Kris Brown, a Republican candidate for council in Caldwell, is looking to add some techno-savvy and DPW skills to the borough.
Brown works at West Point Military Academy, where he works as an “Operations Manager for the Directorate of Public Works at the United States Military Academy at West Point”.
And, just like Caldwell, at West Point Brown has very similar responsibilities and experience, since the academy is truly a large city unto itself.
“I deal with the technical work and am also am the operations manager of Public Works at West Point, where I have been for ten years,” said Brown. “West Point is really just like a municipality, where we have to deal with the power issues, storms, clean-ups, the budget and all kinds of issues.”
Brown said they also work closely with the fire and police departments.
“One thing I would be interested in doing if elected is upgrading our infrastructure, and working on solar energy,” Brown noted.
He is a member of the Caldwell Environmental Commission, and said he is particularly interested in looking into alternate forms of energy, for both savings and helping the borough reduce its carbon footprint.
Brown said he is very open to shared services as well, especially since he currently is a coach for a very popular soccer organization, working with students from both Caldwells.
“Shared services would be great but the analytics need to be studied,” he noted. “We need to see what services would work well, and if the cost is comparable or not by sharing. It’s important to analyze the data and make a valid assessment.”
Brown supports both the operational aspects and the web security of the US Military Academy. With cyber fraud a major global threat, and issues of local residents dealing with security breaches in their own local lives via major store and bank cyber fraud, this is a handy tool to be familiar with for any town's council.
His coaching and role as the president of The Soccer Club also lead him to want to serve in office.
“Both of our children go to public school here,” he said. “My wife Karen and I love Caldwell. I actually started as a West Caldwell native, the moved to Caldwell, moved away and eventually moved back with my wife. I feel that this town has a great identity.
I have such great childhood memories of Caldwell, and it’s just a great safe town. There is a sense of community here, which we really appreciate.”
Brown also believes his life lessons, as an IT specialist, DPW leader and Soccer coach, has taught him some valuable tips on how to be an effective councilman.
“It is important to listen to people,” he said. “I am very approachable. It is important to me to hear and understand all sides of an issue, and hep make good decisions.”
With good sportsmanship and a digital head on his shoulders, along with his deep DPW roots, this member of the Caldwell Environmental Commission is ready to serve.
“From saving energy to keeping Caldwell a safe, wonderful town to raise you family, I want to help my hometown in a transparent, approachable way," he said.
