Troubling Questions

To the Editor:

Every November, when I vote for the elected officials who will represent me at the federal, state, and local levels, I send a silent prayer into the universe. “Help these people find the knowledge, courage, and moral center to do the right thing.” No matter how much information voters have about the candidates, marking a ballot is always a leap of faith.

On Thursday, August 19, the News-Times reported that the State Elections Enforcement Commission had denied Chris LaRocque, Newtown’s Republican candidate for the State Assembly, a grant of $26,000 to run his campaign. The reason — there were at least 18 names on his list of donors that hadn’t contributed to Mr LaRocque’s campaign. That News-Times article quotes Mr LaRocque as saying, “All that means is that (we) aren’t going to be receiving $26,000 from taxpayer’s pockets which makes me feel good anyway,” and “I think our discussion should be about issues.”

Those statements are troubling for two reasons. I want candidates for public office to know the facts. Mr LaRocque didn’t seem to understand that funding for the Citizens’ Election Program comes from the sale of state-owned abandoned property, not from “taxpayers’ pockets.” Of greater concern, Mr LaRocque assumes that the discussion of issues is more important than his character. What he must recognize is that whether voters trust a candidate’s essential honesty is far more critical than what the candidate says he’ll do if elected.

The August 20 edition of The Newtown Bee quotes Mr LaRocque as saying that “‘a solicitor’ for his campaign provided some of his friends with cash to make $5 donations. I didn’t know this occurred and the solicitor didn’t understand the rules… But regardless of the error, it is the candidate who has to take the responsibility.” An August 24 News-Times article quotes Mr LaRocque as saying, “I will not run from this mistake and am deeply sorry for the problems it and I have caused.” Those statements were mature responses to a series of mistakes, and I applaud him for that.

Troubling questions about Mr LaRocque remain, however. What caused this enormous error — lack of knowledge about the law, lack of respect for it, or a lapse in judgment that is precariously close to wanting to win at all costs? None of the possible answers give me confidence that Mr LaRocque will serve Newtown well if elected.

Sincerely,

Jan Lee Brookes

38 Hundred Acres Road, Newtown                            August 24, 2010