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Residents Should be Skeptic

It’s election season in East Haven and lately I’ve heard many of the mayor’s critics arguing that it’s time for a change. However, residents should be skeptical of the type of change the mayor’s opponent will deliver.

In 2007, Mayor Joe Maturo’s critics convinced the residents of East Haven that it was time for a change. When the Democratic party won, they delivered a change—for the worse. Between 2007 and 2011, the town suffered three deficits and saw its rainy day fund spiral from a $4.1 million surplus to a deficit of almost $5.2 million. In 2011, in an attempt to try and clean up the mess it had created, the Democratic administration instituted a 17 percent tax hike, the largest in the town’s modern history.

In this upcoming election, the same party that nearly bankrupted this town between 2007 and 2011 has nominated Sal Maltese, who is trying to tell the residents that it is once again time for a change. They’re calling themselves the “new” Democratic Party because they don’t want residents to remember the deficits, debt, and crippling 17 percent tax hike they gave East Haven the last time they controlled Town Hall.

East Haven residents shouldn’t be fooled again this November. Quit simply, none of us can afford the type of change Sal Maltese and his slate have a reputation for delivering.

Steve Tracey

East Haven

Republican Steve Tracey is seeking a District 1 seat on the Town Council in the November election.