John Ciuffo

John Ciuffo

Republican Party

Personal

Profession

Pharmacist

John Ciuffo was a Republican candidate for an unexpired term as at-large representative on the Stamford Board of Education in Connecticut. He was nominated for the race by Stamford Republican City Committee following Prasad Tungaturthy's withdrawal. The special election was held on November 3, 2015. John Ciuffo lost the general election on November 3, 2015.

Biography

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Ciuffo is a pharmacist and owns Cornerstone Pharmacy. As of the 2015 election, he was unmarried and had no family members employed by the school district.

Elections

2015

See also: Stamford Public Schools elections (2015)

Five seats on the Stamford Public Schools Board of Education were up for election on November 3, 2015. The following three at-large incumbents' seats were up for regular general election in 2015: Lorraine Olson (R), Jerry Pia (R) and Polly Rauh (D). Additionally, two unexpired terms were also up for special election following resignations from the board. Rauh was the only incumbent to seek re-election; her defeat saw all five seats go to newcomers. The election did not change the board's Democratic majority; post-election, the board had six Democrats and three Republicans. This is the highest single-party majority allowed by law.

Republicans Mike Altamura and Andy George won two of the three full-term seats up for election while fellow party member Gerald Bosak won one of the unexpired terms. The Stamford Republican Town Committee initially endorsed Gerald Bosak and Prasad Tungaturthy for the one-year terms and Mike Altamura, Andy George and former board member Nicola Tarzia for the three-year terms. Tungaturthy, however, withdrew from the race on August 31, 2015. John Ciuffo was selected as the new Republican in Tugnaturthy's place. Republicans Altamura, George and Tarzia ran as a slate called 2015BOE Team.

Democrats David Mannis and Jennienne Burke won a three-year and one-year term, respectively. The Stamford Democratic City Committee did not endorse any of its incumbents for re-election. Instead, the party endorsed Angelica Gorrio, David Mannis and Ligia Marroquin for the three-year terms and Jennienne Burke and Monica DiCostanzo for the one-year terms. Democrats Gorrio, Mannis and Marroquin also formed a slate for the election.

Incumbent Rauh still sought to retain her seat on the board despite lacking her party's nomination. The Democratic board member chose to run as an unaffiliated candidate instead of forcing a primary election within her party. Rauh's party registration as a Democrat, however, meant the state law requiring a minimum of one-third of the board's seats to be held by minority parties following each election still applied to her in this election. John Zito also ran as an independent petitioning candidate in the regular-term race. Rauh placed seventh and Zito eighth out of the nine candidates running in the election for three-year terms.

Rolf Maurer was the sole Green Party candidate for the election. He sought a three-year term, but he placed last in the nine-candidate race.

Results

Stamford Public Schools, At-Large (1-year terms), General Election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Gerald Bosak	27.4%	5,735
	Democratic	Jennienne Burke	25.8%	5,384
	Democratic	Monica DiCostanzo	25.2%	5,264
	Republican	John Ciuffo	21.6%	4,517
Total Votes				20,900
Source: Connecticut Secretary of State, "Prescribed Form for Return of Votes Cast At A Municipal Election," accessed November 5, 2015

Endorsements

Ciuffo received no official endorsements in this election.

Campaign themes

2015

Ciuffo provided the following answers to questions from the Stamford Advocate:

Why are running for the Board of Education? What qualifies you for the job?

“	Our school system has faced and will continue to face serious challenges over the next several years. I am a lifelong Stamford resident and business owner with strong roots in our community. I am a strong proponent of education. I am running for the BOE because I want to help. I offer a unique educational background and professional perspective. I am a pharmacist with a law degree. I have extensive experience managing operations that require complying with complex rules and regulations efficiently, effectively and profitably. I think I offer a fresh approach and different view on how to handle compliance with laws and regulations so that we do not waste tax dollars defending lawsuits and paying fines, or so that we don’t lose funding by missing deadlines.	”
—John Ciuffo, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

What are the district’s strengths and weaknesses?

“	Strengths: Teachers and staff Weaknesses: Central Office	”
—John Ciuffo, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

How well has Superintendent Winifred Hamilton performed? Do you agree with her decision to retire?

“	Our schools are doing well but I don’t think that has anything to do with Winnie Hamilton. All Stamford public cchool employees are considered public trust employees. Meaning they are held to a higher standard. A public trust employee needs to avoid even the appearance of any impropriety. My understanding is that she is not well liked and has lost the respect of her staff and teachers and I have spoken with many who say she runs the system through fear and intimidation. She doesn’t appear to be trusted as a leader. I don’t know if it’s true or if it’s not. I think she should have resigned months ago.	”
—John Ciuffo, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

Should the search for a new superintendent be delayed until after the election?

“	Yes. I think the search for a permanent replace should wait until after the election and the board is full. I also feel that we will see more qualified candidates if we hire for the beginning of next school year. I think the current board should focus on finding an interim superintendent.	”
—John Ciuffo, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

How do you think the current board handled the Stamford High School sex scandal? What might you have done differently?

“	I think the current board was eerily quiet.	”
—John Ciuffo, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

The condition of the district’s facilities has been called into question lately. Should the Board of Education bring its facilities management in-house or should it continue to contract with an outside firm? Why?

“	I think the BOE should bring its facilities maintenance in-house. In business, it’s generally more cost effective to contract out maintenance services and the contracts should have a significant retainage clause and cancellation clause for work poorly performed. That being said, our school system is not a business in the true sense. I was astounded to learn that we are paying over $700,000 to an outside management company in addition to the salaries of the maintenance personnel. Maintenance at our schools is more like maintenance in our hospitals. You need consistency and sometimes a little TLC. The work performed should be held to the highest standards. Based upon the news reports I’ve read and my own observations. I don’t think we’re getting a good deal. How many reports of incompetence and inefficiency do we need to read before we realize we have made a mistake? Do we really to waste more money on an audit like the town of Trumbull?	”
—John Ciuffo, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

Define what you think the school board’s role should be in the district. Does the superintendent currently have too much power?

“	The school board’s role is defined by statute, City Charter, and the bylaws of the board itself, and that is basically to act as the agent of the state and as the duly constituted authority of the city of Stamford to operate and maintain the public schools. It’s pretty simple. That being said, I feel the school board’s role is to ensure that are children are getting the best education possible for our tax dollars. No doubt, but at the same time the superintendent of schools needs to be given broad authority in order to effectively do the job. In certain people power corrupts and can lead to arrogance, the current rules and policies have very few checks and balances or areas where the board is empowered to step in and override decisions made by the superintendent. That needs to change	”
—John Ciuffo, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

How specific should the Board of Education’s goals be for the superintendent?

“	The superintendent is the expert and should be able to figure out what needs to be done and how to get that job done unencumbered, but the Board of Education should have the authority to step in with specific directives when and if necessary.	”
—John Ciuffo, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

Would you make expanding preschool programs a priority?

“	At this point in time, I would not make expanding the preschool programs a priority. I think finding a new superintendent is our priority. I think expanding any programs without the leadership in place to institute them would be counterproductive.	”
—John Ciuffo, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

How should the district better support the mental health of its students, given its limited resources?

“	I know that over the past year we have provided (professional development) in the area of mental health to some 100 teachers in the PrePare program, which was designed to establish uniform protocols and procedures to manage crisis situations. We have provided mental health first aid training to students, social workers and security guards. There is a mental health crisis in our colleges and universities. Some schools are helping manage it through student-run organizations in order to dispel myths and eliminate the stigma.	”
—John Ciuffo, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'John Ciuffo' 'Stamford Public Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

John Ciuffo - Google News

See also

• Stamford Public Schools, Connecticut
• Stamford Public Schools elections (2015)
• Incumbency no guarantee of success in Nov. 3 school board elections (November 6, 2015)
• What happened in Nov.'s top board elections? (November 4, 2015)

External links

Suggest a link

• Stamford Public Schools