Stratford Election 2025: Carl A. Glad Running For Town Council

STRATFORD, CT — The 2025 municipal election is heating up in Stratford with plenty of races on the ballot.

Voters will cast their ballots in the Nov. 4 election for the position of mayor, along with seats on the Town Council, Board of Education, Planning and Zoning and more.

Stratford Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Carl A. Glad is running for re-election to the Stratford Town Council as a Republican.

What office are you seeking?
8th District Town Council

Campaign Website

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093645871338#

Occupation:

Attorney with Ahlberg & Glad LLC for over 11 years.

Family:
I am married to Amy and we have two children aged eleven and fourteen.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?
None

Previous public office, appointive or elective:
I am currently the elected 8th District Councilman for the Town of Stratford. I also serve as Town Council Chair. Additionally, I am appointed to the Town Commission on Aging, where I also serve as Chair.

Why are you seeking this office?
Stratford has been great to me. I grew up in our town, and I moved back to raise my children here. I owe it my children and our entire community to give back. Having served in numerous volunteer roles it was a natural progression to serve our town on the Council. Now, after two years of service, I am seeking re-election because I still have more that I can give to continue to improve our town and move Stratford forward.

The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ____, and this is what I intend to do about it:
Affordability. Taxes in Stratford cannot increase. We pay enough and there are many in our community who cannot pay anymore. We cannot reduce services, which we have not done over the past two years, but we cannot rely on residential taxes to pay for the increased costs of those services. We must be fiscally responsible and creative. We have been able to do that by making smart financial investments especially in technology that can reduce costs over time – for example the robot that paints lines on our fields so that our DPW workers can focus on other tasks. We also must encourage continued economic growth to build our tax base. A major challenge will be managing the outcome of the upcoming revaluation which will have a significant impact on home values and the tax rate.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?
I bring a unique set of experiences to the Town Council. I grew up in Stratford, and my family has a long legacy of service to our community. I also spent years in Washington DC working on complex policy and budget issues with the Department of Defense. Building bipartisan consensus to pass legislation was part of my profession. I am a small business owner, an attorney, and have served as Chair of the Town of Stratford Commission on Aging, on the Board of the Southwestern Connecticut Agency on Aging, as Chair of the Board of Directors of Sterling Community Center and I am a youth sports coach. I have direct experience with residents across the entire age, geographic and socio-economic spectrum of Stratford. Over the last two years, I have also served as the Town Council Chair. This unique position gives me unprecedented insight into the functioning of our Town government and the role the Council plays in managing and improving our community.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?
Predatory Development. Years ago, the State of Connecticut implemented laws to increase affordable housing in towns. Affordable housing is important to our community and something that we need to continue to develop. However, the law stripped towns of certain protections afforded by zoning regulations. As a result, predatory developers have abused these affordable housing laws to intimidate and extort neighborhoods with completely inappropriate developments. They have used development applications to force action on their other projects and to pressure residents to vote against the developer's political opponents. Residents of my district have witnessed this firsthand for several years. Several inappropriate developments have been proposed by developers that do not care about our community or affordable housing. They want to cause chaos and bring the town to negotiate something in their favor. Even now, surrogates for the predatory developers post vile social media posts depicting the Mayor as a Nazi or racist. It is all completely inappropriate. As a member of the Council, I have championed an ordinance to protect neighborhoods and especially our environmentally sensitive areas from predatory developers. I have supported an ordinance that passes the costs of the town’s experts on to developers, and I have supported increasing the acreage of Roosevelt Forest and deed-restricting properties for single family use. In addition to combating predatory developers, we need to support the existing plan for realistic and appropriate development. Affordable housing should exist in all parts of our Town and there are locations identified that would be suitable for larger developments. Working with legitimate developers we can ensure Stratford is a model for affordable housing.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?
I am the Town Council Chair. I serve the 8th District as the Councilman, and I also have significant other responsibilities as the Chair. The Council Chair sets the agenda for each Town Council meeting. While this sounds administrative, the role is anything but that. The reality is that most actions of the Town require Council approval. The Council Chair can refuse to put an item on the agenda, stopping it in its tracks. Conversely, the Council Chair can help move an item forward. I have taken this role very seriously. It requires a significant time investment – time I have taken out of my job, understanding of the many complex activities of the Town, and the ability to work with all members of the Council. One of the most important aspects of my role as Chair is to model civility and require decorum within the Council. In this time of division, I am proud that our Town Council has been incredibly respectful. I give each member ample time to speak, ask questions, allow debate and educate the public. I have never and would never place an overtly political resolution or item on the agenda. I also ask the respective Town Council party leaders to discuss matters that may be controversial before asking that they be placed on the agenda. I have demonstrated that respectful discussion can lead to better results, and it is reflected in the number of unanimous votes our Council has taken.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?
I have always liked the saying "slow is smooth and smooth is fast." But the best advice ever was to marry my wife.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?
I love Stratford and I always put our community first.