Representatives Or

Private Citizens?

To the Editor:

I am a member of Legislative Council; however, this letter is written in my capacity as a private citizen.

There is a procedure that all board and commission members should be following: We bring up issues at our respective meetings the board and commissions need to be done and vote on who and what shall be done. All boards and commissions need to operate on a nonpartisan basis. No party or group of people should take it upon themselves to represent any part of the town. This is causing friction, legal fees, and embarrassment to the town.

I personally stood up at a Board of Finance meeting after Po Murray spoke representing herself as a Legislative Council member and clarified that her statements were her own and did not represent any discussion from our meeting. At the next Legislative Council meeting I brought up the subject, and we were told we cannot represent the council, we can only speak as citizens. Yet even after this clarification, Ms Murray contacted the state and represented herself as a Legislative Council member instead of a private citizen. This and other actions similar to this have caused embarrassment to our state representative and the town.

We appreciate the efforts to answer constituents concerns; however, I am hopeful that all citizens serving on boards and commissions act according to protocol, not abuse our authority and follow the steps.

We are all private citizens and should not confuse the rights of a private citizen with the authority of our positions. We should clarify “I am a member of ...But am asking as a private citizen” or better yet, don’t even bring your position into it.

Sincerely,

John Aurelia, Sr

Castle Hill Road, Newtown                                             June 18, 2008