By Rachel Sawicki

Vincent Francabandera, 32

Work and/or education: Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from George Mason University; investigator at the Court of Common Pleas.

Family: Married, two children.

Middletown residency: Two years, lives in the Estates at St. Annes.

Q: Why are you running for Middletown City Council?

A: I want to be more involved in the community. And I feel like the people that are involved with the council have a better understanding of what’s going on, and they could actually make more of an impact. I want to make sure this town doesn’t run into growing pains.

Q: What is your top priority?

A: To make sure the city is zoned smarter. Like don’t put all these high-volume buildings next to each other because, the way the roads are, you can’t get through. It’s like the Main Street area that has a high school, the post office, new buildings, and once everything is fully open, it’s going to be a lot to deal with.

Q: The Middletown comprehensive plan is due for an update this year. How has the town met some of its goals from previous plans and what should be included in the update?

A: From what I’ve seen, a lot of the things that they’re building now, like a YMCA, a library and a pre-K, those areas are already very congested to begin with. They could have put it in a better place where there’s less traffic. If you go down Main Street, it takes forever to go through at certain times, and that’s pretty much where these places are being built.

Q: Does Middletown need more new homes and commercial spaces or better utilization of existing structures?

A: I think you need to do a combo of both because there’s a lot of space around here, so we could expand. Right now, I think the town has to make do with what they have because a lot of the streets aren’t designed for a lot of traffic.