Vote Row A: Joe Bellavance & Sherri Vogt
Joe Bellavance for First Selectman & Sherri Vogt for Board of Selectmen
First Selectman
Joe Bellavance
Joe Bellavance is an active member of Brooklyn’s business community, serving as Chair of the Economic Development Commission, and Vice President of the Brooklyn Business Association. Joe is also a member of the Brooklyn Town Governance Committee, a group selected to study and make recommendations for the future of Brooklyn’s town governance, including whether the town would benefit from a non-partisan town administrator.
Joe’s extensive 36-year career has been in strategic planning initiatives regarding administrative change, including proposals to reorient and grow several colleges. He holds a master’s degree in administration, and has extensive experience in both union and non-union staff management. In 2019, Joe started a successful data enhancement consulting business regarding higher education enrollment, which he continues today.
Board of Selectmen
Sherri Vogt
Sherri Vogt has worked to help others in Brooklyn and Eastern Connecticut throughout her adult life. Sherri received excellent training while working as a constituent services aide in the Connecticut Congressional Offices of Representatives Joe Courtney and Elizabeth Esty, for eight years. She assisted residents and municipalities by connecting them with services and federal resources. She is a former public school and church school teacher, and previous member of the Brooklyn Agriculture Commission.
Sherri is also a third-generation U.S. Army veteran who served during Desert Storm; she continues her service mission working for a statewide healthcare group as their veterans’ liaison, connecting veterans with the benefits they have earned, and life-saving healthcare.
Priorities for Joe, Sherri, and their Team
Proactive
Leadership
We cannot allow Brooklyn to be a “forgotten town.” We are committed to providing the proactive leadership Brooklyn needs. For example, the town must act more quickly to fully reopen storm-damaged Day Street, and end Killingly’s moratorium on Brooklyn’s sewer line usage, which prevents reasonable growth in our commercial area.
We intend to work with our partners at the regional and state level—the NE Council of Governments and the Town of Killingly, state and federal legislators, and the Governor’s Office—to help secure the grants and resources that Brooklyn needs for our town infrastructure, schools, and services. It’s not fair to residents to rely on taxes alone. Working for our community, we can make Brooklyn stronger, more affordable, and ready for the future.
Building Brooklyn’s Future
Joe will build on the relationships he’s made with residents and business owners, and will support those local businesses—they create jobs in Brooklyn and grow our tax base, which helps moderate and hold down residential taxes.
Breathing new life into the empty storefronts on Route Six also promotes responsible growth, so that we can preserve our historic agricultural and residential zones. And it’s worth emphasizing that agriculture and home-occupied businesses are pillars of our local economy and quality of life—they deserve our respect and support.
This approach helps keep taxes stable, protects Brooklyn’s character, and provides opportunities for future generations.
Affordability and Quality of Life
We must be more aggressive in seeking state and federal grants and assistance for projects large and small—and to support our schools. This is key to affordability—finding ways to protect our quality of life while not overburdening taxpayers.
Brooklyn has an excellent school system, open spaces, and a variety of vibrant residential areas. Our town has an important history dating back to the founding of our country, and we will work with residents, our boards, and commissions to seek new funding opportunities and stretch our budget dollars.
We can honor our heritage, and enhance and improve our community.
Outreach to Residents
The best preparation for leading a town is to be involved and active within that community, and work together. That’s why Joe became part of the Brooklyn Business Association, and our town's Economic Development Commission, and has learned from incredibly dedicated men and women who are part of Brooklyn’s future.
Sherri helps veterans in Brooklyn and throughout the area, and has worked in Congressional offices serving our state.
Good decisions start with listening. We will make sure you are informed and heard, and we are ready to hit the ground running.