Patch Candidate Profile: Richard G. McCarty For Wilton Board Of Selectmen

WILTON, CT — Election Day on Nov. 4 is fast approaching, and there are a number of key races on the ballot.

Patch reached out to candidates for office to get more information on their campaigns and the issues that are facing their towns.

Candidate's Name: Richard G. McCarty

What office are you seeking? Board of Selectmen

What town do you live in? Wilton

Campaign Website

Party Affiliation: Democrat

Occupation: Attorney (retired) 43 years

Family: My wife Ann McCarty and I have enjoyed living in Wilton for thirty years. We moved to Wilton from New Jersey in 1995. I grew up in Bellerose Terrace, New York which is in Nassau County on Long Island. Ann grew up in The Bronx, New York before moving to Bayside, Queens, New York with her family. We met on a blind date arranged by my late sister.

We have three children and four grandchildren. Each of the children went through the Wilton school system. Dr. Matthew E. McCarty lives in New York City with his fiancé and he is a Vice Chair of Emergency Medicine at Weill Cornell New York Hospital. Dr. Megan E. McCarty lives in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Allentown, with her husband and two of our grandchildren. She has an allergy and immunology practice and is also certified in internal medicine. Timothy G. McCarty lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with his wife and two of our grandchildren. Timothy is a Director at a New York City based independent life insurance brokerage firm that specializes in the structuring and long-term administration of large life insurance portfolios for families.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? N/A

Previous public office, appointive or elective: Town of Wilton Board of Assessment Review (2024); Town of Wilton Fire Commission (12 years from 2000 to 2012 with several years as Chairman); Wilton Firehouse 2 Building Committee; Wilton Schools Long Range Planning Committees

Why are you seeking this office? In every community, there comes a moment when individuals are presented with an opportunity step forward to serve, to give back, and to help shape the future. Wilton is at a point of inflection where the challenges of the present should be addressed with an eye to the future. My experiences in private and public service have taught me that the most lasting solutions arise from collaboration. I aim to foster bipartisan unity to find immediate and long-term solutions to the challenges facing our community. My approach is to focus on finding common ground and the timely delivery of results. I will seek out best practices and innovative strategies to move our community forward.

I am running for the Board of Selectmen with a deep sense of responsibility and a hopeful heart. My decision is not one made lightly; it is the result of years of service to the town, observation, and a profound love for the place I and my family have called home for thirty years. I believe local government holds tremendous potential to improve our daily lives, and I am committed to making a lasting, positive difference for our collective future.

One of my most compelling reasons to seek office is the urgent need to address issues directly affecting our community. I have listened to my friends and neighbors voice their shared concerns about how we spend our tax dollars, our schools, infrastructure, and social services. Far too often a common thread of these conversations is that our local government feels distant, unresponsive, and is too slow to act. I believe it is possible and necessary for our leaders to be accessible, transparent, and accountable.

I will prioritize more open dialogue and seek more inclusive decision-making. Let’s create avenues for feedback and ensure that every voice is heard. Serving in local office is not about imposing one’s own ideas but about working together to find solutions that are practical and fair. By fostering trust between residents and the Board of Selectmen we can build consensus and achieve real progress in a timely manner for the present and the future.

The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ____, and this is what I intend to do about it: Wilton is at a point of inflection where the challenges of the present should be addressed with an eye to the future. The challenges arising from a lack of action in the past need to be resolved so we can address what the future of Wilton is to be. How we manage and solve the ~$150 million of infrastructure repairs is an essential element to the future of Wilton and the cost of living in our community. Our schools have been so good to me and my family and the ~$150 million challenge cannot be looked at in isolation. The schools must continue to serve each of us well and we have to keep our schools as a leading priority as we make choices around Wilton’s future. Additionally, there is the question of housing in Wilton and what we want Wilton to be. Families come to Wilton and look in so many ways to find affordable housing to provide the benefits of our schools for their children. We need to have an open and transparent conversation with all stakeholders about Wilton's development so that while Wilton is changing, we can seek to assure that it still feels the same.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post? Engagement, experience, leadership, collaboration, the active practice of listening to be a good listener, communicating and getting things done. My career of service on multiple and various commissions, boards or committees in municipal government have taught me how to succeed around town hall and that starts with listening. Listening to other people serving with you, listening to town employees and listening to the community. My career experience has taught me the importance of transparency and well as good processes and controls in bringing transactions to completion.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign? I have listened to my friends and neighbors voice their shared concerns about how we spend our tax dollars, our schools, infrastructure, controls, and social services. I have seen the importance of Wilton's Social Services Department in addressing the needs across our community. I have witnessed our neighbors going to the food bank to obtain the most basic needs that some take for granted. If we all contributed in just a simple way we could help address the food needs of our community. Also important are mental health services especially for our teens who are under competing pressures across school and social media. Finally let's make sure that our seniors continue to enjoy the benefits of the senior center as a place to gather.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job? My career experiences support my qualifications for this position. As a member of the Board of Selectman for almost two months, I have seen that the skills I have practiced throughout my legal career, including listening, collaboration, negotiating, and identifying the important elements of a transaction, to timely arrive at agreement among colleagues and third parties are critical to success. These traits are important to getting things done in a most timely manner and moving forward to the next agenda item. It is also important to recognize the need to look back at items that have been resolved or are in the course of being implemented to make sure that the agreement is being implemented as envisioned, as negotiated, and as agreed. I am a closer, it is time to get things done!

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you? Throughout a life and a career there are many times when mentors, colleagues, friends, your spouse or your children have offered their wisdom — “listen before you speak,” “trust your instincts,” and “embrace change” being common ones among them. Each has had its place, guiding me through various aspects of everyday living yet none have been as enduring or as fundamentally transformative as to "seek continuous and never-ending improvement". Improvement is not a destination, but a practice. Seeking continuous and never-ending improvement in the things I do (we do) helps not only celebrate successes, but it includes trying new things, finding new ways of doing things, learning to adapt and the honesty to acknowledge that I (and we) can do better.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions? Changes to the face of Wilton are in process and they seem to be happening in something of a piecemeal fashion. That is fine if there is agreement on that being the way we as a community want to move forward. What does Wilton want to be? I’d like to arrive at that answer whatever it may be, through and open and transparent dialogue across the voices of our community. Where all opinions are heard and a consensus is achieved. Let’s achieve some degree of certainty based on a community of communication and understanding.