Status Quo,

Or Time For A Change?

To the Editor:

Back at the now infamous middle school town meeting in February 2007, Mr. Rosenthal told the 400 or so Newtown residents to go ahead and vote him out of office if they did not want his new town hall.

Unlike other residents who have written letters to The Bee, I do not take any exception to this comment made by the first selectman. In fact, I believe this is the most honest and heartfelt statement that Mr Rosenthal has made to the voters of Newtown in the past ten years.

For those of you who are happy with the direction and polarization Newtown has taken during Mr Rosenthal’s reign, then it is your duty to go out and vote for him in November.

If, however, you feel that it is finally the time to eliminate the arrogance, back room politics and nonrepresentation of the voters by the current administration, you must take this opportunity to have your voice heard.

In previous weeks, supporters of the first selectman have written letters to The Bee extolling the virtues and performance of his administration. I would now like to take the opportunity to share what I have felt over the past ten years as a resident of Newtown:

Taxes that have increased two to three times the rate of inflation every year; virtually no results in developing a tax base to reduce the burden on individual property taxes; the overcrowding and continued decay of our school facilities; the elimination of foreign language and music programs and the institution of “pay to play” sports in our schools; years of dormant and decaying commercial properties within our borough limits; insufficient facilities for our teens and seniors; a baseball field at Dickinson Park budgeted at $500,000 that ultimately cost $1 million; the loss of one of our town’s pools; no meaningful traffic plan other than placing speed humps on Queen Street; no review of all available space or an evaluation of the more pressing town needs before proceeding with the building a new town hall; and the development of the Fairfield Hills Authority with effectively no limits on how it spends our taxes.

The election in November is the opportunity for all of us to respond to the challenge put to us by the first selectman back in February. Whether you prefer to maintain the status quo or if you think that it is finally a time for a change, it is imperative that everyone takes the time to vote.

Phil Dinielli

9 Copper Creek Circle, Newtown                              October 23, 2007