.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

For me, it’s not just a matter of accomplishment, it’s more about advocacy and actions. In that light, please allow me to share this list of advocacy and action items I engaged with over the span of my time on the council, thus far.

- made the referral to create, and then served on, the Property Re-Use Committee which crafted the 2023 draft policy document with substantial reforms mandating institutional inclusion community input for determining disposition of Town-Owned Properties or Town-Partnered Projects.

- served on the Long-Term Recovery Committee which directed federal relief funds towards those most affected by the pandemic, then helped manage the dispersal of those funds during this most recent term.

- vigorously defended Groton Neighborhoods against Data Centers with critical questions at crucial moments and voted to reject the most recent proposed Host Fee Agreement.

- has endorsed responsible economic development that incorporates environmental sustainability and resilience alongside community-rooted concepts and design.

- advocated for instituting fundamental reforms on local, state and federal levels regarding low-income & subsidized housing health hazard monitoring and remediation.

- advocated for the voluntary adoption of Dual Language Ballots and more vigorous minority recruiting for positions in Town Departments.

- defended Parks & Recreation grants and scholarships for children of families in economic need along with moving more ARPA funds and other supports for the Human Services Department.

- requested card readers for the Transfer Station fees as well as adding a discount for active and retired military, along with their dependents.

- identified the need for more AED machines in municipal buildings and spurred action to install.

- prompted installation of solar-powered, low-level lights for the Poquonnock Plains Park Track.

- proposed using nip bottle funds to install solar-powered, compacting trash & recycling bins in areas of high tourist and/or local traffic.

- in conjunction with my husband, Ian Thomas, and, as a concerned parent we guided Fitch High School to create the TASC (Teacher Assisted Study Center) program based on a model he observed at Lyme Old Lyme High School, where he was a student teacher, that provided students with an option to utilize a guided Study Hall with student access to certified English and Math Teachers for targeted and trained assistance with review, study and exam preparation.

- made a referral to the Town Council suggesting creation of a Non-Lapsing Fund for the Board of Education.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

“The time is always right to do the right thing” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

“No person is your friend who demands your silence or denies your right to grow."
— Alice Walker

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."
— Maya Angelou

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I feel that Groton has not calculated its amount of affordable housing accurately. The current count includes housing restricted to seniors, not accounting for families with children, and uses an 80% of Annual Median Income (AMI) metric to define “affordable” rather than a more comprehensive 50% of AMI.

We need mixed income, mixed use developments in all districts to widely distribute affordable housing, including options for home ownership, not just rentals.

In regard to the ongoing growth at EB, it is important to consider that most new EB employees are not coming in with a 20-year engineer career salary, so developing affordable home ownership opportunities would also be applicable to this concern.

Additionally, Thames Street is a primary gateway through Groton to EB and serves as the introduction for prospective employees, and potential residents, to the city and the town. The Town and City should make re-development of this commercial district a priority partnership project.

Additionally, when considering the issue of how best to improve public transit and parking in Groton, I agree that there is a need for some massive infrastructure investments. However, in the meantime, I believe there are also some opportunities for immediate, achievable solutions as well.

We need to make it a priority to establish regular, convenient commuter bus routes to environmentally responsible lots on the outskirts of commercial districts, such as Mystic, with smaller, electric shuttles running people to the retailers and tourist attractions would relieve residential parking stresses by removing employee and tourist traffic while avoiding parking meter installation.

I also think the council should consider a non-lapsing fund for the Board of Education.

Lastly, the community can continue to count on me to remain present, proactive, passionate and persistent in my advocacy on their behalf. As my record will validate, I place a priority and urgency on the concerns of constituents.

As many will likely recall, I have done all I could within my position as an elected representative to elevate the voices of concerned constituents, expose flaws and compel critical actions to occur in relation to the Respler Deal with Mystic Oral School, the Host Fee Agreements with Data Centers and the Tax Abatements with Related Affordable, the ownership entity that is responsible for Branford Manor.

All of these actions, at the outset, caused some disturbance and conflict on the council. That cannot be denied, it is a matter of public record. However, as a direct result of that conflict, key issues and information were shared with the public at large that then resulted in the majority of the council eventually acknowledging the concerns of the constituents and taking critical actions such as terminating the town’s relationship to the Respler Deal, rejecting the Host Fee Agreement with NE Edge and finding Related Affordable to be in default, thus compelling the company to take corrective actions to remediate conditions at Branford Manor.

Sometimes a little “good trouble” is needed to raise awareness, bring vital insights to light, enable the council to conduct more comprehensive deliberations and come to more fully informed decisions. This, I believe, is the one of the most important duties that an elected representative can perform for their constituents.

On Election Day, you can find me on the ballot in position 4A. I hope to have earned your continued support.