Mar 19, 2008
LEGISLATURE:
State Rep. John Frey will seek sixth term
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After a decade of representing Ridgefielders in Hartford, State Rep. John Frey has decided to seek a sixth two-year term in the state legislature.
“I’ve been really thinking about it a lot since the end of the year,” Mr. Frey said.
“I’ve kind of always taken this in two-year increments. I probably never would have agreed in the beginning to serve 10 years — it’s hard to believe it’s that long,” he said.
“But, every time, it’s been a serious decision.”
Serving in the state House of Representatives is considered a part-time job — Mr. Frey also has a real estate business — but it can be demanding, especially when the legislature is in session.
“I make between 120 and 150 trips to Hartford a year. I’ll be up there four days this week,” he said.
The legislature alternates limited short-session years, when the assembly meets from February to May, with long full-session years when the lawmakers are in session from January to June.
Even when the legislature isn’t in session, there are phone calls and e-mails on state matters every day.
Town’s betterment
Mr. Frey, who was active in Republican politics and campaigns for years before he sought office himself, points with some pride to his work in the last decade.
“When I very first ran I said I wanted to use my personal relationships for the betterment of Ridgefield, relationships in state government,” he said.
“And I think that’s exactly what I’ve done — and what I want to continue to do, whether it be in securing bonding dollars for Ridgefield, or constituent service, or working on legislation.”
He’s done some things he feels he can point to as accomplishments.
“The state partnering with the town on the acquisition of Bennett’s Pond property as a state park. That was the first time the state participated in a property taking by eminent domain for park purposes,” he said.
The town used eminent domain powers to acquire the 455 acres from developer Eureka V LLC for open space, eventually paying $11.5 million. But the town acted knowing it would get a good portion of what it spent back through a prearranged $4 million resale to the state.
Highway, housing
“Getting the widening of Route 7 from concept to reality — even though it’s an on-going process, it’s not quite done yet,” Mr. Frey said.
With the $28 million first phase of the highway project nearing completion the state needs to go out to bid on the second phase, which is expected to cost slightly more. The second phase will complete the four-lane from Ridgefield all the way to the up-ramp Route 84 in Danbury.
“I’m hoping that goes out to bid in the next couple of months,” Mr. Frey said.
Three years ago Danbury Hospital sought the approval of state regulators to become a full cardiac care hospital, and Mr. Frey nursed that along.
“I think that was important for the region,” he said.
More recently, Mr. Frey said, he’d helped line up some $13 million in various grants and loans to add 12 new apartments at Ballard Green and renovate 120 older subsidized housing units there and at Prospect Ridge.
Constituent service
Mr. Frey says he also enjoys constituent service work — assisting people in personal interactions with the state.
“Just situations where people need help,” he said.
An example was a person who had problems get the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew their drivers license after a house fire destroyed all their belongings.
“Motor Vehicles was looking for proof of who they were, that they no longer had,” he said. “And I was able to make that happen quickly.”
Sometimes ideas benefit many more people than just those suggesting them.
A couple of years ago someone at an OWLS meeting talked about the need for a crosswalk in the driveway entrance to the CVS parking lot, just south of Ballard Park.
“There was one across Prospect and across Main Street, but there wasn’t one across that driveway,” he said. “That made sense, so now we have one.”
Challenger?
Mr. Frey appears to be unchallenged for the Republican nomination for the 111th District seat in the state House of Representatives.
And the Democrats haven’t talked much about having a candidate to oppose him — though caucuses aren’t until May, so there’s some time.
Mr. Frey has run unopposed in most of his five previous elections.
Whether he has opposition or not, he says he’s read to run again.
He said he considers it a “real honor that the people of Ridgefield have allowed me to serve the last 10 years, and there’s still a few things that I’d like to do.”
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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