Ryan W. Knapp

Ryan W. Knapp

Legislative Council District 2

Objectives:

I care deeply about our community. Six years on the Legislative Council has taught me a lot about municipal governance and given me tremendous insights into the challenges that will be facing our town. I am proud of the work and and accomplishments over the past three+ terms, but know Newtown will need strong leadership to weather the repercussions of the state fiscal crisis in Hartford. I have been on the front lines, both here and in Hartford fighting to protect our education resources, while advocating for responsibility and long term thinking here in town. We need leaders who will face our challenges head on rather than avoid or ignore them. Most importantly, we cannot let Newtown repeat the mistakes of the State. Through serving Newtown on the Council, I hope to continue to build on the good work of those who came before me.

Qualifications:

  • Three Term Member, Legislative Council
  • Ordinance Committee Chair - specifically worked on Senior Tax Relief, Farm Property Tax Abatement, Pension and OPEB, Sustainable Energy and Alarm System Ordinances.
  • Advocated for Newtown at the State Level related to the municipal impact of state prevailing wage laws at labor committee hearings and in front of the Education Committee to protect Newtown's Education Cost Sharing revenue
  • Attended multiple Connecticut Conference of Municipalities training sessions
  • Senior Mechanical Engineer, The Macton Corporation in Oxford, CT.
  • BS, Cum Laude, Mechanical Engineering – Syracuse University
  • Sandy Hook homeowner with strong family ties to the community dating back over 100 years
  • Extensive experience reviewing contracts and specifications
  • Project Management experience with multimillion dollar jobs for a variety of state and federal government agencies
  • Trained in and currently utilizing the philosophies of the Toyota Production System, specifically Kaizen which translates to “continuous improvement.” Essentially, a habitual way of looking at things and asking “is there a better way to do this?”

Achievements:

  • Six consecutive budgets passed at the first referendum.
  • Two patents issued, three additional filings, plus continuances relating to manufacturing methods which both reduce in labor costs and prevent mistakes.
  • Division 1 Rowing at SU with the crew ranked in the top 15 during my 4 years culminating in my best finish of 3rd in the straight 4 at the national championships.