How Leadership Decisions are Shaping Woodbridge's Future Costs
October 20, 2025 | A letter to the editor of the Woodbridge Town Chronicle
To the Editor,
I feel compelled to respond to the latest Woodbridge Democratic Town Committee (WDTC) election flyer disputing claims made by Common Ground. The flyer insists that First Selectman Mica Cardozo had no role in the disaster at 804 Fountain Street — a 96-unit apartment complex larger than a football field.
While it’s true that the First Selectman has no vote on the Town Plan and Zoning Commission (TPZ), he serves as an ex officio member and attended the December 2 meeting when the zoning change was approved. As the town’s chief elected official, he should have been fully engaged with the TPZ about the project’s impact. His failure to do so was a failure of leadership.
Instead, the flyer shifts blame to the TPZ — an appointed board made up largely of WDTC members, including its former chair. The idea that this was solely the TPZ’s doing is absurd. Notably, that chair — himself a member of the WDTC — abruptly resigned without explanation on September 22, leaving the board in turmoil. Is he being made the scapegoat for this mess?
The flyer also omits mention of this year’s 5% tax increase, the largest in years. Combined with revaluation, some taxpayers saw their bills soar by as much as 70%. Yet town leadership did nothing — such as phasing increases — to ease the burden. As one speaker noted in Public Comments at a recent Selectmen’s meeting, this too reflects a failure of leadership.
Finally, they tout a “brilliant” Country Club plan that most residents oppose, citing an unproven $2 million revenue stream, and praise a costly Beecher Road School project — just ten years after voters approved a $13 million bond to keep Beecher “set until 2035.”
If the First Selectman’s long-term capital plan proceeds, the tax hikes we endured this year will seem mild by comparison.
— Matthew T. Giglietti; Woodbridge Board of Finance from July 1986 to December 2023 where he served as Chairman for 35 years (1988–2023).