Milford’s newly elected Mayor Tony Giannattasio is the first Republican elected mayor in twelve years after defeating Democratic candidate Kerri Rowland. He was sworn in on Nov. 20, 2023 as Milford’s twelfth mayor.
Giannattasio has been in public service for 20 years, 16 of those years serving on the Board of Aldermen with the last 12 years serving as the board’s minority leader. He was also the Planning and Zoning Commissioner for four years.
Giannattasio also has 35 years of experience running a business as the vice president of sales at Milford Barrel, a family-owned company focused on environmental safety.
A lot of times during municipal elections, turnout is not as large as during an election for a governor or a president. According to the CT Mirror, approximately 33% of registered Connecticut voters cast a ballot in the 2023 municipal elections.
“I was pleasantly surprised and very happy. The campaign that I had and the people that helped me and supported me put a lot of time and effort into bringing excitement to the race, because most times people won’t come out to vote for a mayor, so these results really encouraged me,”said Giannattasio.
Giannattassio showed the community of Milford that he truly cares for the entire city.
“My campaign crew and I did a lot of meet and greets, I was meeting people at their houses, I was in their living rooms, I was even out on their back porches and I tried to keep the campaign grassroots to show people I want to help them and I want to become the next mayor,” he said.
During his campaign he used social media with an Instagram and a Facebook account to reach people.
“Our campaign touched a lot of young people and I think that is how we were able to win,” he said.
“We made time for the younger voters and identified the voters who it was their first time voting, and went out and talked with them and really made an effort. My social media accounts also had a huge impact on the younger generation and I think that it made a big impact on the results of the election,” said Gianattasio.
Giannattasio has lived in Milford his whole life and went through the Milford Public School system. He graduated from Foran in 1988.
Giannattasio said, “My friends and family helped me tremendously. They had a front row seat to my community service, have seen me as a public servant, and a lot of them I grew up with and went through the school system. The way I look at it is, we were all one team and they wanted to see me win just as much as I did.”
Experience and plans for the future
Being in public service for 20 years and serving 16 years as an alderman, Giannattasio was able to work with three different mayors and their administration and learn from them.
“Before I was the mayor, the thing I would say I was most proud of would be my bipartisan approach and being able to work with all of the former mayors on issues that benefited the city. I think it’s what got me elected, that I like hearing from all sides and working with everyone’s opinions and thoughts.”
Giannattasio first started getting involved around 2003 when he had the opportunity to work with former Mayor James L. Richetelli, Jr. He then worked with former Mayor Ben Blake. Giannattasio said he never went against nor wanted to go against any of Blake’s agendas as a sign of respect and to show him that no matter the party, the most important thing was to serve the people of Milford. Just recently he was able to work with former interim Mayor Richard Smith.
Giannattasio said, “I really got serious about becoming the mayor knowing that there was going to be an opportunity with an open seat, and I kind of just got that feeling in my head that it was the right time for me to take that next step.”
After learning from his predecessors, he believed it was time to create and work on his own agenda and plans.
Giannattasio says, “I just put forward my first budget and that will go in front of the Board of Finance. I want to make improvements on infrastructure and I have been working with developers that want to help the community. There has been a lot of interest with people believing in Milford and all the businesses here.”
There has been a lot of buzz around the community for a while about the renovation of Milford’s mall and possibly new restaurants being built.
“I am very excited about the mall redevelopment,” he says. “It is going to be a place where people can live, it will have a walking trail, there are going to be separate buildings like a medical building and maybe a place for education, and possibly an entertainment venue.”
Giannattasio said the mall right now simply isn’t surviving off of retail stores and that change is needed, but a positive change.
He then stated, “It is going to be very improved and it’s going to be something that keeps people coming in. It won’t be just retail based, it’s going to be well diversified and a new concept. The owners of Centennial Properties are actually in the design phase right now, it’s going to be really cool and I am very excited for this change.”
One of the biggest changes for Giannattasio as he begins his first term as mayor is that he is no longer a leader of just one board, rather he now has many different tasks that he needs to accomplish.
He says, “I stick to my schedule, I like to meet with my department heads every two weeks and present my plans to them. Everything has its time, it all fits into my schedule. Then when we have emergencies, for example any storms, those do take priority to make sure everything is ready for that. Then I also deal with maintenance of the city and make sure everything is intact with the city. Other than my stuff scheduled from time to time I have unscheduled walk-ins with people just coming in expressing their opinions or any concerns.”
Giannattasio has many plans for the next two years.
“I am ready to make positive changes towards the town and I am very excited for the city’s future,” he says.
