To The Editor:

Please re-elect Debbie Aurelia Halstead. She grew up in Newtown, knows its history and people, and has served as Town Clerk for more than a dozen years. She hires great staff, simplifies processes and continually upgrades the technologies. She even generates some funds for the town. People who need certified prints of land records and other vital information now add more than $25,000 each year to town coffers.

Residents can find most everything they need online at the Town Clerk’s site. Birth, marriage and death certificates, and other vital records are all available online. Property records are safe, too. One of the most valuable services provided by the office is a special computer program that recognizes fraud and specifically protects land records. There is also an online dog registration.

Today, our Town Clerk has recognized leadership in Connecticut, and Debbie regularly speaks at multiple town and state organizations. We see her everywhere — friendly, recognizing others and asking about their lives. She’s a Relay for Life captain, she does the books for Meals on Wheels, she’s a leader on CERT, the Citizen’s Emergency Response Team. Many people know her through her years of volunteer work at the Sandy Hook firehouse, and later, when she and Bill Halstead were married.

Debbie is a true leader and volunteer. Please join me in re-electing her to the position she already serves so well — Newtown Town Clerk.

Jane Sharpe

Newtown