This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
07/12/2017 08:00 AMIn last week’s letter “A Shared Purpose”, Joe Civitello appears to attempt to justify Sal Maltese’s flip-flopping from a Republican to an Independent Party candidate, and now to a Democrat all in the span of three years. However, there simply is no justification. Over the past three years, Mr. Maltese has traded political parties like a child trades baseball cards. The only two letters that are appropriate to appear before his name are “ME” because he only cares about his own political ambitions.
Further, Mr. Civitello’s claim about missing grant monies is plain wrong. An April 14, 2017 letter from the Department of Housing and Urban Development on file in the Mayor’s Office confirms that all $500,000 of those monies are safely reserved in a federally controlled account and are ready to be used by the town. Perhaps Mr. Civitello should have looked at that letter before misleading readers about the amount of that grant or its whereabouts.
Also, Mr. Civitello has no business critiquing the town’s finances, as he was part of a team that gave East Haven three straight deficits and, in 2010, a 17 percent tax hike. Now Sal Maltese has joined that team and adopted its members.
Nevertheless, Mr. Civitello is right. Leadership is what matters. However, Sal Maltese is not a leader. We’re fewer than 125 days from the election and he hasn’t given residents a platform or any reason to believe he can lead this community. On the other hand, Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr., has demonstrated year after year that he knows how to balance our budget, keep our taxes stable, and keep our debt under control.
Sal Maltese is a “me” person. Mayor Maturo has a clear record of fighting for us all.
Charles Lang
East Haven