Time For Leadership, Not Politics

To the Editor:

Congratulations to Herb Rosenthal in his victory at the polls last week. All the citizens of Newtown should wish him the best in his endeavor to manage the governmental affairs of our town during the next two years.

He could start by being honest and forthright in his comments to the press. I am hoping that he was misquoted or taken out of context in his statements in last week’s Bee, where he said he was in favor of placing just one question on the ballot regarding charter revision, which would have avoided the “fiasco” he is faced with now.

The fact is that Mr Rosenthal never supported the recommended charter changes being placed on the ballot as one question. The Charter Revision Commission members attended all of the Legislative Council meetings when this issue was discussed. The Commission members made it abundantly clear to the Council members that placing one question, instead of five, on the ballot would avoid any potential for confusion if some questions passed and others did not. That is exactly what happened, and unless Mr Rosenthal supported the “one question” proposal behind closed doors, he certainly did not openly support it in the presence of commission members.

Our returning first selectman was also quoted as saying “…it was very unfortunate that they [commission members] chose to campaign so hard to get it passed because it would have been much cleaner if they had gone along with getting it defeated.” Now I certainly can’t accuse him of being less than honest in this case but I would have to question the intelligence of such a statement.

Did he really think that 11 Charter Revision Commission members who worked so hard for almost one year to put together a revised charter that they so strongly supported and believed would benefit the governmental process in Newtown, would then subsequently go out and campaign to defeat it at the polls? Perhaps Mr Rosenthal was up too late celebrating his victory on election night and was a bit groggy when he spoke to the press the next morning.

Yes, it is true that because some questions passed and some were rejected, the town officials will be challenged in their efforts to meld the approved sections into the present charter. I am confident that this task will be accomplished properly and the provisions of these changes will be kept intact so that the will of the voters will be satisfied.

The first selectman is also facing the challenge of appointing six qualified individuals to the newly created Board of Finance within 30 days. Now that the election is over, let us hope that he will take off his politician’s hat and be the leader that Newtowners elected and deserve.

George J. Caracciolo

Schoolhouse Hill Road, Newtown   November 12, 2001