"If what we want is a town that looks rural and appears rural, then all of us need to volunteer. We need to help our neighbors, we need to be alert to the needs of others and we need to support each other. I think town hall should lead in that by setting good example," said Mr. Sullivan.
"I think that this is a great time right now for us to get back to traditional Yankee virtues. We have to get lean so that we can maybe reduce the tax burden on people," said Mr. Sullivan, who moved to Harwinton 11 years ago.
He came to Litchfield County 15 years ago and initially lived in the Milton section of Litchfield. The CEO and owner of businesses for 32 years, Mr. Sullivan has been the owner of Dream House Home and Garden in the Bantam borough of Litchfield for 15 years.
The experiences he brings to his campaign are broad and varied. Mr. Sullivan has been involved in a community theater production at the historic Warner Theatre in Torrington, he taught filmmaking at Washington Montessori School for two years, and was co-chairman of the Greater Litchfield Antiques and Flower Show in 1998. He was also involved in the Paul Newman Hole in the Wall Gang Camp design showcase in Woodbury as a designer in 1997.
Other outreach efforts include working with the Litchfield Jazz Festival, the Connecticut Junior Republic and the Litchfield Performing Arts house tour. He has also taken part in a YWCA project: Safe Homes for Abused Women.
Mr. Sullivan has been a church lector for 36 years, a Eucharistic minister for five years and a choir member for 10 years, as well as helping charitable organizations.
That activism has been built on a platform of education that was also multifaceted.
Mr. Sullivan attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., as an engineering major when he was in his late teens. "While I was at the academy, I decided that a career there was not my calling," said Mr. Sullivan.
Mr. Sullivan graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C., in 1989. Then he earned a master's degree from the University of Miami's graduate school of architecture.
His decision to run for the top post in Harwinton came when he saw how the national elections played out last year.
"The first time in my life, I didn't see the kind of leadership that I wanted, that resonated with me," said Mr. Sullivan. "I am a registered Republican, so obviously I was looking to John McCain. I didn't see him run the same campaign [as] eight years prior when he was kneecapped in South Carolina."
But the seeds had been planted earlier.
Mr. Sullivan said seven years ago, after 9/11, he and his wife of 23 years, Teresa, started a handbag business called Talulah. The handbags are sold throughout the country.
"My wife and partner decided that we could design and manufacture handbags, so we started that out here, thinking it was something we could maintain either from her studio in Torrington or her store in Bantam," said Mr. Sullivan. "As that business took off, it necessitated that we go into the city; we actually created our own factory in Manhattan."
Mr. Sullivan and his wife decided over a period of time that they would move out of midtown Manhattan. Based on advances in technology, Mrs. Sullivan could design and administer a line out from Litchfield County.
"We realized I was going to have the ability to become politically active," said Mr. Sullivan.
In January, Mr. Sullivan became an alternate on the Planning Commission in Harwinton. At that time, he met Mike Criss who was born and raised in Harwinton, and in July Mr. Sullivan's name was put up at the Republican caucus with Mr. Criss as his running mate.
Mr. Criss and his father ran Harwinton Plumbing for many years, and folded it into a company called SolvIt, an electric, plumbing and HVAC company that is growing throughout the tri-state area.
Among the team's concerns are property taxes and what Mr. Sullivan sees as assessed values that are not consistent or an accurate reflection of reality.
"I would really like to investigate what could be done to either keep a cap on that or actually reduce it," said Mr. Sullivan. "As a business person, I am still thinking there is another foot to drop in this economy."
Switching gears, Mr. Sullivan discussed the town's interest in a land acquisition on South Road. Owned by the Carros family, the property is 65 acres that abuts the town's conservation land and the Roraback State Forest.
"I think this is a very desirable piece of property for the town to acquire. However, there is a process by which it is being undertaking that I am questioning," said Mr. Sullivan.
Mr. Sullivan questioned the use of a third party working with the town and the seller, The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national nonprofit land conservation organization. The TPL, he claimed, would be compensated for its services by the sellers, reflecting a conflict of interest when it came to the appraisals of the property.
"Is this the kind of leadership that the citizens of Harwinton deserve?" Mr. Sullivan asked. "I think the town which prides itself on being transparent needs to come out and say all this."
For more information on Mr. Sullivan's campaign, visit sullivancriss09.com.