Gov Rell Sends Her Regrets—

Swearing-In Ceremony

For Elected Officials Is Saturday

By John Voket

An undetermined number of local elected officials are expected to be sworn into office December 1 in a noon ceremony at Edmond Town Hall, according to event organizer Mae Schmidle. Ms Schmidle said when she previously served as town clerk, she introduced the swearing-in ceremony to Newtown and she is happy to bring the event back to Edmond Town Hall.

Despite agreeing to pose in election advertisements for incoming First Selectman Joseph Borst, the Republican governor who resides in neighboring Brookfield has declined an invitation to appear at Saturday’s swearing in ceremony. A spokesperson in M. Jodi Rell’s communications office told The Newtown Bee Thursday that the governor will not be attending.

Saying he is “not big on celebration,” incoming First Selectman Joseph Borst said he is expecting to make a short acceptance speech before convening to a meet-and-greet gathering with refreshments in the town hall lobby.

The Borst administration appears to be departing from an eight-year tradition in this year’s ceremony by moving Town Clerk Debbie Aurelia to a lesser role. In four previous election cycles, Ms Aurelia told The Bee, her predecessor, Cynthia Simon, organized and conducted the swearing-in ceremony.

Prior to 1999, she said the town clerk handled those duties, swearing in most of the newly elected officials during the ceremony. This year, Ms Aurelia will only be participating by swearing in her father, John, who was elected to the Legislative Council.

Ms Aurelia has already sworn in approximately ten of the 43 newly elected officials who are not attending Saturday’s event, she said. A release from Ms Schmidle indicated the town clerk will open her office following the ceremony, and that Ms Aurelia will be on hand “to proudly display the first and original deed of the Town of Newtown.”

The release states that Newtown resident Judge William Lavery, Probate Judge Margot Hall, and Representative Julia Wasserman will be participating in the ceremony, handling segments of the swearing-in duties in place of the town clerk.

Mr Borst said he was not involved with the organization process except to appoint Ms Schmidle to handle the event management. The first selectman-elect said he agreed with Ms Schmidle’s idea to move the ceremony from the high school’s lecture hall to the town hall lobby area, despite a benefit pancake breakfast and decorating for Sunday’s Holiday Festival that will be drawing additional traffic to the Main Street location.

Mr Borst said it was his understanding that several previous election-related ceremonies were moved to the high school lecture hall because of accessibility challenges at Edmond Town Hall.

“I understand elevator problems caused the move to the high school,” Mr Borst said. “But now we have a new elevator and handicapped access so we are returning to Edmond Town Hall, the seat of government.”

Outgoing Republican Selectman William Brimmer, Jr, is being tapped to facilitate the ceremony. Ms Schmidle told The Bee on Thursday that representatives from the Democrat, Republican, and “the unaffiliated guys floating around out there” — an apparent reference to the Independent Party of Newtown — will be lending a hand with refreshments and other logistics.

During the ceremony, memorabilia featuring a painting by artist Ruth Newquist will be distributed to all incoming elected officials. Any officials not attending the Saturday event can be sworn in by Ms Aurelia in her office during regular business hours, and can pick up their gift at the selectman’s office following the ceremony.