Mark Block For Trumbull

Neighbors working with neighbors, that’s what Trumbull is all about.
This weekend, Trumbull Republicans were out across town taking part in the annual Tidy Up Trumbull event. We were rolling up our sleeves, cleaning up commuter lots, parks, and shared spaces, and doing our part to keep our community beautiful.
With Earth Day just behind us, it’s a great reminder that caring for our environment starts right here in our neighborhoods. Small acts like picking up litter, maintaining our neighborhoods, showing up, add up to something bigger.
The is grateful to everyone who came out to lend a hand. This is what community looks like. 🌎

What happened at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner tonight is a chilling reminder that political violence has no place in this country, and it must stop, no matter who the target is or what party they belong to. An attack at a non partisan event meant to celebrate a free press, one of the foundations of our democracy, should be of great concern to every American.
Because of the swift, professional response from law enforcement and the United States Secret Service, whose actions ensured the attendees safety and helped bring order to a chaotic situation we should all praise their professionalism, vigilance and courage. They deserve nothing less than recognition.
As Americans we should all be relieved that elected officials, members of the press, and guests are safe, and the gunman apprehended. American resolve is a powerful reminder: we cannot, and should not allow fear or violence to define public life. We are better collectively than that, and we have been proving it for 250 years.

Trumbull residents are demanding answers after the Tesoro administration failed to activate the townwide emergency alert system during Thursday’s police incident, when a suspect with an active felony warrant fled into a residential neighborhood and hid near homes.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, including domestic violence-related charges, no direct alert was issued. Communication was limited, leaving residents unaware that a potentially dangerous individual was moving through a neighborhood. The administration has claimed it was “not protocol,” yet issued a localized shelter-in-place notice, without using the very alert system designed for urgent townwide public safety, even as the suspect could have moved between neighborhoods. This stands in stark contrast to prior use of the system for far less serious matters, like fireworks and carnivals.
Residents were outside as police vehicles sped by, unaware of the danger, and the suspect was ultimately found in a resident’s backyard, exposing families, children, and pets without warning.
While our public safety officers are to be commended, the administration’s failure to act and continued silence are unacceptable. Residents deserve answers, accountability, and assurance that this will not happen again.
To restore trust and protect public safety, the town should act immediately by:
- Conducting and publicly releasing a full after-action report, including who made the decision not to activate the alert system and why.
- Revising emergency alert protocols to require activation during incidents involving a potentially dangerous suspect in residential areas.
- Implementing real-time communication standards to ensure timely alerts across all platforms during active public safety situations.

Like many residents, I’m disappointed to see Apple leaving the Trumbull Mall.
But respectfully, the first selectman asking them to reconsider isn’t a plan, it’s a reaction. Companies like Apple make decisions based on conditions, and this is a reflection of where the mall, and our commercial base, stands today under the Tesoro administration.
That’s the real issue.
For years, we’ve seen commercial decline while the tax burden on homeowners continues to grow. When a major retailer leaves, it’s a warning sign, and one this administration should have seen coming.
Residents deserve more than expressions of disappointment, and phone numbers to call. We deserve a serious plan from Mrs. Tesoro to strengthen our business environment and restore balance.
Trumbull can do better, but it requires leadership that acts before the problem, not after.

The Apple Store closing at the Trumbull Mall isn’t just a retail loss, it’s a warning.
Companies like Apple don’t leave strong markets. They leave when foot traffic declines, when retail weakens, and when a town fails to stay competitive. That’s exactly what we’re seeing in Trumbull.
For years, the Tesoro administration has failed to grow and protect our commercial tax base. The result? When businesses leave, the tax burden doesn’t disappear, it shifts directly onto homeowners.
And homeowners are already paying more.
This is the cycle: Fewer businesses → less commercial tax revenue → higher taxes on residents.
Instead of real solutions, we get reaction, letters, statements, and studies, oh, and phone numbers to call, while the underlying problem goes unaddressed.
The loss of Apple is not an isolated event. It’s a symptom of a broader failure to prioritize common sense suburban economic development.
Apple won’t be the last major business to leave, and homeowners will keep paying the price. That's truly unacceptable for a town like ours.

Listening to Senator Schumer is more painful than fingernails on a chalkboard. So, Chuck, spare us the pearl-clutching. The same career politician who hasn’t met a failed foreign policy he didn’t help enable and then try to rewrite after the fact.
This is the man who spent decades rubber-stamping weak-kneed, incoherent Middle East policy, and now, after Iran’s military has been decimated and a ceasefire is on the table, he suddenly rediscovers the Constitution and wants to “rein in war powers”? Please. That’s not leadership, that’s opportunistic backfilling from an aged politician taking his marching orders from the progressive left.
Let’s be clear: this conflict didn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s the direct result of years of appeasement, pallets of cash, and diplomatic fantasyland thinking that emboldened Tehran in the first place. And now that Iran has taken a beating so severe that U.S. officials are calling it a decisive blow to their military and nuclear infrastructure, Schumer wants to declare it a “failure”? Based on what, his polling memos?
Even more absurd: while American forces degraded Iran’s capabilities and forced them to the table, Schumer is busy trying to handcuff the commander-in-chief mid-negotiation with a war powers stunt designed for cable news applause, not national security.
And the timing couldn’t be more transparent. A ceasefire, fragile, yes, but real, is in place, opening the door for negotiations on nuclear limits and global shipping lanes. That’s exactly when serious leaders apply pressure and secure outcomes. Schumer’s instinct? Undercut leverage, signal weakness, and turn it into a partisan circus.
This is the same Democrat playbook every time:
- Undermine American strength abroad
- Declare failure before negotiations even begin
- Then pretend to be the adult in the room
It’s tired. It’s predictable. And it’s why voters are increasingly tuning out the permanent political class.
Schumer isn’t “reining in war powers.” He’s trying to salvage relevance, loudly, theatrically, and right on cue. It's so bad, he'd be cancelled on Broadway after one preview. And the patrons would ask for their money back.

Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of progressive Oregon once again takes the easy out reflexive liberal stance on completing the mission of making the Middle East safer and protecting America at home. This reflexive rush to shout “war crimes” every time a military target is discussed isn’t moral clarity, it’s intellectual laziness dressed up as virtue.
Here’s the reality the Senator conveniently skips over: international law does not say “infrastructure = off limits.” It says you must distinguish between civilian objects and military objectives. If infrastructure, like elements of an electric grid, is supporting military operations, command-and-control, weapons production, or missile systems, it can be a lawful target under the laws of war. Even critics acknowledge there is “gray area” when infrastructure has dual civilian and military use.
So when a Senator declares, with sweeping certainty, that any strike on Iran’s electrical infrastructure is automatically a war crime, what they’re really doing is one of two things:
Either they don’t understand the law they’re invoking, or, they’re deliberately simplifying it to score political points during a war.
Neither is reassuring.
Even legal experts raising concerns are careful with their language, they say such strikes “may” constitute war crimes depending on necessity, proportionality, and military use. That’s how serious people talk about serious matters. This Senator is not a serious lawmaker. They don't do it in absolutist slogans designed for cable news clips.
And let’s be honest about the broader context: Iran is not some neutral bystander. It is actively engaged in a regional conflict, launching retaliatory strikes, targeting infrastructure abroad, and escalating the war. Pretending that only one side has agency, or that the battlefield can be reduced to a graduate seminar on international law, is detached from reality.
What’s truly dangerous is this kind of rhetoric from elected officials. When you casually accuse your own country of impending war crimes before facts, targeting intelligence, or operational details are even known, you:
- Undermine U.S. credibility
- Signal weakness to adversaries
- And reduce complex military and legal judgments to bumper-sticker outrage
If the Senator wants to have a serious discussion about proportionality, civilian risk, and lawful targeting, fine, that’s appropriate. But declaring conclusions in advance, with absolute certainty, isn’t principled, it’s performative.
War is grim, complicated, and governed by rules, but those rules require analysis, not slogans. That's how you bring lasting peace to Israel, our Arab nation allies, and American troops stationed throughout the region.

Here’s the problem with the carefully worded recent TDTC press release: it’s trying to sell a shortfall as a success.
Let’s be clear, this is not a “strong commitment to education.” It’s a political compromise dressed up in polished language.
Yes, they tout a $5.6 million increase. But what they conveniently leave out is that even after that increase, the Board of Education is still not fully funded. The Superintendent, who actually runs the schools, not the Board of Finance, identified what was needed. And even after revising that gap down to $920,000, the Board still chose not to close it.
So let’s translate: They didn’t meet the need. They just reduced how obvious the shortfall looks.
And that $500,000 “above” the First Selectman’s number? That’s not bold leadership, that’s incrementalism. It’s the political equivalent of saying, “we’ll do a little more, but not enough to actually solve the problem.”
Then comes the real sleight of hand: so-called “efficiencies.”
A three-tier bussing system? That’s not a budget solution, that’s longer days and logistical strain on families.
Cutting projected insurance increases? That’s not savings, that’s wishful thinking unless someone can magically control healthcare costs.
Tapping non-lapsing funds? That’s a one-time patch, not sustainable budgeting.
And let’s not ignore the irony: while education is being “carefully balanced,” the town is somehow finding room for new staffing in economic development. So we can afford to grow bureaucracy, but not fully fund classrooms?
That’s a choice. A political choice.
The most telling line in this entire statement is this: “The Board recognizes this does not close the gap.”
Exactly. They knew what was needed, and chose not to do it anyway.
For years, Trumbull Democrats campaigned on “education is the foundation.” But when it came time to actually fund that foundation, they hedged, trimmed, and deferred.
You can’t claim to prioritize education while knowingly underfunding it.
You can’t call it “collaboration” when the professionals in charge of our schools are forced to scale back their needs to fit a political narrative.
And you certainly can’t expect residents, especially parents, to accept spin over substance.
This isn’t fiscal responsibility. It’s managed decline with better messaging.
The budget moves to the Town Council next, but the question remains the same to the Democrats:
Will they finally fund what our schools actually need, or just continue pretending they already have? The hypocrisy of the BOF chair Lainie McHugh, Vicki Tesoro and Ashley Gaudiano has shown no bounds. Instead, they laugh, cackle, giggle, and think your tax dollars are just funny money.

To all who gather for the first Seder this evening, may peace surround you throughout the eight days of Passover, and carry forward well beyond.

And there it is, said plainly, out loud, for anyone paying attention. The quiet part isn’t quiet anymore. What this Democrat senator just admitted is what tens of millions of Americans have suspected all along: this isn’t about principle, it’s about politics. It’s about firing up a base, stretching for relevance, and clawing back any lever of power they can find.
Because when you’re out of ideas, when you’ve lost your footing with the people, what’s left? Performance. Outrage. Theater. Not solutions, only spectacle. Not leadership, only lousy messaging. And the longer they’ve been on the outside looking in, the more obvious it’s become that they don’t know how to govern without a script.
Let’s be honest about what triggered this. A president with an “R” next to his name, regardless of who he is, was enough to send the entire Democrat machine into a tailspin. Not because of policy disagreements rooted in substance, but because power shifted. And when power shifts away from a party that’s grown comfortable controlling the narrative, the response isn’t reflection, it’s resistance for its own sake.
So instead of engaging on ideas, instead of offering a compelling vision, they default to the same tired playbook: outrage campaigns, celebrity megaphones, and political cosplay. The American people are expected to take cues from activists and performers who are more interested in reliving past movements than addressing present realities.
But here’s the problem: Americans are paying attention. They’re not looking for lectures from yesterday’s voices or rehearsed talking points from today’s politicians. They’re looking for results. For accountability. For leadership that actually solves problems instead of staging them.
So yes, thank you, Senator. Thank you for saying the quiet part out loud. Thank you for exposing the disconnect. And most of all, thank you for reminding the American people exactly what this has become: a party more focused on acting than on action.

Let’s be honest, Trumbull Democrats make a reach when they say the budget is a “strong commitment to education.” No, it’s a carefully worded press release trying to make a shortfall sound like success from the Council chair, BOF chair, and First Selectman.
Trumbull Democrats want credit for a $5.6 million increase, but they conveniently ignore the reality: it still doesn’t meet the needs identified by the Superintendent. When you underfund what’s required and then celebrate “closing most of the gap,” you’re admitting the gap still exists, and that students, teachers, and classrooms will be the ones absorbing it.
Calling this “preserving programs” is political spin. When schools are forced to find nearly a million dollars in remaining cuts or efficiencies, that pressure doesn’t disappear, it shows up in larger class sizes, reduced opportunities, and strained resources. That’s not investment. That’s managed decline.
And let’s talk about priorities. While education is being squeezed and told to “find efficiencies,” Democrats are expanding town staffing, salaries, and perks elsewhere and asking families to accept less in the classroom. If education were truly top of mind, it wouldn’t be treated as a balancing item, it would be the foundation.
Those of us who went through Trumbull’s schools, and have had or now have children in them know what’s at stake. Education isn’t just another line in a budget. It’s the backbone of our community, our property values, and our future.
Trumbull Democrats can issue all the polished statements they want, but the message behind this budget is clear: education is no longer the priority, it’s the compromise. That’s a shame, and it's something we need to change, from the top down. It's time.