Mayor John Picard and West Haven

From the link above, Mayor John Picard was a member of the West Haven City Council, and even the Chairman. It's entirely unthinkable that he had no idea of the fiscal state of affairs before he came to office - I don't see where he could be surprised at the state of affairs.

His 2005 Campaign platform was:

• PROVIDING ACCESSIBLE AND EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
• RESTORING A RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNMENT
• BRINGING REAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO WEST HAVEN
• COMMITTING MORE POSITIVE RESOURCE TO EDUCATION
• PRESERVING OUR UNDEVELOPED SHOREFRONT

It's concerning to me that he feels that "accessible and effective leadership" includes raising taxes to the point where so many people feel that they have to sell and get out. I don't see that incurring penalties from lack of educational budget is being 'a responsible and accountable government', nor is is committing more positive resource [sic] to education. I haven't seen ANY evidence of bringing real economic development to West Haven. The only statement that so far has been kept to is 'preserving our undeveloped shorefront'.