UPDATE: This page was updated October 18 to add the video of the completed informational webcast and amend details about the CTPublic debate schedule.

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On Monday, October 17, at 6 pm, The Newtown Bee will host a webcast to help better inform residents who will be voting locally on November 8, casting a ballot that will ask them to accept or reject two Charter Revision measures.

Watch the completed webcast below:

On September 21, the Legislative Council approved explanatory text for the two Charter Revision questions facing referendum, closing out that panel’s work on the latest proposed changes to Newtown’s constitutional document.

The webcast, which will stream live on The Newtown Bee’s Facebook page, will feature a conversation between Editor John Voket, Charter Revision Commission Chair Andrew Buzzi, and Legislative Council Chairman Jeff Capeci.

“There’s more than just candidate names awaiting voters on this November’s local ballot,” Voket said. “And since one of the two questions for voters to consider involves the elimination of the Board of Finance, we believe it’s important for residents who will be considering those revisions to get as much perspective as possible.”

Voket said hearing directly from the leading officials representing the two panels that were most involved in developing and deliberating the proposals is an ideal way to help inform voters and residents.

Regarding those revision ballot questions, the first referendum question reads: “Shall the Charter be amended to provide the Sections 2-125, Sections (a) and (b) ‘Board of Finance’ be deleted from the Charter and all powers thereof to be vested with the Legislative Council.”

Approved explanatory text additionally states that, “Approval of Question #1 will eliminate the Board of Finance from the Charter as an advisory body. All powers of the Board of Finance would thereafter be vested in the Legislative Council. Any reference to the Board of Finance will also be eliminated [from the Charter].”

Given its importance, that one measure was created separately from the raft of other revisions that Town Attorney David Grogins described to the council as “administrative items, with few substantive changes.” He said that most of the revisions are “very technical in nature.”

The second referendum question reads: “Shall the remaining Charter Amendments adopted by the Legislative Council on July 20, 2022 be approved?”

The approved explanatory text states that, “Approval of Question #2 accepts the rest of the proposed changes in their entirety, comprised of organizational, non-substantive, and substantive changes made to the document including but not limited to:

“a) Section 1-25(a)(7). This provision redefines the term “Town Department” as the term applies to the Board of Education by exempting the Board of Education from certain duties and functions of Town Bodies which would violate other provisions of the Connecticut General Statutes applicable to the Board of Education.

“b) Section 2-01(c). The Connecticut General Statutes shall prevail over the provisions of Section 2-01(c), which allows Town Bodies to make their own rules of conduct.

“c) Section 2-05(d) eliminates the Building Appeals Board from the Charter, as does Section 2-15(d).

“d) Section 2-25(a) excuses members of a Town Body from voting on the minutes of a previous meeting at which they were not in attendance.

“e) Section 2-31(c)(1-5) describes the procedure for filling vacancies on the Board of Education.

“f) Section 2-135(a) states Town Clerk shall also be the Registrar of Vital Statistics.

“g) Section 2-160(a) states Board of Police Commissioners shall also act as the Civilian Police Review Board.

“h) Section 2-210 eliminates the Building Appeals Board.

“i) Section 3-15(e) describes the election process for the Board of Education.

“j) Section 6-20 delineates the duties of the Legislative Council relative to the Budget.

“k) Section 6-20(f)(2) defines the process subsequent to a failed annual budget referendum.

“l) Section 6-35(b) & (d) revises the requests for emergency appropriations.

“m) Section 6-35(g) modifies the procedure for emergency and special appropriations.”

CTPublic, LWV Debates

As part of our continuing partnership with Connecticut Public, and in recognition of the Connecticut League of Women Voters and its efforts to promote civic-mindedness, The Newtown Bee is also co-presenting a series of political debate webcasts being presented by these two organizations.

The series continues October 18, and is scheduled to conclude on October 25.

All readers need to do is visit newtownbee.com at the designated time, locate the debate reminder, and click on the headline. Once the article page opens, just click on the arrow in the middle of the video screen and tune in.

The debates and corresponding webcasts are set for select Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm. Readers are invited to submit questions by clicking on the corresponding button while visiting ctpublic.org/ct-votes/2022-election-debates.

For anyone interested in watching via webcast, or attending in person, the dates, locations and moderators for the remaining series of debates are scheduled as follows:

*Tuesday, October 18, 8 pm — Secretary of the State (University of Hartford, Lincoln Theater, West Hartford), moderated by Walter Smith Randolph;

*Thursday, October 20, 8 pm — 5th Congressional District (Central Connecticut State University, Torp Theater, New Britain), moderated by Frankie Graziano;

*Tuesday, October 25, 8 pm — United States Senate (Fairfield University, Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield), moderated by John Henry Smith.

The final debate that was scheduled for Thursday, October 27, at 8 pm between Governor Ned Lamont and GOP challenger Bob Stefanowski at Fairfield University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts has been canceled.

On September 16, the reelection campaign for Governor Ned Lamont announced it will participate in two debates and four candidate forums ahead of the November 8 election. The first of those debates aired September 27.

The second, according to the Lamont campaign, will be co-hosted by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) and WTNH on Tuesday, November 1, at the CCM Annual Meeting at Mohegan Sun Casino.

“These are the only debates in which Governor Lamont will be participating,” the release stated.

The location of the congressional debates at colleges and universities in the districts was designed with the goal of including as many students and young people as possible in the debate process.

Each debate will feature a live audience and will be broadcast and streamed on Connecticut Public platforms, including CPTV, ctpublic.org, YouTube and Facebook Live, as well as the LWVCT website and YouTube channel. The debates will also be simulcast on Connecticut Public Radio (WNPR 90.5, WEDW and WVOF 88.5, WPKT 89.1 and streaming at ctpublic.org).

Each debate will be moderated by Connecticut Public journalists. The debate series will also be produced as podcasts, accessible via the App Store, Google Play and other common podcast platforms.

To learn more about the League of Women Voters of Connecticut, visit lwvct.org