Election 2025: Town Council Candidate Arvind Bajaj [Q&A]

Town resident Arvind Bajaj, a Republican, is seeking election to the Town Council, New Canaan’s legislative body. The GOP holds an 8-4 majority on the 12-member elected body. Six seats are up for election: four currently held by Republicans, two by Democrats. There are five Republicans and four Democrats running for Town Council.

Here’s our exchange with Bajaj.

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Arvind Bajaj

New Canaanite: Please give us some background on you, including your history in New Canaan and your involvement with community organizations and/or local government. 

Arvind Bajaj: After living in London from 2000 to 2007, I moved to New Canaan. Sheila and I have been married for 25 years, and we have two adult children: Sophie (23) and John (19). Sophie is NCHS (’21) and Bucknell (’25). John is a Vassar College freshman where he is a pitcher on their D3 Baseball team. I currently serve as secretary of the New Canaan Ethics Board. I was previously elected to serve as constable for three successful terms. I have been an active coach for both kids: baseball, basketball, and soccer. We are parishioners at St. Aloysius, and I have been in the Knights of Columbus for 15 years.

The Town Council is soon to kickstart the Charter revision process. What changes, if any, would you like to see to New Canaan’s main governing document?

The Charter is effectively the “Constitution” of our wonderful town. It is tough for me to say – prima facie – what we should or should not do. I can say that it is a healthy exercise to consider how the Town Charter can be improved. As a TC “newcomer,” my role is to inject new ideas and energy into the process. I need to do that for TC in general! How does the New Canaan model compare to other successful towns? What can we do better? We should not be afraid to think out of the box.

Where do you stand on the proposed seasonal ban on leaf blowers?

In general, I think we should solve issues as neighbors whenever possible. My preference would be to not get town government (or local police) involved in leaf blower enforcement. Having said that, this is an important issue for folks. We should listen to people and get a fair resolution.

What is one change or new initiative that you would like to see through as a Town Council member, if there is one?

This is not a change per se – but I am super passionate about our culture of law and order. When Sheila and I moved from London back to the US in 2007, safety was a major factor. That is one reason we picked New Canaan. I am a huge believer in our police force. They are very effective, and – at times – perhaps under-appreciated. If elected to TC, I would do whatever I can to ensure their continued success.

To what extent, if at all, will your party’s national agenda affect your decision-making at the local level?

I registered as a Republican at the age of 18, and I believe in GOP values: lower taxes, states’ rights, less government and more individual freedom. The issues that matter to this town: low taxes, maintaining our world class school system, “smart” zoning, good commuter infrastructure and sense of community are bipartisan! I am very proud to be a Republican. We – as the GOP party – need to get better at “growing” our tent. A major Bajaj goal is to reach out to both “undecideds” and Democrats.

It’s been just over one year since The Playhouse reopened following an extensive renovation that went over budget. How do you rate the success of New Canaan’s partnership with CinemaLab, the movie theater’s operator? 

The Playhouse is a public/private partnership structure. The Town covered most of the Playhouse renovation, but Playhouse covers all of its operating expenses and is supposed to pay the town rent. Obviously – it has some operational difficulties. If Playhouse succeeds as a private company, it will keep the cost burden off taxpayers as it will cover operational costs (and associated inflation). As a “consumer,” the Playhouse serves a very important role for our town. It is literally in the middle of town! We – collectively – want The Playhouse to succeed. If elected to TC, I would want to learn from what went wrong (and right!) with this process. 

Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know. 

I moved from Punjab India to Wichita, Kansas at four years old! My dad taught math at Wichita State University for 35 years. I have four very high achieving siblings – my 2 older brothers are cardiologists, and my “little” brother is a UCLA MBA. My younger sister went to Harvard Business School. More importantly, they are all good people with good values. We were Indian family #4 in Wichita – now there are over 1,000 Indian families.