To the Editor:

What would Newtown have faced earlier this year if Governor Malloy’s punitive zeroing out of our educational funding had been allowed to stand? Some possibilities: a significant depletion of our fund balance, which would have likely put our credit worthiness in jeopardy; an increase in property taxes to cover the $4.89 million deficiency; a reduction in the education budget; or some combination of all these. Mitch Bolinsky was instrumental in averting this crisis. His persistent and unwavering advocacy for Newtown, its education system, and the fiscal health of our community is exactly why he has my support on the November ballot. As a mother, I cherish his relentless efforts to preserve funding for our children’s public education. As a tax payer, I value his advocacy for responsible spending at the state level. As a constituent, I appreciate his efforts to keep us informed of developments in the legislature. I also respect his ability to reach across the aisle, put politics aside, and work on reasonable compromises. The last budget season demonstrated that political civility at the state level is declining and that Democratic state legislators were willing to support the Governor’s punishment of fiscally responsible municipalities like Newtown for the benefit of other municipalities that have kicked their fiscal cans so far down the road that they will burden taxpayers for a long time to come. Mitch can engage in respectful political discourse with demonstrated results of moving our state and our town forward.

While I am a member of the Board of Finance and I appreciate Mitch’s hard work, these views are solely my own and not representative of the Board’s. I will vote for Mitch Bolinsky and hope you will, too.

Thank you,

Sandy Roussas

Maltbie Road, Newtown    October 3, 2018