To the Editor:

I am writing to support my father for Board of Finance because he won’t tell you how hard he works for the town, or of all his accomplishments. You won’t see his name on lawn signs or in a lot of letters of support because he doesn’t believe in a lot of fluff or frivolous expenditures.

Most people don’t know that he was one of the principal implementers of the present Borough Historic District, and wrote the regulations and bylaws. He was involved in instituting the Health District and wrote the original bylaws. He was a board member of the Family Counseling Center, which originated in our house on Main Street, and served as its vice chairperson for two years. My father served for years on the Borough’s Board of Burgesses and for the past four years has been warden. He snowplows the Main Street sidewalks himself to save the town and borough money (and the town won’t do it anyway.) He has lowered borough taxes for the past three years. He has sat on the House of Delegates and Board of Governors of the Connecticut Bar Association continuously for the past 16 years (elective positions).

He was also selected to serve on the School HVAC Committee back in 2001 that unanimously recommended extensive work on school facilities. He was a first voice in calling for the high school expansion to be rebid. As a Board of Finance member, he and the whole board have saved the town millions of dollars implementing policies of debt service limits, calling for open space, and scrutinizing budgets. He does all this while managing a busy trial schedule and not losing a jury trial in over eight years. He also was the founder of the nonprofit Newtown Girls’ Premier Soccer program, Western United Extreme, Inc, and sits as its president.

How hard does he work? He won’t tell you, but I will, on top of all this, he has missed very few of my Gettysburg College soccer games over the past four years, usually driving five hours down and five hours back on the same day or evening. Please consider reelecting my father, James Gaston, for Board of Finance. He is a hardworking leader that Newtown needs and respects.

Thank you.

Very truly yours,

Tara Gaston

Class of 2010

Gettysburg College

18 Main Street, Newtown October 26, 2009