2025 Patch Profile: George Doherty, Southington Town Council

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Southington Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as Election Day draws near.

George Doherty is running for the Southington Town Council as a Democrat.

The following is George Doherty's questionnaire sent to Patch:

Candidate's Name: George Doherty

What office are you seeking? Town Council

What town do you live in? Southington, CT

Campaign Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579414454858

Party Affiliation: Democratic Party

Occupation: Venture capitalist for 25-plus years

Family: I have a wife, Laura, and two children, Paul and Katie

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? No

Previous public office, appointive or elective: No

Why are you seeking this office?

Southington is changing, and it is time that its town government reflects the town it is becoming.

I have over 25 years of experience in finance and technology, and want to help Southington accelerate its development into one of the most attractive towns in the region for families and businesses.

I believe my long experience in financial markets provides me with a different perspective on what drives positive development in a town like Southington.

The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ____, and this is what I intend to do about it: "The perception of the schools" - Southington High School is ranked #73 in US News and World Reports ranking of Connecticut public high schools.

Those of us who have sent our kids through the Southington school system know that the schools are good in our town, but our town government tends to nickel and dime the schools in every budget.

There are some simple and relatively inexpensive, but important, ways the town can invest in its school system in areas like college counseling that will have a big payoff for the kids.

Investment in college counseling results in better placements, which helps a school validate what we all know: that Southington schools are very good.

This also drives state and nationwide perception of the school system, with both rankings and, more importantly, colleges.

This results in better acceptances and more merit aid for the graduates, which makes the town more attractive to young families and drives higher property values, which makes the town more attractive to businesses, which drives better school rankings and makes SHS grads more attractive to colleges.

This virtuous circle occurs in many towns in the state, and I believe this is an example of where a small investment can have a big payoff for every resident of the town.

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

My background in markets, both financial and business, is a significant difference from the current Town Council majority party members.

I want to "professionalize" the Town Council, providing it with a more professional and respectful demeanor, particularly towards its constituents, than has been displayed in recent Town Council meetings.

I have served on over a dozen boards of directors, and know how to build consensus to solve problems, know when to get involved, and know when to stay out of the way.

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

Technology is driving every aspect of our society, and Southington should be very aware of what other towns across the state and the country are doing with technology in education, zoning, public safety, infrastructure, recreation, and all other areas impacted by the town government.

Technology can often help provide better services at a lower cost.

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

I have spent 25+ years in financial markets, served on over a dozen boards, and have a lot of experience in solving problems.

One smaller achievement that I am particularly proud of is my leadership of a youth travel basketball league that extends across much of Hartford County.

There are currently about 1,400 boys and girls playing in this league every year.

My first year running the league was the winter of 2020-21, the worst winter of the pandemic.

Most leagues shut down that winter, but I was able to find gyms and organize a partial schedule for boys and girls while maintaining safety protocols that enabled them to play.

To my knowledge, only one other travel basketball league in the entire state played basketball that winter. I solved the problem.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

A professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where I earned by MBA, said that "Every day you are a buyer or a seller" on the first day of my investments class.

He was using that statement to explain portfolio theory, but it has stuck with me ever since, beyond just my career.

It is a warning against inertia and overvaluing sunk costs, because the way things are does not mean that is the way things will or should be in the future.

Don't be afraid to make change happen every day.

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

SLR published a community survey a couple of months ago. The survey said that 72 percent of those who moved to Southington did so because of the location.

It is why I moved here 24 years ago. I-84 almost cuts the town in half on a north-south axis, with five exits that mean that the vast majority of residents in Southington are within about 5-6 minutes of a highway on-ramp.

This makes Hartford, New Haven, and Danbury business areas reasonably commutable from Southington, and southern Fairfield County is just a little longer.

If it is recreation and entertainment you are looking for, the town is two hours from midtown Manhattan, two hours from downtown Boston, and an hour from the Connecticut beaches, while Vermont is only about 2 hours away.

The region has great hiking, parks, and several rivers for outdoor sports within a short drive of our town.

Bradley Airport is 45 minutes away, and Logan and LaGuardia are each 2 hours.

When it came to location, Southington has one of the best locations of any town in the state, and this location helped the town emerge from the decline of some of our industrial base in the 1990s.

There is a lot to like about Southington, but given the huge geographic advantage of our town, we should be doing better.

It is time for a change in Southington. Please vote for George Doherty for Town Council.