Split Decision Was A Shallow Victory

To the Editor:

Our town clerk, Debbie Aurelia, exhibited unprofessional and improper behavior during the course of performing her duties as town clerk. Her total lack of self-control or restraint resulted in a reprimand from then first selectman, Joe Borst. No one excused or condoned Ms. Aurelia’s childish name-calling tantrum.

Our Board of Ethics decided unanimously that there was cause to proceed with a full hearing to determine if Newtown’s Code of Ethics had been breached by Ms Aurelia’s actions. Six members of the board conducted the hearing and deserve to be commended for their professional handling of the matter. In the end, it was a split decision, 3-3. Four “Yes” votes were required in order to find Ms Aurelia in violation of the code. Ms Aurelia “squeaked by” and achieved a very shallow victory, indeed. No one on the panel condoned her behavior; they just didn’t want to set a precedent. Three members of the panel were willing to excuse Ms Aurelia’s bad behavior because they felt that it could leave town employees at risk in the future should personal matters arise in the workplace. The reason: Because Ms Aurelia and Ms Guilfoil (the complainant) have a history — Ms Guilfoil is married to Ms Aurelia’s ex-husband. I disagree with their reasoning, and the other half of the board disagreed as well. Ms Guilfoil was in the town clerk’s office, on town clerk business (a marriage license), and the fact that the two women have a “history” should not leave Ms Guilfoil open to a personal attack. Diane Guilfoil opted to maintain her calm (and her dignity!) by not responding in kind to our town clerk’s childish and taunting behavior. She opted to proceed through the proper channels, and contacted the Board of Ethics.

Thank you to the Board of Ethics for their service to the town. Whether I agree or disagree, I respect the process and their right to their opinions. I would like to send a hearty “Shame, Shame on you” to Attorney Robert Hall for his line of questioning. Please know, Mr Hall, that each and every one of us has the right and the privilege to vote and to campaign for the candidate of our choice, and that right should never be used against an individual. The board did a good job of reigning Mr Hall in, even though they had to remind him numerous times that his questions were not germane to the matter at hand, and that he needed to move on and stop taking up everyone’s time with irrelevant photos and questions.

Sincerely,

Jackie zVon

4 Rockywood Drive, Sandy Hook                              January 17, 2010