Kevin Scarpati injected himself into politics at a very young age.
At age 19 he won a seat on the Meriden Board of Education. By age 22 he had won a seat on the Meriden City Council as a Republican. Now, at age 26, he has the city's top job.
"I'm really excited about what's ahead" Scarpati said, two days after he narrowly defeated first term Republican Manny Santos.
The mayor serves only two year terms in Meriden.
Scarpati said he initially supported Santos two years ago but said his approach to government didn't jive with his.
"He said 'no' to a lot of ideas" Scarpati said.
Those disagreements are things he says he wants to avoid when he takes over next month.
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“I think one of the issues we’ve had over the last few years is a lack of communication. Anytime you’re in city government, in a leadership role, communication is key" Scarpati said. "So it’s important to stay positive, pick your battles, understand that you’re not going to win everything and compromise.”
Santos contends he never got a fair shot to enact his priorities for the city simply because he had an "R" next to his name.
“Two years is a short time to get anything done, especially with a majority on the city council that oppose you at every turn" Santos said Thursday.
Santos says he wants Meriden to succeed, grow its grand list, and have strong employers that employ city residents. He says he hopes Scarpati gets more support than he ever did.
“I’m just hopeful that this city council, the new one that will get sworn in next month will treat this mayor with more respect than they did myself.”
Scarpati is a physical education teacher at the Meriden YMCA and he also runs after school programs at a pair of Meriden Middle Schools. He says he'll hold onto his job as a gym teacher, and said he wants to figure out a way to stay so involved with city youth.
"I'm from here and went to school here" Scarpati said. "I think it's important."
