Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Hometown paper endorses Ben Blake


The local paper for Milford has endorsed city alderman Ben Blake for mayor. This is a significant indication about the level of support Blake has here in Milford. The four-term alderman and former chair has filled in as acting mayor when needed.

Here is the endorsement from the Milford Mirror:
Written by Editorial Staff
Wednesday, 02 November 2011 13:43

Milford’s mayoral candidates are to be commended for their courage and tenacity in running for a very demanding job with the goal of bettering the city they love and taking the time to push ideas they believe are in Milford’s best interest.

The candidates have willingly endured public scrutiny in order for voters to find out who they are and what they profess to do to improve the quality of life for Milford residents now and in the future.

That said, we do believe one candidate stands out as the most deserving of the mayoral vote this year.

Democrat Ben Blake has spent eight years as a member of the Board of Aldermen readying himself for the job, learning which ideas work and which ones do not work.

Although young — Blake is 33 — he brings more political leadership experience to the table than the others.

Residents have seen Blake air his opinions and take a leadership role as an alderman. He has often fought to rein in spending: While at times, some of his proposed cutting measures have seemed extreme, we believe his years as an alderman have taught him where and when it is proper to trim spending. We believe he has grown as a leader.

Furthermore, if there were ever a time to watch the city’s pocketbook, that time is now. And Blake has a record for doing so.

He filled in as acting mayor several years ago and held the temporary post adeptly and with honor.

During a meeting earlier this year when city officials debated waiving certain Planning and Zoning regulations for people severely affected by Tropical Storm Irene, Blake stood out because he spoke with the head of the city’s land use department about the impact of those changes.

A city leader cannot always be an authority on every issue: A key sign of leadership ability is knowing who to talk with and how to gather needed information before making a decision.

It is refreshing to see a leader seek out the parties who actually do the work for feedback on what needs doing.

This is the kind of growth we’ve seen in Blake over the years.

He loves the community, and certainly will do the best he can for Milford, relying on his education, intelligence, experience and the lessons he’s learned while making decisions as an alderman — decisions similar to those a mayor will be asked to make on a daily basis.

We give our endorsement to Blake.

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