Candidate for Planning and Zoning Commission | 2023
My name is Mike Sarlin, and I’m running for a position on the Planning and Zoning Commission on the Democratic line.
My wife Susan and I have lived in Killingworth for 16 years, on Cow Pen Hill Road, across the river from Deer Lake. We have grown very attached to the environment this town offers, from the peaceful woodlands and lakes to the great friends and neighbors we have come to know and love. Together we have owned several houses over the years. I have always managed the buildings and properties involved, so I have an appreciation for what goes into building construction and operation and land use.
I bring business and life experience to the job in Planning and Zoning. I hope to contribute to preserving the character of the town, while remaining open to the new challenges of an ever-changing world. My business career included all aspects of information technology, from programming to operations management, to senior executive positions in large financial services companies. I have also been a technology and management consultant to companies as varied and UNFI (Natural Foods distribution) and ESPN. I have managed an IT organization that had units in 60 countries, so I have seen most of the world first-hand.
However, the most rewarding experience I have had is as Treasurer for the Pathfinders organization that purchased the Deer Lake preserve in September of last year. As most local folks know it was very challenging to raise enough money to buy the land from the Connecticut Yankee Council of the Boy Scouts, but we did it. Managing the finances and participating in the planning and operation of Deer Lake has given me a new appreciation of what can be done when people are motivated by a common goal and learn to work together to achieve it.
I expect to bring my experiences to the table to help manage the town’s precious resources and preserve them environmentally and culturally.
Killingworth Democratic Town Committee 