Letter Wasn’t Vicious

To the Editor:

I was not surprised to read a letter in last week’s Bee from a town official attempting to defend Mr Rosenthal’s poor performance. It is obviously much easier to complain about taxpayers exercising their First Amendment rights rather than to listen and act upon their needs and wishes. I do not believe I was being a “Monday morning quarterback,” but rather a concerned citizen responding to the continued reign of arrogance and incompetence of our first selectman.

I also do not believe my words were vicious; I was simply stating what I and apparently many others in our town believe to be the facts. In the past eight years I have lived in Newtown, the only action I have ever seen taken by Mr Rosenthal is to raise our taxes.

As far as what I am wishing for, it is simply a leader who listens to the voters and acts in their best interests; i.e., no new town hall. I have never said that our first selectman is a bad person; I simply think he has proven that he is not the right person to be leading Newtown through the difficult issues our town currently faces in the 21st Century.

Hopefully, if Mr Rosenthal chooses not to run or when he is defeated, we will have elected a new first selectman who is in control of the town’s numerous issues and who truly acts in a “professional and gracious nature,” rather dealing in self-promotion and indifference to the will of the people.

Phil Dinielli

9 Copper Creek Circle, Newtown                                                                    July 2, 2007