To The Editor:

We have a very important election coming up on November 7. While all our Legislative Council members are volunteers, Ryan Knapp is a tireless worker who goes above and beyond in his role.

As chair of the Ordinance Committee, Ryan has shepherded nearly a dozen ordinances through the process, including Senior Tax Abatement, a program to help our farmers, addressing issues for the police department, an ordinance for our pension commission and clarifying their role, helping disabled veterans, and giving the town the tools it needs to address many issues identified with some of our roads network. Even the requested topics they did not pursue were thoroughly vetted with sound justification as to why. This is very time-consuming work, often doubling the number of meetings for an official that the average voter may not be aware of.

Ryan has worked closely with our delegation in Hartford to represent Newtown's interests at the state level. He has taken time off from his day job to testify to the Education Committee about how municipal aid and Education Cost Sharing cuts in Dan Malloy's budget would impact Newtown and our schools. He stood before a hostile crowd and told the Labor Committee about the burden of Prevailing Wage and how it limits the flexibility of our town on capital projects, reducing how much value we can get out of our limited funding.

He is a transparency advocate who is regularly engaging in discussions on social media, sharing information and answering questions of concerned residents. He is very good at tracking down facts. His votes are always well thought out and he can justify them.

Please join me in voting to re-elect Ryan Knapp to the Legislative Council on November 7.

Dennis Bloom

25 Philo Curtis Road, Sandy Hook          October 24, 2017