An Apology

To the Editor,

I am writing to apologize to First Selectman Herb Rosenthal in particular and Newtown’s politicians in general for a clumsy piece of writing in a letter to The Bee (June 23) that left the unintended impression that I was suggesting that the people who serve in Newtown’s government, boards, and commissions had profited from the housing boom. I did not mean that. And I am very sorry that it read that way.

The sentence should have read, “For the last 20 years, Newtown’s developers, land speculators, builders, and bankers have led a housing boom that profited them mightily and stuck their neighbors with the bill.”

I went on to say that those events were in the past and cannot be undone, but that all of us here to today — newcomers, old-timers, and the real estate industry — must come up with ways to fund the schools, while curbing future development so that Newtown taxpayers of all ages and walks of life can remain in their homes.

Mr Rosenthal has been for many years a capable, often bold leader. Anyone who doubts that should imagine what the town would be facing today if he had allowed Fairfield Hills to fall into the hands of housing developers.

Justin Scott

Parmalee Hill Road, Newtown June 26, 2006