Mayor James Miron (left) and State Rep. John Harkins, among others, want Stratford's top job

Four years ago, Stratford took a leap of faith by changing its long-standing form of government from one headed by a town manager to one run by a mayor. Stratford has always provided a colorful picture of municipal politics, one notorious for back-biting and dragged-out bickering, and the fights that have taken place in the chambers of the Town Council in the past four years are becoming legendary.

With the Nov. 3 election, this relatively new political experiment enters a second term. Amidst it all, the town is still searching for progress on the long-dark Shakespeare Festival Theater and the abandoned monster lot that once housed the Stratford Army Engine Plant, and faces a potentially catastrophic environmental situation with the asbestos cocktail left behind by the Raymark Corporation.

Why anyone would want to be mayor is beyond me, but four brave souls, including incumbent Democrat James Miron, are vying for the position.

Miron is the first elected mayor in Stratford's history, and he has not had an easy go of it. His brother applied to the police force and records leaked about his application led to the dismissal of several officers. The mayor has also been criticized for hiring an officer with a documented history of seizures, who was later involved in an accident while driving his police cruiser. Stratford even drew national attention with a New York Times article in which the mayor admitted to carrying a gun to work.

Miron is confident in his achievements over the past four years. He is campaigning on the stabilization of taxes, a transfer of Long Beach West into federal hands, a potential deal to fill the Army Engine Plant, the addition of Smart cars to the town's fleet and his refusal to sign what he deemed a sketchy contract for the Shakespeare Festival Theater that was approved by the Town Council.

Republican candidate and seven-term state representative John Harkins has penned and passed legislation forbidding the consolidation of toxic waste in residential neighborhoods and the transfer of the Shakespeare Festival Theater back to the town. Harkins has been criticized by Miron as being out of touch on environmental policy — to which Harkins points to the mayor's record on Raymark waste. "The mayor has ignored his community's biggest issue. I fail to see how the purchase of Smart cars and solar panels compensate for a comprehensive clean-up of asbestos laden waste. But I'm the one who is 'out of touch?'"

Independent candidate Domenic Costello has been a successful business owner for two decades and says he's knocked on "over 27,000" doors for his bid. Costello is convinced hiring an economic development corporation is the best way to ensure proper re-development of the under-served areas along Barnum Avenue and the South End.

George Mulligan, also an independent, is an anomaly. He believes his self-funded campaign ensures he is "beholden to no one," particularly "developers, lawyers" and "drug dealers." Mulligan spent one Town Council meeting with a flat tire around his neck after accusing the council of slashing his tires.

Whoever becomes Stratford's next mayor faces many hurdles. The embattled Shakespeare Festival Theater will continue to be a challenge with its unsigned, council-approved contract. The EPA will be returning to Stratford in early 2010 looking to implement a Raymark clean up plan that doesn't have much support in town. Brownfield redevelopment, education, taxes, economic development and public safety will continue to demand significant attention. Residents are anxiously awaiting Nov. 3 so they, as a town, can move forward with their chosen mayor at the helm.