Walczak, Furrier Expect To Head IPN Election Slate

By John Voket

If all goes as expected during a nominating meeting Thursday, July 16, the Independent Party of Newtown is expected to endorse chairman Bruce Walczak for first selectman, and resident Bill Furrier as a candidate for the Board of Selectmen.

Responding to rumors earlier this week about his aspiration to Newtown’s top elected seat in this fall’s local election, Mr Walczak said via email July 13, “I will confirm that both Bill and I have expressed interest in the Board of Selectman and our endorsement would be up to the IPN nominating committee and the IPN Town Committee.”

The IPN chairman added, “There are still many steps ahead before the IPN endorses and things could certainly change.” In a follow-up email Tuesday, July 14, Mr Walczak said, “...you will have your answer as to who runs in what position soon.”

Then, on Wednesday July 15, Mr Walczak dispatched a letter to the editor [Letter Hive, “Ready To Lead Newtown”] which stated: “...I plan to seek the IPN endorsement to run for first selectman.”

Calls to Mr Furrier seeking confirmation about his participation began soon after Mr Walczak said he confirmed the rumor about the pair’s intentions Sunday, July 12. Requests to Mr Furrier for comment were not returned, so The Newtown Bee posted the information on its website as supplied by Mr Walczak two days later.

In an earlier interview about possibly running for a new office in 2009, Mr Walczak told The Bee that he still has half of his first term ahead of him as a police commissioner. In a February 12 report, when asked about the possibility of moving from the police commission to a higher elected office, Mr Walczak declined further comment.

At the time, Mr Walczak said he still had “lots of work to do in my current position,” and that he would “decide on another term when 2011 [the end of his Police Commission term] gets a little closer.”

In his letter of announcement, Mr Walczak said, “A number of events over the last few years have shaped our belief that we can provide the leadership and expertise that Newtown so desperately needs and desires. These events all involve the lack of accountability, the absence of checks and balances in town government and the unwillingness of town officials to conduct public business in a transparent manner.

Mr Walczak said while some of these events involve Fairfield Hills, he feels these issues are symptomatic of the way Newtown has been governed for some time by the leaders from the major political parties.

“Town officials seem to accept no accountability for errors in management, judgment and faulty implementation,” Mr Walczak’s letter continued.

“Last week’s finger pointing over who caused cost overruns at Fairfield Hills is a classic example of ‘don’t blame me,’ despite ample proof that the issues were caused by the town trying to skirt the environmental, health and labor laws,” he wrote. “Thank goodness for involved citizens who rightfully asked questions and objected to the illegal behaviors because the current candidates for the Board of Selectmen simply said and did nothing, or worse, belittled those who sought the truth.”

Mr Furrier’s candidacy for the board of selectmen was formally confirmed in both the letter from Mr Walczak, as well as in a letter of his own which also took the newspaper to task over a web report on the political developments from earlier in the week.

“This week I announced my intentions to seek the Independent Party of Newtown’s endorsement for a position on the Board of Selectmen,” Mr Furrier wrote. And although several messages seeking confirmation and comment were made over a two-day period, Mr Furrier asserts that “only moments after (his announcement) came a disgraceful attempt to discredit my record by The Newtown Bee.”

Mr Furrier took issue with a preliminary report posted Tuesday afternoon on The Bee’s website, which referenced his supporting an unsuccessful move to go to referendum to authorize an additional $3.9 million to complete the high school expansion project as chairman of the Public Building and Site Commission (PB&S).

An eventual rebid of the entire high school project came in under budget, but only after Mr Furrier tendered his resignation from the commission. Mr Furrier said in his announcement letter that: “These comments clearly are aimed at discrediting my reputation and spoil my chances in the election.”  He also noted that Republican first selectman candidate and Democratic selectman candidate Joe Hemingway supported the added $3.9 million for the NHS expansion, but were not similarly described in the announcements of their candidacies.

In his letter Mr Furrier goes on to state: “(The) PB&S does not have strategic authority. Project ownership of the HS project fell within the authority of the Board of Education. “Our role within the HS project, as [the reporter] clearly understood, was to follow the recommendation of the Board Of Education, and that was to send the project to referendum so that the people of Newtown could decide for themselves if the added cost was worthwhile.”

It was recently determined in a ruling from the town attorney that while eventual project ownership goes to the school district once a certificate of occupancy is obtained, during the construction phase of any school, the project falls under the purview of the municipality, not the school district.