Councilman Tom DiDio to seek mayor's seat

Town Councilman Tom DiDio said he will seek the Democratic nomination for mayor. Courtesy photo. - Contributed Photo

Democratic Town Councilman Tom DiDio has announced that he is exploring the opportunity to run for mayor of Vernon, saying his decision to run has been building for a while, and he sees many opportunities to improve Vernon.

“There are a lot of ways that we are not exploring and should be exploring,” he said, adding that the town needs to take a different approach in many areas.

“We are very much in the weeds with education,” he said. “We have to change our attitude toward the schools and how we are educating our children.”

On energy, DiDio said, “There are so many things we can do for savings, and for our environment, that in the long run, will help our taxpayers by being more energy-efficient and taking advantage of state and federal programs that we're not taking advantage of now.”

“I think we need to do a much better job of attracting businesses that will bring more employment to the town, and add to our tax base,” DiDio said, about economic development.

As a member of the Rockville Community Alliance, DiDio has chaired a committee that is bringing a skate park to Vernon. “I think that will be a wonderful thing for our children,” he said. “I'm especially proud that we are working diligently toward raising funds privately, without any taxpayer support for the construction of the park.”

The first step will be to secure the Democratic nomination at the caucus in May, and he plans on issuing position papers over the next couple of months on how the town can make improvements.

Before being elected to the Vernon Town Council, where he sits on the Union Negotiation and Ordinance Review committees, DiDio served as chair of the Vernon Democratic Town Committee. He has also served as chair of the Water Pollution Control Authority, and was the founding chair of the Vernon Recycling Committee.