Democrats Kick Off Election Season With Coffee

By Eliza Hallabeck

Gathered in the driveway of a Glover Avenue home on Saturday, September 10, local Democrats kicked off election season with a “Coffee with the Democratic Candidates” event, which included speeches by some of the committee’s contenders.

Newtown State Representative Chris Lyddy attended the event and introduced the candidates before each speech.

“We’re kind of starting this election season with a really good, high energy, note,” said Mr Lyddy, before introducing Board of Selectmen candidate Jim Gaston, who is currently the local Board of Finance vice chair. “I think that is what Newtown needs right now. Somebody, a group of people really, to come together to avoid gridlock, to really begin to bring reason back.”

Mr Lyddy said he knows nearly all of the candidates the Democratic committee is putting up this election season, and each, he said, has the ability to unite under the ticket to give “the voice back to Newtown.”

Mr Gaston said the last thing Newtown needs right now is individuals who believe others are wrong, simply because they disagree on principle.

“What works is a return to reason,” said Mr Gaston. “What a return to reason means, when I reason, that means I need to know what you think. I need to know what the voters think. I need to listen to you. I need to listen to the other members on a board or commission. I need to take the best ideas that those people have. Listen to them. Put them together. Form a consensus. Corroborate. Collaborate. Move forward.”

When everyone uses reason, Mr Gaston said, that is when a community makes progress.

“This campaign is about a return to reason, and we have had that reason in the past,” Mr Gaston continued. “Unfortunately, for a number of recent years, we have lost that reason.”

The most recent example, Mr Gaston said, was the process the Board of Education used in award a transportation contract to All-Star Transportation after giving Newtown’s owner-operators a short period of time to bring multiple lawyers together to discuss the bid while representing the multiple contractors.

“Reason would say three weeks isn’t enough time to have each bus driver secure a lawyer, because, obviously, they are going to need a lawyer to explain what the agreement is and the ramifications,” Mr Gaston said. “Put together an agreement, put together a contract, come together, discuss it. I can’t get two or three lawyers together in three weeks to put together a deposition, and that is just three lawyers. Thirty lawyers for 30 people, this is a month or two, or a three-month operation.”

Mr Gaston also spoke to his goal of wanting to see a zero percent tax increase on the town’s side of the budget.

“Honestly, keeping it at zero is going to be a Herculean effort,” said Mr Gaston, noting that Independent first selectman candidate William Furrier proposes to reduce the town side of the budget by five percent. “The reason for that is there is already a built-in two percent increase that has to do with wages, an increase in insurance, and also increased debt service.”

Mr Gaston said the two percent built-in increase represents a $4 million obstacle.

“Reducing it by five percent is an impossibility,” Mr Gaston continued. “It will not happen, unless we’re going to gut Parks & Recreation, unless we are going to gut Public Works and there will be no road improvements.”

Other speakers during the morning event included Board of Education hopefuls Eric Paradis and Daniel Shea, and Legislative Council hopefuls Don Mitchell, Rich Boritz, and Paul Lundquist.

“I have been in town for about 15 years,” said Mr Boritz, who spoke first following Mr Gaston, “and in those 15 years I have seen the town double in size from about 16,000 to about 27,000 in population.”

That population growth, he continued, put a strain on the town’s transportation system, government, the school system, and more. Mr Boritz said he sees each of those areas being strained as opportunities.

“We have a wealth of resources here that we are not using to their full potential,” Mr Boritz continued. “Hopefully, when I am elected, it will be an opportunity for me to look at all those parts of town to make Newtown all that it possibly can be.”

Mr Mitchell said all the parties in Newtown understand the concerns for safety, prosperity, and a trustworthy government, but addressing those issues also means determining which demographic, young or old, are most affected by those concerns.

“Some years back we had some momentum on a number of great issues in Newtown,” Mr Mitchell continued. “That momentum was lost, and it is harder to pick it up right now because we have the overlay of the financial situation. But that momentum has to come back, and that is what I think the Democrats intend to do. And that is what I intend to work toward.”

Mr Paradis said his goal is to make sure students in town are getting access to the appropriate school system services.

“They need that access,” Mr Paradis continued. “The special education situation in this town is disheartening. It is frightening. We need somebody on the Board of Education who understands what that situation is and how to fix it. I have over 20 years of experience in special education.”

 Listening to parents and voters in the district, Mr Paradis said, is one of his major goals.

“There is a wealth of good ideas here in town, and a wealth of phenomenal people here in town,” said Mr Paradis. “Let’s use them. Let’s listen and be responsive.”

Mr Shea, a Newtown resident for 43 years, said he was a teacher at Masuk High School in Monroe for 35 years, and witnessed the evolution of education over that time. He mentioned curriculum, technology, and the ratio of teachers to students among the issues he would focus on if elected to the Board of Education.

“We need a rigorous curriculum,” said Mr Shea. “We need to appreciate and respect the curriculum we have and the teachers who are trying their best to take these kids and make them successful. We must support our schools and support our teachers.”

Mr Lundquist was the final speaker for the event.

“Coming to a position to run and serve the public on the Legislative Council is really about making sure the people who put you in office understand the decision process,” said Mr Lundquist.

Mr Lundquist said his hope for Newtown is that people are elected into office that can work with others, and noted his experience of involvement in town is evidence of his ability to do just that.