Who is Mark Tofano, candidate for Matthews Board of Commissioners?

Josh Bergeron
·5 min read

Name: Mark Tofano

Age as of Nov. 7, 2023: 79

Campaign website or social media page: ElectMarkTofano.com

Occupation: Digital Systems Designer

Education:

Bachelor of Science - Business Administration, Summa Cum Laude - University of Maryland

Have you run for elected office before?

Commissioner - Matthews, NC. Elected in 2021

Please list your highlights of civic involvement

1) Volunteer at help centers in Matthews and Charlotte

2) Sing with Opera Carolina

3) Member of the American Legion and a past post commander

4) Sing in the choirs of two churches in Matthews

5) Built the Matthews Veterans Memorial Park with other American Legion post members. It was constructed with donated materials and labor. No government funds were used.

6) Produced the first Italian cultural festival in the history of Matthews, “Ciao Italia Matthews” in September 2023. No government funds were used. It was a success.

7) Teach piano to underprivileged individuals for free

8) Member of a men’s church-based outreach ministry, “Men of Acts”, in which we help single mother’s, the elderly and physically impaired to do minor home repair and yard work.

How should Matthews handle residential, commercial and industrial development? Should the town change any ordinances or rules to alter how development occurs? If so, what?

HOW SHOULD MATTHEWS HANDLE DEVELOPMENT

1) The citizens voices must be heard and given priority in any zoning decision.

2) The town should encourage increased home ownership in the development’s residential mix.

3) Industrial should be focused on higher paying jobs, such as advanced manufacturing

SHOULD THE TOWN CHANGE ORDINANCES

1) The Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) is a living document and changes from time to time, with commissioner approval, to adjust to the times or to specific circumstances. Therefore, I do not see any major rewrite necessary at this time.

SHOULD MATTHEWS CHANGE RULES

1) There is a need to be stricter on timelines to which to hold the developers accountable to submit the appropriate information necessary for the board to make a decision on rezoning matters. There has been a tendency recently for the developers to ask for continuances in the consideration of their application which, to me, is indicative of the need for improvement in advanced information that is presented to the board.

2) I would like to see more transparency in the rezoning process. Specifically, a list of activities which take place during the process that is easily accessible by the public, such as logs of conversations between the planning department and developers or elected officials with developers, including notes of the meeting or conversation content.

What’s the best feature of the town of Matthews and what’s the most important thing it needs to improve?

BEST FEATURE OF MATTHEWS

1) Matthews has a small “historic” downtown area. This is the lure for current residents and those that are considering moving to Matthews.

MOST IMPORTANT THING IT NEEDS TO IMPROVE

1) There is a lack of commercial diversity in the downtown area. Currently, it is saturated with eating and drinking businesses. If people are to live within walking distance of the downtown area, there should be a diverse business mix which would satisfy the daily needs of the population.

2) Pedestrian safety in the downtown area needs improvement by properly marking the crosswalks, lighting them at night, providing signaling and safer integration with traffic signals.

An internal investigation found that Matthews Police misrepresented how successful they were at clearing crimes. What can you do, if anything, as a member of the town board to ensure police are accurately reporting internally and to the public what crime looks like in Matthews?

HOW BOARD CAN ACCURATELY REPORT CRIME IN MATTHEWS

1) This is the primary responsibility of the town manager.

2) Unfortunately, there are currently no mechanisms in place to evaluate the performance of the town manager.

3) In commercial business, there are periodic review of employee performance with key performance indicators that gauge the quality of the work being done. This is a must have in the future.

4) Periodic updates to the board from the town manager regarding this subject matter should be established.

5) The board members should have the ability to have free and open discussions with the directors of the departments within the town apart from the town manager so that an unfiltered evaluation of the operations can be made.

What sets you apart from other candidates on the ballot and makes you the best choice?

One of the deficiencies, in my opinion, within the town operations is that the town is not run like a business. I view the town as a non-profit whose customer base is its citizens. Standard business practices should be implemented. I have had extensive business experience, as outlined below.

I started multiple companies from scratch with venture capital. I have been featured in “Entrepreneur Magazine” for the ability to raise and use venture capital. I have a Summa Cum Laude degree in business. I am a full-time employee of a major bank responsible for analyzing current operations and implementing programs, procedures and processes to improve efficiency. I hold US technology patent and my work in the electronics field has been recognized by major publications in the US. I am a “transformational” candidate, that is, one that can envision ways to improve the interactions between its citizens and their government. I am a strong advocate of total transparency. I believe wholeheartedly in upholding freedom of speech. I bring an understanding of complex financial matters.