Meet the Candidates: George Kain for Ridgefield Police Commission

Editor's note: HamletHub believes in democracy and we recently invited all Town of Ridgefield candidates to answer five questions, giving residents an opportunity to learn more about their candidacy, Town involvement, and reasons for seeking office. If you will be on the ballot on November 5, we'd love to hear from you! Please see the information on the bottom of this post regarding this Q&A opportunity. 

Meet George Kain, candidate for Ridgefield Police Commission

What office are you running for and why

I am running for reelection to the police commission, a position that I have held for the last 20 years.  I am a lifelong law enforcement administrator and I am a professor and Chairman in the Division of Justice and Law Administration at Western CT State University. I am able to bring the necessary and important blend of both the philosophical/theoretical and the practical application of law enforcement experience to the police commission. I am a former adult probation officer for the State of CT and have worked with the entire law enforcement community, from the police to corrections, for over 35 years. I want to continue to keep our police department and our town as the #1 rated the safest community in CT. I have worked with 3 chiefs during my tenure, and have assisted them to bring about the most comprehensive policy and procedures in the State of CT.  The Ridgefield Police Department was the first police department to receive accreditation in the State of CT.

What do you hope to accomplish should you be elected on November 5th?

We need to continue to work hard to maintain and improve the stellar reputation of our police department.  That means ensuring that our officers are fully trained and ready to respond to any and all possible circumstances. Similarly, our supervisors do a tremendous job of ensuring that our department is on top of every mandate given to them, and they are professional mentors to our newer officers. That means that the police commission needs to maintain the continuity of leadership that we have had over the last 5 years.  We have a new chief who is doing a fantastic job, but we need to ensure that we continue to have citizens on the commission who are able to support him, and who understand not only policies and procedures, but how to provide the necessary amount of oversight and administrative experience.

Tell me about your current involvement in Ridgefield 

I am an active member of St. Mary Parish and have been since 1971.  I am currently studying to be a Deacon in the Church and part of this training involves outreach in various capacities to our community in need (beyond just our own parishioners).  I minister to the elderly by bringing Communion to them on Sundays and work with the Knights of Columbus in feeding the elderly and in assisting those who are facing specific life challenges in their lives. Through my work on the police commission, I have worked on many sub-committees and joint committees in Town to address specific community needs (e.g. Central Dispatch, regional dispatch, and a current building committee to assess the needs of our first responder facilities both now and in the future).

Biggest crisis facing our Town?

I would not say that we are facing any crisis, but there are many issues that we need to continue to address. From a Police Commission perspective, the single largest issue that needs to be dealt with is the deteriorating structure of our police department facility.  I am working with the police department, fire department and the Board of Selectmen to come up with ideas about how to meet the demands of the need to consider constructing a new facility for both our police department and fire department.  We are currently reviewing plans to examine exactly what this project will entail. Traffic control is a big concern of citizens, and the police commission has been working continually in our town (and with the State) to rectify some of these problems. Recently, we have become aware of infrastructure issues that have caused us to take action to keep our citizens safe. Although not popular, the commission is charged as the Legal Traffic Authority for the town to make sure that we are all kept safe. Parking is another concern, and we have been working on solutions to create more spaces for shoppers and visitors.

Name a person (dead or alive) who you look up to

Sr. Helen Prejean is a dear friend of mine and I admire her work in volunteering to counsel those in prison as well as to support those who have been victims of serious crimes.  I admire her ability to understand both sides of the issue and to show compassion for those who are often left to fend for themselves in society.

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