Politics & Government

Meet Jay Sarzen: Republican Candidate for West Hartford Board of Education

Candidate for the West Hartford school board.

Name: Jay Sarzen
Age: 40
Party, Board Seeking: Republican, Board of Education
Family information: Wife (Amy), Son (Andrew)
Occupation, if applicable: Director, Small Commercial Strategic Initiatives, The Hartford
Political Experience: Republican Town Committee, Candidate for Town Council (2011), West Hartford Busway Advisory Commission (2012 – present), West Hartford Board of Education (12/2012 – present)
Other Experience: BA, Trinity College; MBA, University of Notre Dame; Member, First Church of Christ (Chairman, FCC Nursery School Ministry); Manager, West Hartford Youth Baseball Instructional Division Diamondbacks

Why did you run for office? I have a true passion for ensuring that West Hartford residents have the voice of fiscal sanity representing them in the discussion of how our town operates and allocates our tax dollars. That, combined with my desire to ensure that our children have what they need to succeed in the classroom, has driven my previous and current runs for office.

If elected, what would be your primary areas of focus? A solid majority of our town’s tax dollars are devoted to educating our children, so my primary focus would be to ensure that as many of these tax dollars as possible find their way into the classroom.

What do you feel is the biggest issue facing West Hartford today? There are many. Specific to education, I believe that prioritizing our tax dollars in a logical manner so as to ensure educational excellence is the most critical issue facing West Hartford in the education realm.  We have to be smart with how and where we spend our money as West Hartford taxpayers’ wallets are not an inexhaustible resource from which government can draw.

What skills do you have that you could bring to the community? Strategy Assessment, Strategic Planning, Budget Item Prioritization, Metric Development, Lean Six Sigma


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