Biography & Values

I could write here about my experience and qualifications to be the next Mayor of Norwalk. Click here to view my professional experience. But to “know me” is to know the values I hold and the people I want to fight for.

My mom and dad were 19 and 21 when I was born. For their generation, it was common to have kids and be married at a young age. College was a luxury. It was assumed that if you found a good job, you could be there forever. We grew to be a family of five who lived modestly. Nothing ever came easily. We always worked because if we didn’t we would have very little. I’ve been working since high school. Both my sisters still work two jobs.

My mom and dad are now in their early 50’s, still married, still working – with no end in sight. At any given time people like my parents are a step away from losing everything.

I have two living grandparents. One grandfather, just passed away at the age of 92. He always had a pretty positive and determined perspective. He got that from World War II, he says. He was an inspiration.
My other grandparents are still married. My grandfather has been in a nursing home for a few years now and my grandmother recently moved into senior housing – alone. Gram, a waitress most of her life, has what she has and that’s about it. I can’t think of any group over the past 10 years that has had to do more with less than people like my grandparents.

When making a life-changing decision such as running for Mayor and everything that comes with it, you reflect on the experiences that have gotten you this far.

My career trajectory started when I graduated from a middle school talented and gifted program in one of the toughest school systems in Connecticut. I then went to Notre Dame Catholic High School in Fairfield. I was captain of the baseball team my senior year while sweeping classroom floors after school to supplement tuition. I met my wife, Kelsie, at Notre Dame.

During high school, we were pressed to go to college, maybe get a Masters. I got my Bachelor’s from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield. That’s also when I got involved in politics.

I’ve worked in a Mayor’s Office, a Probate Court, and a suburban Town Hall. I’ve fought Republicans in general elections and I have fought Democrats in primaries. I played key roles on two Congressional campaigns in our home district, both monumental in their own right. I’ve worked with people who work for the President and I’ve worked for myself and started my own business. I attended graduate school on nights and weekends, earning my Masters Degree in Public Administration, with a concentration in City Management. I did the same for broadcasting school.

My wife, Kelsie Fedor, is a lifelong Norwalker. Her family’s auto body business has been part of the South Norwalk community for over 50 years. We have known each other since 1996 and married in 2008. Kelsie is an elementary school teacher here in town. She sees firsthand the needs of Norwalk’s youth. We live in the Cranbury section of Norwalk. She supports me in this journey. I am very grateful for that.

I want to be Mayor so I can make a difference for Norwalkers. I want to fight for the kids who have to fight for everything. I want to fight on behalf of people who are vulnerable, people like my parents and grandparents. I want to fight for the people of my generation who did everything right — and have the loans to prove it – and yet are still waiting for an opportunity to establish themselves. I want to fight for the businesses that want to be in our city for the next 50 years. Most important, I want to do this together.