Letters

Brandon Moore Gives Democrats A Better Chance

By None

Published: Apr 23, 2026 3:55 pm

To The Editor:

I care deeply about facts. So let’s look at them.

At the recent debate, Michelle Embree Ku suggested her electoral history puts her in a strong position to win this seat. The numbers say the exact opposite.

In 2024, Michelle Embree Ku lost to Mitch Bolinsky by 592 votes, a margin of -3.8%.

Compare that to the Democratic campaigns before her. Michelle Embree Ku chose not to run in 2022, leaving Mitch Bolinsky to win unopposed. In 2020, Rebekah Harriman-Stites lost by 387 votes (-2.7%). In 2018, she came within just 122 votes (-1.1%).

Let me be clear: Michelle Embree Ku performed significantly worse than any Democrat since 2016. Michelle Embree Ku didn’t just lose, she moved us further away from winning this seat.

If Rebekah Harriman-Stites were the candidate today, I would support her over Michelle Embree Ku. The data shows Rebekah Harriman-Stites was a far more effective candidate.

Importantly, 2024 was not a bad year in Newtown for all Democrats. Congresswoman Jahana Hayes won Newtown by 7% and Kamala Harris won Newtown by 10%. Meanwhile, Michelle Embree Ku performed 14% worse than the Democrat at the top of the ticket. That is a massive problem.

I understand why outspoken Republicans in town are praising Michelle Embree Ku on social media, while attacking Brandon Moore. They know exactly who they would rather run against. That is no secret, it is a strategy to keep Mitch Bolinsky in the seat.

As a Democrat, I have one singular focus for the good of all Newtown: vote Mitch Bolinsky out of office.

Based on the data, there is no question who gives us the best chance to do that: Brandon Moore.

He led Bruce Walczak to an 11% victory this past November and he has the state government experience, leadership skills, and energy to deliver an even bigger victory against Mitch Bolinsky this year. He is supported by many knowledgeable elected officials.

We cannot give Mitch Bolinsky an eighth term. That’s why I’m strongly with Brandon Moore. As is my wife, a former Ku campaign member.

Michael Arce

Newtown

None

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Where was our CodeRED? For over 4 years Newtown has a CodeRED system. The town tells residents it exists for emergencies and points to things like missing persons, wildfires, and criminal activity as the kinds of incidents it is meant to address. Yet we had no CodeRED for Kateri Doty, no CodeRED for the brush fires, and no CodeRED for yesterday’s manhunt with police and tracking dogs moving through our backyards. That is not one oversight. That is a pattern. Under sleepy Bruce Walczak, the town has an emergency notification system that never seems to get used when actual emergencies happen. Whether or not Bruce physically sends the alert himself is beside the point. If the system is not being used, if residents are left hearing about dangerous situations from Facebook and the neighbors’ kids instead of from their own government, then that failure belongs to him. Newtown residents should not have to guess when there is a public safety issue unfolding around them. If Bruce Walcz"zzz"ak cannot make sure an emergency alert system is used for emergencies, then what exactly is he doing?

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So your counterpoint is that The Bee prints the same number of pages regardless of how much content appears in it. If that is true, then I stand corrected. I actually doubt that is the case.

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Thank you for continuing to read my letters and bringing attention to them. As I said the last time you went through this tortured calculation, the Bee would be printing the same number of pages with or without my contributions. Why not spend your time writing a letter to the editor trumpeting all the great triumphs you think Trump has accomplished?

The Bee publishes about 3,800(1) copies each week. This is now the 24th installment of “Trump’s Triumphs,” and these pieces generally run about 9 to 11 column inches each. Given the Bee’s broadsheet page size of 16.75" by 22.75" — or roughly 136 column inches per full page — that means this series has consumed the equivalent of about 6,700 full broadsheet pages over 24 installments, or roughly 0.42 acres of paper surface. If those pages were laid down end to end, sheet by sheet, they would stretch from the flagpole all the way to the transfer station — about 2.4 miles. On the theme of Earth Day, it is worth remembering that at some point, it stops being civic discourse and starts looking like a remarkable waste of paper. Source figures: 3,800 copies per week, approximately 10 column inches per installment, 136 column inches per full page, 7.35% of a page per installment, across 24 installments.

I strongly urge the Board of Selectmen to reject this proposal.

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Brandon Moore Gives Democrats A Better Chance

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