IPN Sign Envy

To the Editor:

To all those homeowners in Newtown waiting for the Independent Party of Newtown lawn sign you requested, I’m sorry to report that you’ll have to wait a little longer. It seems “IPN sign envy” is spreading throughout Newtown.

While some people in Newtown do not appreciate seeing lawn signs during campaign season, it seems that this year, the lawn signs are serving a valuable purpose. Nearly half of the calls requesting a lawn sign come from Newtown taxpayers who saw their neighbor’s lawn sign in Newtown, Hawleyville, Dodgingtown, or Sandy Hook and wanted to join them in a show of support. A few were not even aware that a third party would be on the ballot. The signs have also had an impact on taxpayers who were on the fence because they didn’t know if IPN had a lot of townwide support. Once they saw hundreds of IPN signs go up throughout Newtown, they realized they were part of a much larger crowd.

Unfortunately, we learned on Monday and Tuesday that IPN sign envy can go too far. On Monday, about 40 lawn signs went missing from key intersections in town. Hours later Newtown’s Land Use Department returned them to IPN after we confirmed that IPN had permission from each of the owners of the property from which the signs were taken. We still don’t know who took them, but they went back up that evening.

The following day, someone with what must have been a terribly severe case of IPN sign envy contacted Connecticut’s Department of Transportation. Miraculously, just a few hours later, DOT crews showed up in Newtown and removed the IPN signs along state Routes 25, 34 and even from key intersections where IPN was careful to set the signs within the required limits. It is interesting that not a single political sign on these same state roads in neighboring Monroe or Bethel were touched.

The DOT has yet to explain its actions though I am pleased to report we don’t expect it will happen again.

So, to all of our supporters with lawn signs, please share them with your neighbor and keep your eye on them until the IPN Sign Squad picks them up on November 4. For everyone else who wishes they had an IPN lawn sign, you can take comfort in knowing that when you see a lawn in Newtown without an IPN sign, there is a good chance that homeowner wishes they had one too.

Kevin Fitzgerald

24 Old Farm Hill Road, Newtown                            October 28, 2009