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Bringing Transparency

As a selectman I plan on bringing transparency to what is going on in our community. I can’t tell you how disappointed I am regarding the reappointment of volunteers to various boards and commissions by the Democrat Town Committee (DTC).

When I received the agenda, I was shocked to see that DTC Chair Joan Walker and First Selectman Peggy Lyons were playing politics with volunteer committees. The Democratic selectmen refused to reappoint two long-standing Republican members of the Planning & Zoning Commission, Ron Clark and Joe Bunovsky, replacing them with two Democrats. Presently the nonpartisan, nine-member board (plus three alternates) is made up of three Republicans, five Democrats, and four unaffiliated—hardly a power grab by the last administration! The Democrats are proposing to leave one Republican on the board and five Democrats. Peggy said she doesn’t want Ron Clark to be chairman and the only way they could guarantee the bipartisan committee members wouldn’t vote for him was to not reappoint him. Joan told Ron Clark that she had chosen a new chairman. Political officials should not manipulate bipartisan committee votes for chairman. This is a new low for our town.

Madison has a history of party leaders staying out of the committees’ work and supporting our volunteers. Unfortunately, this is becoming a pattern. Peggy and Joan did the same at the Board of Education (BOE). They appointed Seth Klaskin for an open seat and the BOE elected him chairman.

It is not appropriate for the leader of either political party to appoint commission chairs. Both campaigns were run with two main points: transparency and bipartisanship. We have a right to expect both. The Democrat selectmen need to stand by their campaign promises. Transparency is a must!

Selectman Noreen Kokoruda (R)

Madison