Haverhill Police Officer Daniel Trocki formally took out papers for his mayoral run Thursday, picking up nomination paperwork from City Clerk Linda Koutoulas as the third candidate to make his intention known.
Following his trip to City Hall, Trocki stopped by the WHAV studios to outline his platform ahead of the campaign season. Among his top priorities: Public safety, education and funding for school and city building infrastructure.
“I’m running for mayor to improve our education, properly fund education, properly fund and staff our police department and fix our buildings, fix our city. It’s kind of been neglected over the last 15 years.”
Trocki told WHAV he was inspired to pull papers after he saw Fiorentini communicate with city councilors last year via text message about police budget negotiations rather than in person.
If elected, the married father of two children has already thought out how he’ll revise Haverhill’s public safety plan.
“If you look at other cities, they have K-9s, full-time traffic/safety guys, full units, detectives on their night shift—some of that should be looked at,” said Trocki, who also wants the school department to consider implementing a school resource officer at St. James School.
Other public safety improvements he suggested include relocating the High Street fire station closer to Computer Drive, for example.
Trocki also talked to WHAV about taxes. “I like to hold the line, that’s my way of looking at it,” he said.
“I know there’s been a lot of talk at the City Council meetings to tax to the max to pay off the Hale debt. I think we have the free cash to pay it off—I think we could pay it off right now if we wanted to. I think it’s a matter of the City Councilors and the Mayor stepping up and paying that off.”
Trocki’s father was the administrator of the city-owned Glynn Memorial Nursing Home, he said.
Trocki must obtain at least 50 signatures before July 1. Hector Montalvo and Melanie Tamberino took out nomination papers Wednesday. Assuming the trio all receive the necessary signatures and that Mayor James J. Fiorentini also runs, a preliminary election would take place Tuesday, Sept. 10, to narrow the field to two.