Today we sat down for a quick interview with Nicole Sullivan, candidate for Board of Selectmen.

Q: Of all the towns in Connecticut, why did you choose Bolton?

My family had been living in a neighboring town, in a great little neighborhood, in a great little house. But our oldest daughter was getting close to starting school, and we weren’t in love with the school system. So, I did what I do: I jumped in and did copious amounts of research!

Bolton has great schools, and it’s a great location for our commute to work. So it made our short list. When we found the neighborhood where we live now, it was a done deal! Every day I’m thankful we found Bolton. Moving here was the best decision we ever made. We love this town!

What does Bolton do right?

Bolton’s schools have a long-standing reputation for excellence. I could cite many, many statistics to back that up, but the most important thing for us is that they’ve been backed up by the very positive experience we’ve had with everyone we’ve worked with in the school system.

I love the sense of community in Bolton. There are so many great activities that make this town wonderful to live in. From the summer concerts on the green, to the Memorial Day parade and Family Day, to the recent fire department tanker dedication, to every ice cream social and town dinner. There are countless ways to join in the community here.

What could Bolton do better?

Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what is going on around town. Even the town activities I just mentioned aren’t widely advertised. If you know where to look for information, you can most of the time find it. But, even then it can be challenging to know what’s going on! The town website is often out of date, and the website design is not the easiest to navigate.

Getting information about what’s going on shouldn’t be that hard. Not for community events, and certainly not for more serious town issues!

What in your background will help you make improvements when you’re on the BOS?

In my day job at Pratt & Whitney, one of my main functions is to work as a DIVE team leader, which essentially means I lead teams working to solve big problems.

I’ve been acting in this capacity for about ten years, and on every team I’ve been on, communication has always been an item that needs improvement. So, I have lots of experience trying to figure out who needs what information and how to get it to them. I’m confident I can translate that professional experience into improved communications at the town level.

BOS candidate Nicole Sullivan with BOF candidates Eric Bevans and Robert DePietro.