A Multimedia Smear

T o the Editor

I waited a week to write this letter thinking perhaps my anger and bitterness might have subsided by now. It has a little.

First let me explain what I am angry about so it doesn’t come off as just me being a poor loser. I am angry about the multimedia smear campaign, perpetrated by Matt Whatshisname, not because I care at all what he thinks about me, but because there may have been some uninformed people out there that actually believed his factless ranting. Not only were his misrepresentations of the facts incorrect, his implication that I was involved in local politics for personal gain was confusing to me. I’ve spent the time since I read his ad and his letter and listened to his robocall trying to figure out exactly what it is I gained personally from my approximately 15 years of community service, and I could only come up with one thing. The school system that I spend countless hours fighting for, in order to improve it, gave my two daughters an excellent education.

I have heard from two different IPN candidates that they had nothing to do with this media blitz, but I also overheard a couple conversations that seem to indicate this might not be totally true, but whatever, at this point it doesn’t matter. I just wanted to say that politics to me really was a hobby, just another way to give back to the community. It will be easy for me to give up all this personal gain and power that I have accumulated over the years. As a matter of fact, if Matt Whatshisname had just written a free letter to The Bee and proposed taking just half the money he wasted on his little crusade and donating it to Parent Connection, Newtown Youth & Family Services, Newtown Rotary, group work camp, or any other organization that I have been involved with over the years, maybe I would have just dropped out. It would have gotten me out and made him happy, the money would have gone to good use instead of being wasted and maybe he would have come across as less of a jerk.

And now to finish up with the letter I intended to write. Thank you to everyone who helped me with not only this campaign but all of my campaigns over the years. I especially want to thank Sarah and Maribeth for their countless hours spent supporting me and all of the other Democratic candidates.

Finally, good luck Pat, Will, and all the other candidates that ran a campaign that traveled the high road.

Joe Hemingway

10 Overlook Knoll, Sandy Hook                            November 11, 2009