Victory for IPN!

Despite a state-wide, if in fact not nationwide, movement toward the Republicans, IPN scored significant victories in Tuesday's election.  Eight of IPN's 17 candidates won, giving IPN 10 seats on the town's government.

Bill Furrier won as Selectman, giving IPN a seat in the town's executive branch.  IPN won three seats in the Legislative Council: Kevin Fitzgerald (1), Gary Davis (2), and James Belden (3).   IPN won two seats on the Board of Education  (Richard Gaines and William Hart) giving the party a total of three seats on the Board, joining David Nanavaty, IPN winner in 2007.  Karen Pierce won a seat on the Edmund Board of Managers, and Keith Jacobs won a seat on the police commission joining IPN incumbent Bruce Walczak.

IPN also made an impressive showing in the race for the Board of Finance, a group that in prior elections has run unopposed.    This year, in an extraordinary case of election gamesmanship, the incumbent BOF candidates went beyond simple cross endorsement to actually running on both the Republican and Democratic tickets, putting each candidate's name on the ballot twice.  That allowed each candidate to win votes from party line voters from both major parties.   In the '07 election, when the BOF candidates were not double listed, only about half (54%) of the available BOF votes were cast.  In an election that was otherwise fairly equally split between the two major parties, that would indicate that most people voted for the BOF on a party line basis.  This year IPN's BOF candidates each received more than half the votes won by any of the BOF incumbents.  Had the incumbents not been double listed, it's hard not to believe that IPN could have scored a victory.

IPN is greatly saddened by the loss suffered by one of its founders, Po Murray.  She was narrowly defeated in her bid to return to the Legislative Council in District Two.  Po is a great advocate for Newtown, a critical thinker, and a tireless campaigner.  Her presence on the Council will be missed, however undoubtedly she will continue to be a strong contributer to IPN and to Newtown.

In all, victories by 8 of 17 candidates is a significant accomplishment for the Independent Party of Newtown.  IPN's victories are all the more remarkable when you consider that it has only existed for two years.  The party was formed in 2007 and won four seats in the town's government in its first race in 2007.  In 2009 it has become the clear 2nd place party in town, soundly defeating the Democrats who won no Selectmen seats and only one seat on the Legislative Council.  As the new minority party in town, IPN will continue to work for its platform of Accountability, Checks and Balances, and Transparency in Newtown's government.  Thanks to all those who have supported IPN with their time, money, and votes!

Election Day 2009

Many of us live in Newtown because of its rural, small town character, which we want to maintain. We want Blue Ribbon schools, well maintained town facilities and reasonable town services. We want prosperous local businesses. We want to accomplish this while keeping Newtown affordable and creating a climate of tax stability. We will turn this pledge into action with your support. Please vote for IPN today, Election Day, by voting for the Independent Candidates on Row C of the ballot. For more information, go to yesterday's IPN Express.

Selecting the Selectmen

The way Newtown's election for First Selectman and Selectman works can seem a bit surprising.   All though each of the parties describe their Selectman candidates as the “running mate” of their First Selectman candidate (like the federal President and Vice President candidates), the two candidates are in separate but interlocked races.

 As you would expect, the candidate winning the most votes (a plurality) in the First Selectman race does become the First Selectman.  However, after that things get weird.  All the losing candidates in the First Selectman race are dumped into the Selectman race, and the top two vote getters from this combined pool become the Selectmen.

Therefore, a First Selectman candidate can win, but not his or her running mate.  Likewise, a party’s Selectman candidate can win while the party’s First Selectman is defeated.   This system can also create some unusual situations, such as in 2007, when the incumbent was defeated in the First Selectman race only to come in as the second place finisher in the Selectman race.  Thus the defeated incumbent and his vanquisher served together on the Board for the next two years. 

With all the possible variations, it can’t help but be an interesting race.  Stay tuned and vote on Tuesday!

Will The Newtown Bee and The News-Times Get It Wrong Again?

In 2007, the Newtown Bee and the News-Times endorsed Herb Rosenthal.  The voters sent a different message by electing Joe Borst. 

In 2008, the Newtown Bee endorsed Will Rodgers for the state representative position. The voters sent a different message by electing Chris Lyddy. 

In 2009, the Newtown Bee and the News-Times endorsed Pat Llodra for First Selectmen. The Bee states Mrs. Llodra “is best equipped to negotiate a successful path” and “Independence may get you elected to office, but it is interdependence that creates success once you get there.”   The endorsement for Mrs. Llodra is also a tacit endorsement of her running mate Will Rodgers.

Will the Newtown Bee and the News-Times get it wrong again?  That will be up to Newtown voters who we hope will rally around Bruce Walczak and Bill Furrier, our team for Board of Selectmen.  To learn how they plan to run Newtown government if elected, check out the IPN Platform and position papers at http://www.ipn2009.org/platform-main/ .

If Elected, Will Llodra/Rodgers Become the New Borst/Mangiafico?

When you view their voting records in the past two years on the Legislative Council, you would have to wonder how Pat Llodra and Will Rodgers can say they are on the same page.  Maribeth Hemingway points this out in a letter to the Newtown Bee that lists the diametrically opposed voting records of the two Republican Board of Selectmen running mates.

We don’t begrudge that Mrs. Llodra and Mr. Rodgers have different views in which they strongly believe, but we have to wonder if we will see the same gridlock in the new Board of Selectmen that we saw these past two years.  This was a result of a clear, and immediate, falling out between Republican First Selectmen Joe Borst and Selectman Paul Mangiafico that started the minute Mr. Borst tried to live up to his campaign promise to re-evaluate the plans for Fairfield Hills.  Republican Selectman Mangiafico sided with Democratic Selectman Herb Rosenthal on that issue and the rest is history.

The most prominent issue that Mrs. Llodra and Mr. Rodgers have clearly agreed upon is Fairfield Hills.  As members of the Legislative Council, both were advocates of staying the course and both were opposed to suggestions by Po Murray and Gary Davis for greater oversight of Fairfield Hills activities by having the Council’s Ordinance Subcomittee review the Fairfield Hills Authority Ordinance. 

At the recent Pizza and Politics public forum, Mrs. Llodra indicated that she now would be willing to revisit the Fairfield Hills Master Plan.  However, Mr. Rodgers pointedly warned the audience that they should be wary of candidates who say they want to revisit the Fairfield Hills Master Plan stating, "It is a code word for starting all over again and throwing the baby out with the bath water”.  Doe this sound like they are on the same page?

Excerpts from Maribeth Heminway’s letter to the editor regarding the Llodra/Rodgers voting record says it all:  

To the Editor:

At the debate, Gary Fetzer opened by reminding us that the past is the best indicator of the future. I like to say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. The bottom line is, people don't change all that much.

That's why the idea that Pat Llodra and Will Rodgers are a team is so difficult for me. Let's take a look at the past...two short terms on the Legislative Council shows anything but a team:

5/10/06: Reduce the budget by $990k: Will votes yes, Pat votes no.

5/10/06: Reduce the budget by $295k: Will votes no, Pat votes yes.

5/10/06: Reduce the budget by $590k: Will votes no, Pat votes yes.

4/4/07: Approve budget as presented by the Board of Finance: Will votes no, Pat votes yes.

4/25/07: Cut $1.2 million: Will votes yes, Pat votes no.

4/25/07: Cut $800k: Will votes yes, Pat votes no.

4/25/07: Cut $900k: Will votes yes, Pat votes no.

4/25/07: Cut $750k: Will votes yes, Pat votes no.

4/25/07: Cut $750k with $542k from education, $150k from Board of Selectman and raise $58k in revenue: Will votes no, Pat votes yes.

5/9/07: Cut $1.2 million from the budget: Will votes no, Pat votes yes.

5/9/07: Cut $2.5 million from the budget: Will votes yes, Pat votes no.

5/9/07: Cut $2.25 million from the budget: Will votes yes, Pat votes no.

6/6/07: Increase the first selectmen's salary: Will votes no, Pat votes yes.

12/19/07: Move the District 3-2 voting location: Will votes yes, Pat votes no.

4/2/08: Approve bonding on HS expansion to go to town meeting: Will votes no, Pat votes yes.

9/17/08: Change the high school bond language: Will votes yes, Pat votes no.

9/17/08: Allow voters the chance to approve additional money for the high school: Will votes no, Pat votes yes.

1/21/09: Add $350k for Parks and Rec maintenance facility to the CIP: Will votes no, Pat votes yes.

1/21/09: Reduce the Rec center in the CIP from $4 million to $3.68 million: Will votes no, Pat votes yes.

3/26/09: Increase the budget by $500k: Will votes no, Pat votes yes.

The pattern is clear. Their votes on controversial issues like spending, taxes, and education are often not in line. We've had two years of Republican leadership on the Board of Selectmen, two years of people who didn't agree, and it has been detrimental to this town. We don't need two more years of fighting and negativity. It's time to move forward….

Bruce Walczak and Bill Furrier are clearly on the same page, as are the other Independent Party candidates in this election.  We have the opportunity of a lifetime to make a sea change in the way Newtown government operates.  Do you trust that the existing system of government with the same players will really be any different?   They have had their opportunity to make changes for many years and haven’t.  In the short time IPN has had elected officials in office, we have proven that we can build consensus and get things done.  Our call for improved governance is now accepted by all candidates.  They are now supporting our long-standing positions on long-term planning, Fairfield Hills, and communication.  However, it is an uphill struggle without more likeminded people in office.  All we need are more Independent Party candidates elected to office so we can move forward more rapidly with positive changes to benefit our community.

Please vote for us and give us an opportunity of a lifetime.  This is a historic election for Newtown.  Your choice will decide this chapter in Newtown history.