Wallingford Election 2025: Jeff Kohan Running For Town Council

WALLINGFORD, CT — The 2025 municipal election is heating up in Wallingford 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 and Board of Education.

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

Jeff Kohan is running for election to the Wallingford Town Council as a Democrat.

Campaign Website
https://www.facebook.com/jeffk...

Occupation:

Retired. Former Aetna and IBM Information Technology Executive. 40+ years IT experience.

Family:
Wife Cindy, a former Infection Control Practitioner. COVID times were interesting to say the least.
Grown son Timothy and his wife Rebecca. Tim works in the music industry promoting concerts. (I'm jealous!) Rebecca is a third grade school teacher.

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

Previous public office, appointive or elective:
Currently in my third 5-year term as Planning and Zoning Commissioner. Previous to that I served 1 year as Zoning Board of Appeals Commissioner. Prior to that I served 1 5-year term as an Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commissioner. I am currently a member of the South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG) serving over 10 years and was former Chairperson for a 2 year term. All appointed positions.

Why are you seeking this office?
I am seeking to be elected to the Town Council because I feel the indecisiveness of past Town Councils have cost the town greatly in terms of money and the ability to position Wallingford for the future. I think I can do a better job with the experience I bring with my previous professional experience. I don't see our past and current Council being responsive to all concerns and issues of our town's citizens. Very often public speakers bring expertise and raise ideas that add value to the decision making process. I will listen and consider all ideas and concerns. I will make sure to at the very least give a voice to everyone. Great outcomes result when all input is considered. I want to give our residents, our constituents, that voice. Time limits at public discussion Town Council meetings should be abolished. The concept of our local government working for its town residents, I feel, has been lost. I would like to try and restore this idea of the Town Council working for everyone. Additionally, we need to be accountable to the public for our actions. I want to have a scorecard of metrics to see if actions taken by the Council are followed successfully to completion. If things go wrong we should have post mortems to discuss root cause analysis and take corrective actions without any finger pointing. We did this with IT projects I managed. In summary, I want Wallingford to be as best as possible with all of us working together. I think I can help.

The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ____, and this is what I intend to do about it:
Unfortunately, there are two pressing issues. A very substantial tax increase and decisions about our schools. Residents faced a disproportionate 20% tax increase while local businesses did not. We need to address this inequity at the budget meetings. Funding for our school system has to be addressed. We need to raise the ratings of our schools and finally decide on the high school choice of one high school or investing in needed repairs of both.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?
I think my past professional experience as an IT leader and dealing with a wide variety of complex issues with a large stakeholder base makes me a good candidate. My 20 years of public service in Wallingford adds to my resume as I have first hand experience in working on solutions. I participated in two POCD (Plan of Conservation and Development) projects where others did not.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?
Transparency, inclusiveness and accountability of local government. Tax system inequities. Addressing future funding needs of our school system. Housing.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?
PZ regulations updates, POCD project input, Regional Planning commission regulations review

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?
Look to hire someone who is different from yourself.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?
I am dedicated to what I do and I am capable of working with others. I respect other people's opinions and viewpoints and will consider them in decision making.