To the editor,
Each morning I leave for work around 6am. As I pass by Town Hall I see that the light in Mayor Bob’s office is on. I smile and know that he has been up since around 4 a.m. checking on his town and getting to work before the sun even comes up. For someone like me who grew up in a larger city in Florida, it is comforting to know that Mayor Bob works each day to continue to make Prospect the “best little small town in Connecticut.”
You may wonder what brought me here from Florida. When I met my husband in 2008 he had relocated from Prospect and was searching for a job as a firefighter in Florida. The first time I recall hearing about Mayor Bob was when my husband needed a letter of recommendation for a fire department job and he immediately thought to call the Mayor. I remember thinking how great of a town and a Mayor to be willing to take his phone call and write him a letter, no questions asked. He didn’t have to leave a message and wait for a phone call back. He didn’t have to fill out a request online. He called Town Hall, and Mayor Bob was more than happy to speak to him.
Fast forward five years and my husband and I decided we wanted to settle down and eventually raise our family in that small town he grew up in, with family nearby. When we arrived I began working at Algonquin School and I remember seeing Mayor Bob walk into the school on my first day there. I came home and told my husband how great it was to see all the kids exclaim, “Hi Mayor Bob.” My husband was not at all surprised and he said, “Yea, he used to do that when I went to Algonquin, over 30 years ago.”
I can still remember the first time my husband brought me to visit Prospect. I was sold on the small town and its ideals. I wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city in Florida and come to a place where people know each other; where stopping by town hall is a chance to say hi to friends while taking care of business; where crime is low and family values are high. Prospect has all of that and more and there is no doubt in my mind that this is attributed to the leadership of Mayor Robert J. Chatfield, or “Mayor Bob” as we all affectionately know him. Mayor Bob is the epitome of Prospect. He is devoted to his town in all ways and his reputation speaks for itself. Of the mayors currently serving in towns across the United States, there are only nine who have been in office longer than Mayor Bob. That is certainly something to be proud of.
Join me, and the rest of Team Chatfield in voting Row B on Nov. 3 so that we can keep Prospect the “best little small town in Connecticut.”
Ashlee Goletz
Prospect
