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100 Percent Volunteers

A great number of letters have appeared in the Harbor News this election season and each week I read them all. Some of the opinions expressed, I agree with and some I do not, but I feel that the letters present an opportunity to learn what people in and around town are thinking.

Normally, I would not react to any one letter however, I take great exception to the Oct. 21 letter “Listen, Communicate, and Explain” from Eleanor Susan LaPlace. Ms. LaPlace states in her letter that “voters need to remember that the people they elect are public servants and not volunteers.”

Over the past 20 years, I have served on the Connecticut River Gateway Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals, and, for the past 16 years, the Board of Finance. I have worked with many board and commission members over the years and I can assure you that, with very few exceptions, those elected “public servants” are 100 percent volunteers.

There are dozens of men and women who volunteer their time, and in many cases a lot of their time, and resources by serving on boards and commissions for the betterment of the town of Old Saybrook and its residents and taxpayers.

Yes, when elected, these men and women do serve the public, but to say that these hard-working people are anything other than volunteers is insulting.

David LaMay

Old Saybrook