No Always Means No

To the Editor;

The recent failure of three budget referenda says something. It says that Newtown’s government is way off base, way out of touch with what we want. There is a claim of confusion, a claim of lack of understanding on the part of the Legislative Council about what a No vote really means. Really? A tiny minority in this town who claim to be voting No because (you insert the reason, but it’s not because they want less spending) are holding the rest of us hostage.

These people have a weak hand and this is a bluff. They have nothing else, they can’t generate a Yes vote, and after all, this ruse has worked before. There are two possibilities with what the Legislative Council is thinking here: either they are stupid and about to succumb to the bluff, or they know what we want, but it’s not what they want. My money is on the second alternative. Wearing us out at the polls is part of this strategy. It seems that these folks to a man or woman, want to spend the maximum amount possible that can be approved by a margin of one vote. If they won by two votes, they failed because spending could have been higher. Wouldn’t you think they should win this by 1,000 votes if they were doing close to the right thing?

Vote No Tuesday. Don’t give in to them.

Eric Steinkraus

22 Walker Hill Road, Sandy Hook                                June 20, 2012