North Haven’s Democratic Town Committee (DTC) nominated Walter Spader last month to run against incumbent Republican First Selectman Michael Freda in the town’s 2011 municipal election. Recently, the Citizen sat down with Spader, a lawyer with North Branford’s Marcus Law Firm and former Connecticut Democratic Party communications director.

Q: In the months leading up to the official announcement, there was much speculation about whom, if anyone, North Haven’s DTC would nominate to challenge Freda. Can you speak about the process?

A: A lot of members of the committee were calling me in the days leading up to the announcement and asking me to do it. It just felt like the right thing to do. We needed a candidate who could just restore creditability to the town’s Democratic Committee. Really, once my wife was onboard with it, so was I.

Q: How far along are you with your political platform?

A: We have a platform committee and my platform will be announced in September. Overall issues will include controlling the budget. Under the present administration, our taxes did go up two years in a row. We’re in challenging economic times. And there are still a lot of people who are upset about the reduction of curbside bulk pickup. We don’t want to lose the services which the town has become known for. I’m not even sure we could get full curbside bulk pickup back. There is a lot of concern about what else we could lose.

The town is running a pretty tight budget right now. The only solution is to attempt to grow the Grand List, especially because everyone, from state to federal, we’re all paying more taxes. We need to try to minimize the impact of taxes on the locals.

Members of my platform committee include Steve Fontana, Bill Leiserson and Patricia Brown.

Q: One hot topic now is education, with potential questions about the Board of Education’s level of public communication and the superintendent’s recent unsuccessful attempt to scale back local special education. What are your takes on both?

A: I think the Board of Education needs to become more responsive to the public. And when the superintendent tried to reassign and change the whole special education system, to do that without discussion with the public is inappropriate. At least it did give us opportunity to discuss special education.

I don’t think those kind of changes should take place without discussion. And the First Selectman needs to be a part of that discussion. It didn’t sound to me like Mike was part of the discussions until late. I think the administration needs to lead and not follow. Of course, no one person has all the answers, the First Selectman, superintendent, senator or state rep. We need to share ideas to create the proper direction for the town.

Q: Undoubtedly, part of local political culture now is Chris Peterson’s conservative blog North Haven Way. How do you feel about Peterson’s website?

A: Over the past couple of years, I’ve had the opportunity to discuss politics with Chris, and have seen him at softball fields, where he coaches a local team and I’m an assistant coach. I also see him around town. He really cares about town.

However, he certainly doesn’t shy away from letting his feelings be known. But there is a respect I have for people that don’t just step back and complain but try to become a vehicle for change. In a way, that’s what I think I did by accepting the nomination — the Democratic Town Committee needed to change.

Q: Will you answer questions on Peterson’s blog?

A: Yes.

Q: How do you respond to two possible criticisms of you which have recently arisen: that the Marcus Law Firm overcharged the town several years ago for legal work and that your boss is former Democrat State Chair Edward Marcus?

A: With the overcharged bill, I never actually touched the file and my name wasn’t even on it. Did it go through my office? Yes. Do I take responsibility? Sure. At the same time, once the mistake was found, the town was fully refunded.

As for working under Ed, I am my own person. Do I work with Ed? Absolutely. Do I talk to him every day? Yeah, but I’m still my own individual person.

Q: Will running against Freda be a challenge?

A: Certainly it’s a challenge. He’s certainly well-funded, and, as he tells us every month, he returns all phone calls to his office, he is at a lot of events and he’s got pure name recognition in town. It’s going to be an uphill battle for me.

The DTC strategy is a long-term strategy. We have to regain the public’s trust. Can we do that in just a few months? I’m not sure, but we’re certainly going to try. We are getting our house in order, and we need to show the public that we are ready to hold the Freda administration’s feet to the fire. But we’re not just going to be the party of ‘no.’