While The Newtown Bee takes no position on who should or should not be elected to office in any given election, we are directly affected by the choices made by Newtown voters in who we will be working with over any given period of time. And when someone has been around as long as former State Representative Mitch Bolinsky, who ably served the town for 14 years in the 106th District, it would be remiss in not acknowledging our longtime associate who we spent so many years working with and covering. Also, we must recognize former State Senator Tony Hwang, who retired rather than run this year after ten years of service in the Senate's 28th District, and Martin Foncello, who was also denied a re-election bid for the State 107th district representative seat on Election Day after four years of service.

While Newtown is changing its legislative delegation from all Republicans to all Democrats, we take a moment to thank Bolinsky, Hwang, and Foncello for all their time working with us, sharing their experiences in Hartford, and everything they've done for the residents of Newtown. All three were truly dedicated to their constituency, and even beyond, as one Bee staff family member relied on Hwang to help fix an issue with an Affordable Care Act plan; and that is just one of many stories of how the three provided individual assistance to those in need.

Feeling that one of his most important roles as a senator is as an advocate for his constituents, especially during these “unprecedented economic times,” Hwang and his staff have been acting as a conduit to help provide solutions for unemployment benefits, especially with independent contractors and the self-employed.

Bolinsky's work with the Aging Committee will have an impact on Connecticut families for years to come. Bolinsky said that he watched both of his parents languish and die in convalescent homes he felt did not take proper care of them, each of them dying of infections during their stays at one. Bolinsky dedicated a large amount of his legislative career towards helping seniors age in place, in their own homes, and making it easier for the families of those seniors to take care of them. His bipartisan work with the Aging Committee chair, Democrat Jane Garibay, has produced bills like House Bill 5001 in 2024, which overhauled the state’s elder care system, including requiring more oversight of home care workers, creating a speedier process for accessing Medicaid, and launching a registry to make it easier for consumers to find caregivers.

We wish all three men well in their future endeavors, and thank them for their collective 28 years of service.

At the same time, we look forward to working with their successors, Michelle Embree Ku, Rob Blanchard, and Julie Kerton.