New Canaan resident Luke J. Kaufman is seeking the endorsement of the Republican Party for a seat on the elected Town Council. We put some questions to Kaufman about his candidacy. Our exchange follows.
New Canaanite: Tell us about yourself – how long you have lived in New Canaan, what have you been involved with here in town and what has led you to seek elected office?
Luke J. Kaufman
Luke J. Kaufman: My wife, Emily, and I moved to New Canaan from New York City 6 years ago. We have three boys – ages 8, 6, and 5 – who attend South School and play on various sports teams. I have coached travel and local recreation baseball, flag football and lacrosse teams and take pride in creating a fun environment, while teaching children how to play the game and improve their skills. I’m a parishioner at St. Aloysius Church and enjoy many of the town’s attributes such as working out at YMCA, running in the many beautiful parks throughout town and swimming and biking in Waveny Park. All three of my children learned to ride their bikes in front of the Waveny House. I’m seeking elected office to give back to the community that provides my family and me so much. I believe in a boots on the ground approach to working within the community and providing a product and service that supports the towns initiatives.
What qualifies you for the office you are seeking?
I have over two decades of experience in commercial banking, starting my career with a full year of credit training and holding several roles in the credit division in various capacities. I’m currently the head of commercial lending at Metropolitan Commercial Bank, a publicly traded, Manhattan based bank and work within a team environment to produce meaningful results under various bank initiatives. I have significant experience in reviewing budgets from projections to execution and evaluating final results. Some of my primary responsibilities are managing risk and fiscal accountability and I look to help continue to maintain the town’s strong fiscal integrity.
What is your vision for the elected body for which you are seeking GOP endorsement at the July 20 caucus?
New Canaan is a great place to live, work and raise a family. We all take pride in our outstanding public schools, charming downtown shops and restaurants, historic and natural landscape, and prominent sports programs. We need to ensure there are proper policies in place to allow New Canaan to continue to thrive post pandemic as we always have. My key objectives include ensuring the Board of Education has proper funding for its requirements, re-establishing our vital New Canaan family businesses and maintaining the enlarged outdoor dining areas, expanding the New Canaan Athletic Foundation’s reach to host more regional tournaments, finding ways to improve MTA train times and continuing to increase local cell phone service. I ask for your support to be elected to Town Council.
[Editor’s Note: The headline of this article has been corrected to say ‘Town Council’ not ‘Board of Education.’ Through July 9, NewCanaanite.com is publishing Q&As with local Republicans seeking party endorsement for elected offices in contested races at the July 20 GOP caucus. We will publish letters of endorsement for the Republican caucus and Democratic endorsement meeting through July 9. Comments are disabled on this post.]