IPN Chairman Takes Issue

With Bee Reporting

To the Editor:

With his byline in The Newtown Bee regarding the March 19 Legislative Council Meeting, John Voket once again confirmed what many in Newtown have long suspected: that he is a man with a personal agenda that interferes with his responsibility as a journalist to be a disinterested reporter of fact.

Mr Voket grossly mischaracterized what occurred at the March 19 Legislative Council meeting. He relied solely on quotes from Will Rodgers, failed to quote any of the members of the public who spoke, made no attempt to contact either Po Murray or myself for responses to Mr Roger’s assertions about information in e-mail distributions and deliberately ignored the underlying concerns that prompted people to attend.

The fact remains that the high school expansion was on the Legislative Council’s agenda. Most parents in our town were blind-sided by Mr Mangiafico and Mr Rosenthal’s decision to vote against funding the currently proposed high school expansion. People were angry, confused, and concerned about the effect a delay or withdrawal of the high school expansion proposal would have on the quality of their children’s education, the value of their homes, and the reputation of our town. That is why they showed up at the Legislative Council Meeting last Wednesday. It is also why, contrary to Mr Rodger’s assertion, they showed up in large numbers to the February 2007 meeting; not to debate procedural issues but more importantly to express real concerns that affected their budgets, their futures, and their children’s futures.

 Mr Voket, of course, chose to ignore all of this in his article and simply focused on making all those who attended appear misinformed. The fact is that the majority of those who spoke, including myself, were not focusing on procedure but rather on expressing outrage about the last minute attempt by Herb Rosenthal and Paul Mangiafico to further complicate moving the high school expansion to a public vote.

It is not that Mr Voket does not tell you the facts; he just tells you the facts he wants you to know, massaged by his own particular bias. Newspaper writers have been giving us their opinions for years, but at least have the journalistic integrity to label them as “editorials.” Mr Voket simply writes editorials and disguises them as hard news pieces. This is a great disservice to the people of Newtown, who rely on The Bee for a fair and accurate depiction of the events that affect our town. It is also conduct not worthy of any self-respecting journalist.

Robert Murray

Chairman

Independent Party Of Newtown

19 Farm Meadow Road, Newtown                              March 25, 2008