Date: Fri 23-Jan-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Rosenthal-realtors-clergy

Full Text:

Mr Rosenthal's Mini Speaking Tour

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal got a bit of a surprise when he arrived as a

guest at the Newtown Board of Realtors' monthly meeting Tuesday.

He thought he was scheduled to offer some informal comments to the realtors,

but when he got there, he found out his talk had been billed as a "State of

the Town Address," something similar to what the US President will be doing

later this month.

The first selectman did not worry, though. He was plenty prepared. Despite

being in office less than two months, he has been thinking and talking about

the current state and direction of the town on a daily basis since announcing

his decision to run for office last May. He knew what the realtors would want

to know.

"It wasn't quite like a State of the Union address, but I talked a little

about Fairfield Hills, land-use and the building department and they asked

questions about the direction of the town," Mr Rosenthal explained.

After the realtors' meeting at the Fireside Inn, the first selectman headed

over to the Congregational Church to meet with the Newtown Clergy Association.

Rev Steve Gordon, who hosted this week's meeting, said inviting the first

selectman was an excellent opportunity for the clergy to keep in touch with

the community. It also allows the officials to keep in touch with what the

clergy members feel are the needs of the community.

"Herb was very responsive," Mr Gordon said.

On Tuesday, Mr Rosenthal met with students from Cathy Mazzariello's fifth

grade class at Sandy Hook School. The first selectman was amazed at the number

of good questions the youngsters asked.

"This is the fun part of the job," Mr Rosenthal said.