Voters Denied A Third Choice

To the Editor:

In August the Independent Party Newtown (IPN) held an announced party caucus of registered Newtown Independent voters and completed the process to endorse our candidate for the 106th State District representative.

Apparently at about the same time Mitch Bolinsky, the Republican candidate, worked a deal with three individuals who claim to be the Independent Party State Central Committee, none of whom live in Newtown. That deal was that they would endorse Mr Bolinsky, a Republican, for the 106th and try to convince the Independent and unaffiliated voters of Newtown that he was the IPN candidate. Almost one half of all registered voters in Newtown are either unaffiliated or Independent. This was the identical dirty trick pulled by the last two Republican candidates who ran and lost for the 106th District.

Thus two candidates were endorsed for the same ballot line. One endorsed by registered Independent voters of Newtown, and the other, Mitch Bolinsky, endorsed by three individuals who live in Bethel and other communities and who are not registered Newtown voters. The result, with conflicting endorsements, is that the Connecticut Secretary of the State’s office ruled that neither candidate would appear on the ballot as Independent candidates for the 106th. Newtown does not need out-of-town politicians choosing who represents Newtown in Hartford. We have a proud voice and are very capable of selecting our own candidates to run for local and district races. The Republicans should run their candidate on their ballot line and try to win fair and square. Playing the system and trying to pretend that Mitch Bolinsky was endorsed by the registered Independent voters of Newtown does not seem to be right. As a result of his action the voters of Newtown will be denied a third choice on the November ballot.

Bruce Walczak

Chairman

Independent Party Newtown

12 Glover Avenue, Newtown                                    October 24, 2012