To the Editor:

Clinton DePaolo’s recent letter, “An Inadequate Response,” is highly subjective and limited to his personal opinion in its criticism of Mitch Bolinsky. Rather than being forthcoming, Mr DePaolo left it to The Bee to point out that he is Harriman-Stites’ campaign manager and that she is trying to unseat Mr Bolinsky in District 106 in the coming November election. The opinion expressed herein is solely my personal viewpoint. I do serve as the vice chair of the Newtown Republican Town Committee and ran for Legislative Council in D1 in 2019.

While Mitch needs no defense and his excellent work speaks for itself, I would like to add my voice to those of many other Newtowners who feel compelled to speak out in response to Mr DePaolo’s erroneous statements. Mitch has been reelected by Newtown for four state rep terms; served on our Legislative Council, Economic Development Commission, and Board of Ethics. He served for a decade as Cubmaster and committee chairman of Cub Scouts at Head O’ Meadow.

Surely Newtown residents would not continue to reelect a leader were they to be as ineffective as Mr DePaolo suggests.

As I write, I am aware that Mitch has been tirelessly working days and nights to help the people of Newtown as well as people all over the state with critical issues such as obtaining unemployment compensation and pandemic financial support. These are people who lost jobs or are in serious financial difficulty due to COVID. They are people struggling to find money to put food on the table.

How do I know? Mitch personally asked me and my wife to pull together a food bank in an effort to help these people. This is the type of human being that Mitch is, a caring individual who goes out of his way to help others in a time of crisis. What some may not know is that Mitch lost both his parents in the last six months; still he continued his tireless work on behalf of our neighbors. Mitch’s mother was in a senior facility in Southbury. No one knows better the challenges and frustrations of current conditions in those facilities. He was bedside at a hospital when she passed. In the wake of his loss, he took time to call the Governor’s office, pleading for PPE for nurses and doctors.

I am currently in the midst of a similar situation with an elderly parent, and Mitch has constantly supported me and dutifully calls every few days to inquire how she is doing. Once again, he does not have to do this, it is just the type of guy he is.

In my opinion, Mr De Paolo’s overly critical and mud-slinging letter is unfair and completely out of line. This is Newtown; we don’t engage in partisan warfare.

I hope this rebuttal to Mr. DePaolo’s letter will allow voters to see what Newtown will get in return for once again supporting Mitch Bolinsky for State Representative this November.

William DeRosa

60 Taunton Hill Road, Newtown July 8, 2020