BERLIN — Barring a write-in campaign, the vacated at-large Berlin Town Council seat will go to Thom Gulyas, the only candidate to file before this week’s deadline.
Write-in candidates will still be eligible until Sept. 30, though, and Gulyas said he will be taking the campaign seriously even though unopposed.
“One thing I can’t stand is apathy and I believe that I owe it to this town and to these folks,” he said. “I’ve been involved in a number of campaigns over the last 30 years of being in business. So I don’t believe anyone should be taking it for granted.”
President and founder of ACE Printing and Mailing, Gulyas has been a business owner in town since 1985 and believes that will give him a unique perspective if elected to the council in October. He hopes to parlay that knowledge into assisting Berlin with the development of a more entrepreneur accommodating atmosphere.
“I bring a lot of knowledge as far as business background. I would like to see [Berlin] become as business friendly as possible to entice more types of commercial expansion here in the town, within reason of course,” said Gulyas, whose mother Louise has been a Worcester County Commissioner since 1998.
The encouragement of new small business startups is particularly high on Gulyas’ wish list with his intent to see Berlin become an “incubator” for economic growth. While he thinks that he’s got some new ideas and philosophies to bring to the table, Gulyas was quick to credit the current council for work done over recent years to turn the town into a good place to do business.
“I don’t think I’ve got any major changes that I want to see at the moment,” he said. “Obviously, there’s a lot that’s going on, there are a lot of bigger issues that are coming before the council in the coming weeks and months.”
Stormwater management and a major development, such as the mixed residential and commercial proposed for Seahawk Road, are both on Gulyas’ radar.
The at-large council seat isn’t the first time Gulyas has attempted to move into public office. He campaigned unsuccessfully for the District 2 council seat against Lisa Hall in 2008 as well as for the District 4 Worcester County Board of Education seat earlier this year. The losses didn’t turn Gulyas off to politics and he said this week that his decision to run this fall comes from a continued desire to play a policy making role in his community.
“I consider it an honor and I consider it a duty to be able to serve the town of Berlin,” he said. “I live here, my family is here, my home is here, and my business is here. I’ve got a big stake in this town.”
When asked why he believes no other residents threw their hat in the ring for the council seat, Gulyas was able to tick off more than a few reasons including people being generally disenfranchised with government, time constraints and not wanting to have a target painted on their back.
He acknowledged that political apathy from the town could have played a part in him being the only candidate but suggested that another reason might be that residents saw that he had filed and trust his judgment.
“I think that speaks a lot in two ways: it could be apathy,” Gulyas said, “or it could be, ‘if he’s going to do it, let him do it.’ It could be a little of both, who knows?”
Gulyas, who plans on campaigning as if opposed, reflected this week on Councilwoman Paula Lynch, whose seat he hopes to fill. Lynch has served for 26 years and announced this summer she will not be running for re-election in the fall.
“I have known Ms. Paula for a very long time and … she has extremely large shoes to fill. I only hope I can be half as good as she has been,” Gulyas said.
Incumbents Dean Burrell and Troy Purnell were not challenged in their re-election bids. The election is scheduled for Oct. 7.