More Than 20 Contenders Vie For

A Dozen Legislative Council Seats

By John Voket

Twenty-one hopeful candidates, including eight incumbents, are vying for a dozen Legislative Council seats across three local districts November 8, one of the most crowded fields in recent memory.

Under the provisions of the Newtown Town Charter, the council is one of two legislative bodies of the town, the second being the town meeting. All of the legislative power of the town lies with the council with the exception of items upon which a town meeting is authorized to act.

Charter stipulations on minority representation state the number of members of any one political party who may be elected to serve on the Legislative Council from each district shall not exceed three of the four members elected from such district, even if members of the same party are higher vote-getters in the local election.

When meeting, seven members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Among its official duties, the Legislative Council, by majority vote consisting of at least six affirmative votes, has the power to make, alter, and repeal ordinances.

While there is a specific exception, the Legislative Council also possesses the power to make special and emergency appropriations, as such appropriations are defined in Section 6-30(a) of the charter, in an amount not in excess of $500,000 for any one item during a fiscal year. Also, the total of special and emergency appropriations made by the Legislative Council for all purposes during a fiscal year shall not exceed an amount equal to one mill on the most recently completed Grand List of taxable property.

The single area of exception is the Legislative Council’s power to make special appropriations of any amount that are necessary to implement agreements reached through the process of collective bargaining.

The Newtown Bee recently polled all candidates for elected office on the November ballot, asking two questions:

*If elected, what would you see as your primary mission as a local elected official? And what changes in policy or process, if any, would you want to bring to the office you seek?

*And what specific issues will be your priority, if you are elected to the office or board you seek?

Readers may go to Newtownbee.com to access our online survey, and click to view all the candidate responses as well as contact information, if provided, so constituents may privately pursue other concerns or question with any candidate.

District 1

There are five candidates running for council seats in District 1: Democrat Paul J. Lundquist, Republican incumbents George T. Ferguson III and Robert Merola, and newcomer Joe Girgasky. Incumbent Kevin P. Fitzgerald is seeking reelection with the Independent Party of Newtown.

In his answer to the first survey question, Mr Lundquist responded, “Understanding and representing public sentiment, and giving my professional all to earn your trust is my top overarching mission as a member of the Legislative Council.

“Ultimately, voters can be highly confident that my decisions on the LC would include clear rationale to frame the outcome so that the path from Point A to Point B is clear to anyone who cares to understand,” Mr Lundquist said.

In revealing his priorities if elected to another term, Mr Ferguson said, “Affordability, civility, economic vitality, education, safety, scenic and rural character, the environment and keeping it Nicer in Newtown are all important priorities ... that is why finding a balance is so important.”

Mr Merola summed up his priorities saying he would continue to, “Support the effort to increase economic development in Newtown to help defray the tax burden on individual property owners. Newtown’s ratio of business/personal property owners is low compared to other towns.”

Mr Girgasky said one of his goals would be to help influence or increase the talent pool of residents serving the town on elected and appointed boards or commissions. Regarding priorities, Mr Girgasky said, “Tough economic circumstances will continue to force the council to keenly assess the best workable balances.”

Mr Fitzgerald said his “primary mission ... is to continue to embrace, nurture, and support a good idea, regardless of where it came from or which political party takes credit for it. If it moves Newtown forward, then Mission Accomplished.”

He also laid out plans to support better communication between the Board of Education and constituents.

“Parents need a constructive way to raise issues and the District/BOE needs an effective way to educate the taxpayers and respond to concerns with measurable data. Maybe there is a way to create this with the current resources available,” Mr Fitzgerald said, “but until such a channel is in place, the school district will be its own worst enemy and many taxpayers will continue to be influenced by misleading comments found on the social networks.”

District 2

Districts 2 and 3 each have eight candidates running for the four available seats.

Democrat newcomers Daniel T. Honan and Robert J. Edwards are competing with incumbent Republicans Mary Ann Jacob, Kathy Fetchick, and recently appointed Councilman Dan Wiedemann. The IPN is running current Police Commissioner Bruce Walczak and newcomer Randy L. Young for the council.

Mr Honan summed up his three priorities if elected: New Hook & Ladder firehouse; keeping the budget flat; and keeping the Fairfield Hills Authority. Mr Edwards pledged, “To do the best I can to the research and make sound business decisions for the citizens.” He also said he would pursue new facilities for Newtown fire, ambulance, and police forces.

Ms Jacob said she would “support making fact-based decisions when voting on how to appropriately fund the budget. Lowering our debt and consolidating any town and education administrative functions to save the tax payers money are two examples how I support those goals. I do not support high density housing at Fairfield Hills but do support vigorous public debate on this and all other issues.”

Ms Fetchick said she would like to “engage the public more in the annual budget conversation so that they are armed with data. A great deal of the information is online, but not all residents use this method of communication.” Reflecting on priorities, Ms Fetchick said: “The top priority is to ensure that we have the best financial policies in place so that we continue to be viewed favorably by the rating agencies. The result of this is lower borrowing costs, allowing us to do more with less and reduce our debt burden.”

Mr Wiedemann said, “Being a newcomer to the political arena I am still feeling my way around. I am willing and able to spend the time and put in the effort to keep it ‘Nicer in Newtown.’ With a financial background I will use that skill in being creative and thinking outside the box.” He also pledged to work toward improving Newtown’s municipal fund balance.

Among Mr Walczak’s goals are pursuing a professionally developed long-range plan to better anticipate future spending and revenue. He pledged to support “a Charter Revision Commission to thoroughly review the Newtown Charter and bring it up to date,” and said he would “support quality education and will do everything within the scope of the council to make sure funds are spent wisely.”

Mr Young said he believes the current budget referendum “is inadequate for the voters to clearly express their opinion about the allocation of tax dollars. Therefore, I am a proponent of a process change that would bifurcate the budget, providing voters the opportunity to convey adjustments to the educational budget and town budget as separate line items. This will drive improved clarity of budget items and associated weightings.”

District 3

The eight District 3 candidates for the council include former Democratic selectman Joe Bojnowski, incumbent Daniel J. Amaral, and newcomer Rich Boritz. Incumbent Republican council Chairman Jeffrey Capeci is seeking reelection along with newcomers Mitch Bolinski and Phil Carroll. Robert J. Duero and Jasper D. Ress are the IPN contenders in District 3.

Mr Bojnowski said, “A council member should foster cooperation, which I have demonstrated as a former elected official,” and if elected his priority would be “to control spending by being lean, not mean. I would work to restore the owner owned, school bus system and keep Fairfield Hills for municipal and professional use — no multifamily housing.”

Mr Amaral said, “Given the economy and declining school enrollment projections, now is the time for the town to hold the line on taxes, especially on the town budget ... to be sure that we are not spending on items that are wants and not needs.”

Mr Amaral said as a small business owner in town, he is proud to give constituents’ “thoughts and opinions a voice in our town government.”

Mr Boritz said the major challenges facing Newtown include attracting commercial development, managing housing growth, adjusting for changes in K–12 student population, and developing the Fairfield Hills Campus.

“My background in education, the military, and union advocacy will help me to engage in dialogue, deliberation, and collaboration on the issues we face. I view the public as a resource and powerful partner to find lasting solutions,” Mr Boritz stated.

Mr Capeci stated, “If reelected, I will continue to support the consolidation of municipal and school administrative departments, the elimination of redundancies, and employ economies of scale to lessen the burden of government on the taxpayer.” He also outlined a package of priorities that included creating “another Charter Revision Commission with a focus on amendments that streamline government and make it more responsive to the people.”

Mr Bolinski pledged to be a respectful representative who would listen to constituent wishes “and make them part of council discussions as an ongoing effort to find innovative ways to assure delivery of essential community services in the same way Newtown households manage their own affairs — with integrity, decency, and a sense of pride; maximizing the bang for our buck by treating town money like it is gold; asking ‘What if?’ questions; embracing new ways to achieve efficiencies across departments; and prioritizing projects.”

Mr Carroll said he supports “sharing services by town and Board of Education officials, to cut cost in the administration of the same service is saving tax dollars for more ‘in the classroom’ funding.” Mr Carroll also said he would focus on Newtown’s small business to help promote patronage, and “see what can be done to attract more commercial and light industry to help with our tax base.”

Mr Duero said he would strive to give residents a greater voice in local government by “improving the existing process of the budget referendum. Giving people an opportunity to vote on and voice their opinion about the town budget’s two distinct components, Education and Town Services, rather than just the overall budget, will result in greater voter turnout.” He also supports “providing advisory questions on a bifurcated budget referendum” to further enhance voter participation.

While Mr Ress pledged “to clearly represent the residents of Newtown and to do everything in my power to express their interests towards how their tax money is spent and how the town can grow efficiently over time while striving to increase our students success.”