Lining Up Behind IPN

To the Editor:

A funny thing has happened since the formation of the Independent Party of Newtown in 2007. The IPN positions that were so readily dismissed by the local political establishment in Newtown have now become mainstream political thought in the 2009 election.

The Republican Town Committee (RTC) and Democratic Town Committee (DTC), particularly the candidates for first selectman, have positions eerily in line with IPN political views. Here are four examples:

1. The candidates have all talked about the need to improve communications between government and taxpayers, an issue raised by IPN.

2. The candidates have all recognized we need to have better long-range planning to address the critical issues facing our town, a long-standing IPN position.

3. The candidates have agreed that we need to reevaluate the master plan guiding development of Fairfield Hills, another long-standing IPN position.

4. The candidates recognize there is room for improvement in the way we implement our town’s financial processes, something that has been vigorously pursued by IPN.

It is clear that IPN has been a catalyst for positive change within our town government. That the old-line political establishment in Newtown is working so hard to convince voters that the very issues that created IPN have always been important to them is a telling recognition that IPN is on to something.

So as you sort through the various positions of the candidates from the RTC, DTC and IPN, ask yourself this question: If the elected officials from the RTC and DTC, who have run our local government for the past ten years were doing everything they claimed, why are we still, in 2009, talking about: (1) the need for long-range planning; (2) the need to change direction at Fairfield Hills; (3) finding ways to improve communications by local government; and (4) identifying ways to improve our financial processes? Why isn’t it done?

I became involved in local government because I didn’t like the way my tax dollars were being invested by my elected officials. I helped form IPN because I believed there was a better way. I wanted to encourage positive change that would protect Newtown’s small town feel, restore our public schools to blue ribbon status and provide needed town services while keeping Newtown affordable, and effectively plan for the future of our town.

Thanks to IPN, our town has a clear choice in the 2009 local election: IPN candidates who have set the agenda for improving our town or RTC and DTC candidates who have converted to IPN positions for this election. Who do you think will finally get the job done on the critical issues after this election? Who do you think will infuse Newtown government with positive new ideas and a new direction?

The choice is yours. To learn more about the Independent candidates and positions of IPN, please visit www.ipn2009.org. We ask for your support of IPN candidates. Please vote the Independent line on Election Day.

Gary Davis

IPN Candidate

Legislative Council - District 2

23 Charter Ridge Drive, Sandy Hook                       October 12, 2009