Promises Made But Not Kept

To the Editor:

We Republicans believe it is the body of work that defines a person. It is the body of work that predicts how a person may accomplish their goals in the future. As stated by an IPN champion in her letter to The Newtown Bee on October 13 [Letter Hive, Po Murray, “Believe In A Better Way”]: “We have learned from the 2007 elections that campaign promises can be broken very easily.” In 2007, IPN made many campaign promises — none of which they kept.

A promise was made to “create an integrated long-range plan and ongoing planning process by October 2009.”

To date, they have never proposed a long-range process or plan. Did you know the previous administration’s Long-Term Strategic Planning Team proposed the planning process in April of 2008? Did you know Newtown has a base plan called the Plan of Conservation and Development?

A promise was made to “garner public consensus for a Fairfield Hills Master Plan in the Spring of 2008.”

They have never proposed a plan for Fairfield Hills. Did you know that they have cost the town $662,217, caused months delay in the project, and has upset numerous state representatives?

They wanted to “reallocate the five-year Capital Improvement Plan to accelerate school repairs and recreational projects with the goal of completing them as soon as possible.”

The opposite is really true! They proposed delaying school repairs, even with the knowledge of escalation costs, and adding $6 million for the high school expansion. Did you know it was the Board of Finance that proposed accelerating school repairs and rebidding the high school expansion that saved $7 million?

There were many goals related to town communications: “Ensure government agencies make their decisions in public forums. Create an email signup system for citizens to receive updates on town government. Require all boards to post important meeting information on the town website within 24 hours of a meeting, post meeting minutes seven days prior to board meetings, and meeting agendas 48-hours in advance of meetings.”

No action is required for this — Did you know this is already a standard practice in Newtown and this is the law?

They promised “all Fairfield Hills economic development work should be integrated into the townwide efforts to attract commercial and economic development through the Economic Development Commission (EDC).”

No action is required for this — Did you know IPN made motions to reduce the EDC’s budget by $92,000?

What do Newtown Republicans think?

Leadership is the key ingredient in addressing Newtown’s future needs, that’s why we chose our selectman team Pat Llodra and Will Rodgers. Republican leadership is the major difference between us and the other parties even if some of our ideas overlap. They are proven leaders and have the ability to create consensus and accomplish goals.

Joe DiCandido

Issues Committee

Republican Town Committee

4 White Wood Road, Newtown                                  October 19, 2009