Letter to the editor submitted by Rick Novakowski, Cos Cob
To the editor,
While we have come to expect from politics in Washington DC, and atmosphere of divisive dialogue and questionable ethics, one would hope we could avoid it in a municipal election. After all, although opinions may differ in a town wide election, at the end of the day aren’t we neighbors who attend church together, whose kids go to school and play together? Apparently that matters little to first selectmen candidate Jill Oberlander.
The Democratic candidate and current chair of the BET seems hell bent on bringing such division to a neighborhood near you! And she doesn’t only save her combative nature for the opposing party. Just ask former DTC chair Tony Turner. In a September 23 BET meeting in which a resolution to look into a finding by the state elections enforcement commission in which the Democratic candidates including Turner and Oberlander were cited for and fined because of was presented, Oberlander attempted to silence Turner from presenting emails uncovering her knowledge of and participation in the misuse of contributions. But she didn’t stop with Turner. It was revealed at the meeting that Ms. Oberlander also attempted to coerce a Republican board member not to support the motion or “other info may come out on you.”
A prosecutor might refer to such behavior as extortion. The threatening phone call had the board member so upset that she contacted the town attorney and considered also contacting Greenwich Police.
By contrast, her opponent, Fred Camillo has spent his life in public service improving lives and uniting. In Hartford, as current state representative has introduced successful legislation including a distracted driving law in 2013, a measure bringing estate taxes on a par with federal regulations encouraging residents to remain in the state, as well as the Good Samaritan law which protects the lives of children and pets trapped in vehicles in extreme conditions.
In addition while both candidates tout their desire to ensure our public schools maintain their excellent status, Camillo not only attended those same schools but also served for years as a teacher. When given the opportunity to have her own children attend, Ms. Oberlander chose private schooling.
While we may have little control over the tenor of discourse in Washington DC, we should do all we can in our own community to ensure we treat each other with a manner of respect. Please join me in electing a good neighbor and leader we can all be proud of, Fred Camillo our next first selectmen.
Rick Novakowski
Cos Cob