'Regular guy who wants to fix issues': This Taunton mayoral candidate would serve for free

TAUNTON — “If you want change, if you want a difference from what has been happening, then I am the right choice. I’m just a regular guy who wants to fix issues,” proclaimed Charles Frederick Wright, or Chuck Wright, as he likes to be called, who is running for mayor of Taunton.

The change Wright is referring to is correcting what he feels is insufficient transparency across city government and departments with its citizens, he said.

“When you inquire about things, no one ever gets back to you,” said Wright, adding that, initially, he thought it was personal “due to my history” of ruffling people’s feathers, but, after speaking with other residents, “if these things are happening to me, then they are happening to others.”

Who is Chuck Wright?

Originally from Mystic, Connecticut, Wright worked 32 years for Pfizer as an analytical chemist. His work and research revolved around food additives for 18 years. Eventually, he shifted to pharmaceuticals, specifically anti-inflammatories.

He said a highlight of his career was his work in developing and refining molecule detection devices and methods, particularly dealing with mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography.

Wright retired from Pfizer in 2003.

In 2005, he started a company, Wright Innovations, based in Hopkinton, Rhode Island, which specialized in manufacturing equipment for making and using biodiesel for fueling vehicles.

“For many years, I drove my car on vegetable oil,” he said.

Wright sold the company in 2021.

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Prior political experience

When living in Ledyard, Connecticut, in the 1980s, he said he served on the Zoning Board of Appeals for a few years, as well as an advisory committee regarding the building of a landfill for the town.

While living in Groton, Connecticut, where his Pfizer facility was located, Wright said he served on the town’s Historical Commission.

In the mid-90s, he ran for mayor of Groton. He explained he dropped out of the race to throw his public support for another candidate, Betty Giesing, whom he said “had similar views" to him and he felt had a better chance of beating the incumbent. She served as mayor of Groton from 1995–1999.

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What brought him to Taunton?

Two of Wright’s four children live in Taunton. Wright said he was living in Toronto, Canada, for several years.  Eventually, he got his pilot’s license and became a frequent recreational flyer and visitor to Taunton Municipal Airport.

“It turned a 10-hour drive into a 2.5 hour flight,” Wright said.

He said he grew to love the city of Taunton with each visit, saying he loves the downtown area and the architecture of many of the buildings.

In 2017, he moved to Taunton to be close to his two children in the city.

Why run for mayor?

Wright said the catalyst was in the fall of 2021 over a dispute with members of the Airport Commission about parking his car at the airport when traveling.

Wright said back in June 2022 when The Gazette was investigating an article about relations between pilots at the airport and the Commission that he was outraged over the Commission's speaking about him in open meeting when he wasn't present.

As it played out in several recorded meetings, tensions escalated when he broached the subject during public input, with a couple of incidents where security was called on him by the Commission.

His persistence led him to seek the attention of the mayor and City Council during its public input, on numerous occasions, trying to get their involvement into what he saw with the Airport Commission as problems with transparency, decorum, following meeting guidelines and the behavior of some of its members.

“With a lot of people in government, when you criticize, they think you are evil,” said Wright of his experiences with public input, not citing a specific incident or elected official.

But Wright said he thinks his perseverance contributed to results.

Since the recent appointment of a new airport commissioner by the mayor, and the simultaneous resignation of a tenured commissioner, “I think positive change is happening now" with the Airport Commission, Wright said.

This election season's dark horse?

Despite the lack of recent political experience, Wright said he believes he has the qualifications to run the city.

“I’m a troubleshooter. I know I’m intelligent enough to make decisions, evaluate problems and create solutions. I did that my whole professional life,” Wright said.

Wright admits he’s the “new guy on the block” with very little knowledge of the issues the citizens of Taunton care about.

He said when he first pulled election papers back in May, it “was about ascertaining whether or not I could drum up enough support to get onto the ballot.”

He “found that a lot of people have come forward" to him with their support because “there’s a lot of people who want change,” he said.

Wright is “willing to listen” to the citizens, learning what they care about the most.

“This is all about helping other people,” Wright said.

He said he “isn’t running for the title or the income,” and “has not requested any financial support from the public."

Not about the money

He also told the Taunton Daily Gazette: “If elected, I’d give my salary back to the city, donate it to charity, or whatever is legally allowed.”

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Pilot Chuck Wright runs for mayor of Taunton 2023