By Brandon T. Bisceglia
Incumbent First Selectman Jim Zeoli, left, and challenger Dan Fitzmaurice, right, shake hands at the second of three debates on Oct. 19. Photo by Lexi Crocco.
Incumbent Republican Orange First Selectman Jim Zeoli and Democratic challenger Dan Fitzmaurice clashed over the direction of the town before prospective voters in a series of debates in October.
The two laid out their cases – and criticized each others’ policy goals – in three debates. The first, sponsored by the Amity Chamber of Commerce and held at the University of New Haven’s Orange Campus, was on Oct. 7. The second was put on by the Or Shalom Men’s Club and held at Congregation Or Shalom on Oct. 19. The third was sponsored by the Milford-Orange Times and held at High Plains Community Center on Oct. 28. The third debate had not occurred by press time.
Fitzmaurice, who is currently the director of advocacy for the United Way of Connecticut, has fashioned his campaign around what he sees as the need for Orange to prepare itself for the future. Among his key campaign proposals are creating an economic development office within town government, pushing the development of Fred Wolfe Park forward and enabling a “see-click-fix” service to help residents more easily navigate town departments.
Fitzmaurice has lauded Zeoli for his decades of service to Orange, opening the debates by thanking the incumbent for his devotion to the town. However, he has argued, the town is missing out on opportunities under an administration that he claims is not proactive enough.
Zeoli has also leaned into his lifetime of involvement in Orange, noting that he has lived there his entire life and been in public service for much of it. He has been a member of the Board of Selectmen for 26 years and is seeking his 11th two-year term as first selectman.
Zeoli has argued that his stewardship of the town has helped it gain fiscal stability, with a AAA bond rating and several large businesses in the Post Road corridor. He has suggested that some of Fitzmaurice’s proposals would needlessly duplicate existing services and increase costs to the town.
Zeoli has been particularly dismissive of Fitzmaurice’s plan to create an in-house economic development department, saying that the nonprofit Orange Economic Development Corporation works closely with the town and does excellent work.
“The town of Orange pays $100,000 towards that department. So to say that we don’t have it is insulting,” Zeoli said at the first debate.
Fitzmaurice praised the OEDC, but said he knew from his own experience working in the nonprofit sector that there were certain types of grants and awards that could only be brought in through a town office.
“There are an incredible amount of state and federal grants that a nonprofit organization is not eligible to receive,” he said.
Fitzmaurice has argued that an economic development department would be “an investment” that would help lower residential property taxes by helping to spur commercial and mixed-use development. Residents have been paying an increased proportion of taxes in recent years as their property values have shot up while commercial property values have stagnated.
Zeoli has countered that while his team has brought in plenty of commercial tenants, particularly on Edison Road, the opportunities for continued commercial development are limited.
“There’s only one piece of land left on there that’s not developed, and it’s owned by Pez. And they actually are submitting plans right now for an expansion there, which is the reason they chose not to sell it,” he said. “That’s the problem: we don’t have the amount of commercial/industrial land that you think.”
Zeoli was likewise unimpressed with Fitzmaurice’s proposal for a “see-click-fix” system that would allow residents to get services through a single entry point via the web or phone. Fitzmaurice has pointed out that other municipalities implemented the service years ago, and that Orange’s website already has the capability to run it – the town has just declined to do so.
“Right now what often happens is that people call and they get tossed around, and they don’t know what’s happening with the request they made. I think in 2025 we expect better customer service,” he said. “If we can fix small issues before they become big, expensive ones, that’s a smart use of all of our resources.”
“It’s going to have to be managed and overseen by somebody who directs it to the appropriate departments. It’s another layer of spending money,” Zeoli countered. “While a lot of the younger people may be tech savvy, a lot of people are not.”
Fitzmaurice has also portrayed the years-long saga of redevelopment at Fred Wolfe Park as a symptom of inaction from Zeoli’s administration. The first master plan for the park was put together in 2013 but never came to fruition. A second master plan is now underway.
“It’s about time we develop this one,” he said. “It’s due for an upgrade.”
“The first engineering plan that was done some years ago was in some areas a dismal failure,” Zeoli said, citing problems with drainage under the plan that had ultimately killed it.
Early voting is underway now in Town Hall, with polls open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except on Oct. 30 and Nov. 2, when polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Election Day is Nov. 4; voting will take place at High Plains Community Center from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.