Republican Hits Streets Hard in Pursuit of Mayor's Seat

See related story on Spalthoff's opponent, Mayor Ben Blake: Ahead of Mayoral Debate, Blake Focused on City Issues
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Peter Spalthoff wants to be the next face of Milford. So the Republican mayoral candidate is showing his door to door.

“I’ve hit over 1,300 homes from Woodmont to Devon, walking four hours a day,” he said.

This is Spalthoff’s second bid at mayor. In 2009, he ran on the Independent Party ticket – forgoing a Republican primary against then-incumbent James Richetelli Jr. – and received 11 percent of the vote.

Spalthoff, a retired mortgage broker, says this year’s run is fueled by a need to improve transparency in local government.

From the start of his campaign, Spalthoff has argued that a $5 million transfer from the city’s reserve account to the bottom line of the budget was done under the guise of good government.

Upon receiving the Republican Party’s endorsement in July, Spalthoff said he’d never attempt “to sell lower taxes to voters when it was done with the help of transferring money from a rainy day fund.”

“And it’s not just him,” Spalthoff said referring to Mayor Ben Blake, his Democratic opponent in the November municipal election. “Throughout the years most of the mayors have done it (but that) doesn’t make it right.”

Spalthoff said the $5 million transfer represented a third of the entire reserve account. He contended that the money might have been better allocated to help residents still recovering from Hurricane Sandy or to support the burgeoning Boys & Girls Club of Milford, which, according to Spalthoff, received $25,000 short of the $100,000 it requested from the city.

“If I’m going to move money from the reserve account, it’d be for our youth,” said Spalthoff, who as a child spent 15 years in and out of foster homes.

Spalthoff and Blake face off Tuesday night for the first mayoral debate of the season.

“I’m going into the debate with an open mind about things that are not happening in the city, things we could do better,” Spalthoff said.

The debate will be held at the First United Church of Christ, 34 West Main St., Milford. Discussion starts at 8 p.m. and the event is free and open to the public.