As the town of South Windsor prepares for another election season, one candidate seeking re-election to the Town Council is Carolyn Carey, who currently serves as Deputy Mayor after completing her first two-year term.
Carey’s background is rooted in finance budgeting. This gives her extensive professional experience, given that she worked in corporate America for 45 years.
Before serving on the Council, she also volunteered on the Human Relations Commission, the Board of Assessment Appeals, and as an alternate for the Planning and Zoning Commission.
As a resident and someone who has a background in finance, her focus on the council is sharply fixed on fiscal responsibility for the town’s diverse tax base.
“When our taxes go up the way they have, some of our taxpayers are really hurt by that,” Carey said.
She specifically mentioned retirees whose fixed pensions struggle to keep pace with rising property taxes.
“We could be driving [people] out and some of the people that are most hurt by that are people who worked their entire lives, paid off their homes, maybe retired 15 years ago on good pensions because they had good jobs,” Carey explained. “But pensions don’t move. They don’t increase the way salaries do, and so what happens is that what was really good retirement at [one] time is not so good anymore.”
She emphasizes that residents struggle when the taxes grow as much as they have.
“So, it is important to keep in mind that if the cost of living is going up, [even if] people are getting 3% raises; if your taxes go up 5 or 6%, that’s not sustainable for anybody. So, that’s really what my focus is.”
Thus, Carey is running again to implement two critical long-range plans she believes the town needs. She is looking to create a five-year plan uniting the gap between the Board of Education and the Town Council that focuses on infrastructure and finance.
“They need a joint plan since both groups draw from the same pot of money, a combined strategy is essential,” Carey said.
Moreover, Carey wants to improve communication between town government and residents, keeping residents better informed and helping residents get involved in what the town does.
“We need ways to communicate what’s going on in a factual way versus a rumored way.”
She believes her professional background has prepared her well for this work.
“I’ve always worked in positions where you need to collaborate, and you are collaborating with people [who] maybe didn’t agree,” Carey explained. “So you need to bring groups with different opinions, try and get them to a consensus, so that [we are all] rowing in the same direction.
Additionally, as a mother and life-long learner herself, Carey emphasized that being fiscally responsible does not mean cutting corners on schools.
“Being fiscally responsible doesn’t mean that education isn’t important to me, education is our future,” Carey said.
To Carey, learning is a fundamental part of education, and wants South Windsor to prioritize education.
“Helping students to be prepared for the future is essential, and that’s what we want for our schools,” she said. “We want good and strong schools that educate everyone.”
Carey addressed recent misconceptions about the reduction to the proposed Board of Education’s budget.
“Every year, the Board of Education, whatever their budget, they get to keep it even if they don’t spend it. In the town, if they don’t spend it, it goes into a general fund, ” Carey explained. “So for [this]fiscal year, they could have added what they had left over from last year to the budget.”
She is a proud graduate with a master’s degree in business analytics, and she spoke passionately about the need to encourage students in South Windsor schools to see math and science as valuable, teaching them real world skills.
“I’m a strong believer in STEM,” she said. “We want students to see these subjects as positive and useful, because whatever field they go into, those skills come up again and again.”
Reflecting on her decades in corporate leadership, Carey also noted how her experience as a woman in a male-dominated field shaped her perspective.
“When I started out, women weren’t really part of corporate management,” she said.
Being in a male-dominated field taught Carey fairness and resilience, which are two things she brings to the table when discussing situations or decisions that may arise on the Council.
As Election Day approaches, Carey hopes residents will see her as a candidate who values learning, collaboration, accountability, and a resident who wants to see the community succeed.
“What matters is that we keep working together to make decisions that meet the town’s needs.”
