First Selectman Candidates Debate Tonight

Tonight, at 7, is the between and in Town Hall. Both men are lifelong Waterford residents who each pledge to make the town a better place.

Steward highlights his 30-plus years experience in management as his biggest strength, and has always favored compromise over confrontation.

“This job can’t be political,” Steward said. “Once you have this position, you need to work with everybody.”

Steward has spent the last six years as First Selectman. His term has been devoid of any “major issues,” Democratic state Rep. Betsy Ritter said this summer, and he’s mostly well liked by his staff and elected officials.

He grew up in town on a farm that no longer exists, ( is there now), married a schoolteacher and raised four daughters. He goes to church every Sunday, and has always been a strong advocate of structure.

“I think living by the rules is a very important aspect of what I do,” Steward said. “When I’m here, I live by the rules. When I’m not here, I live by the same rules.”

He wants to regionalize the town’s and while always remembering he is the representative of Waterford.

“I believe that I represent the community at functions professionally and appropriately,” Steward said. “And I do that with the desire to make Waterford seem like the best place you could have to live.”

His Opponent

Ziolkovski is a self-proclaimed “challenge-a-holic,” who works 100-hour weeks and sleeps in his truck if necessary. He guarantees he will fight every day for the every man.

“I worked like a dog, I raised my kids,” he said. “I was married and divorced; I always connected to the average man - I always have been one. And that is who I’m running this election for.”

 Ziolkovski grew up in and lives in Quaker Hill, has two kids and works at Groton Utilities. He says he has always fought for what he believed in and refused to accept nonsense.

This campaign is a good example. It started because, in Ziolkovski’s mind, the , leading to his father’s house flooding twice.

When Ziolkovski tried to reach people in the state government to talk about it, he got nowhere. He tried to have a conversation with somebody, anybody, but it never happened.

Wanting to ensure this never happened to anybody again, he decided he would run to change the way the government operates. And that change needs to be putting the people first, he said.

“If I’m First Selectman, I’m going to make sure people get the help they need,” Ziolkovski said. “If they have a problem, I’ll sit down with them and see what I can do to help them.”

He’s been divorced twice, went bankrupt and nearly died in a motorcycle accident in 2009, a moment he said changed his life.

“I’m on the hood of the car, halfway through the front windshield, and I said ‘I can’t believe I just survived this,' ” Ziolkovski said. “I’m alive. And I’ve got to change the way I’m living my life.”

In the years since, he has spent more time with his son and daughter and her children. When asked about that, Ziolkovski grows emotional.

“I had the opportunity to be there for my daughter when she needed me to be there; I had the opportunity to be there for some other people who needed me, because I didn’t wind up dead,” he said. “When that happens, you find peace.”

Among his ideas are to have the other two town selectmen spend eight hours a week at Town Hall, and transition to a completely paid fire service.

The Debate

The debate follows a 2-2-1 format. Each candidate will give an opening and closing statement, and there will be a lightning round before the closing statements. The debate is open to the public.

Patch is sponsoring the debate. The Day reporter Steven Chupaska will also ask questions.