Hive letter by Brandon Moore.To The Editor:Earth Day in Newtown was a powerful reminder of both our progress and our responsibility.Across the country, climate change is no longer a top issue for many young voters. It’s hard to focus on the climate when you can’t afford to live. According to a recent Harvard Youth Poll, affordability issues now dominate while climate change ranks low. This reality should challenge us to better connect environmental action with the affordability crisis.But what gives me hope is what I saw here in Newtown.The Newtown Conservation Commission deserves huge congratulations for the rodenticide ban and combating invasive knotweed. The Newtown Forest Association protects the open spaces that define our community. The Friends of the Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial lead meaningful work maintaining a space of reflection and remembrance. The Newtown Lions Club makes enormous efforts to support our environment. And the Sustainable Energy Commission is working hard to advance clean energy solutions for our town.This work demands our support, our unwavering attention, and our continued investment.On the policy front, I recently spoke with Governor Ned Lamont about Revolution Wind, the offshore wind project now delivering clean energy to Connecticut. This project will power more than 350,000 homes, create thousands of jobs, and help lower energy costs. This is a true win-win-win.But most of the work is still ahead of us. We desperately need an environmental champion representing Newtown in Hartford.As a candidate for State Representative, I will fight like heck for our environment, for Newtown’s open spaces, and to ensure we tackle climate change while driving down energy costs by investing in clean energy right here in Connecticut.Above all else, Earth Day is about action. I am ready to get to work.Brandon MooreNewtown
Dear Alyssa, Kelela, and Brandon,
We send our sincere sympathy to you and your family. We will also keep you in our prayers asking our Lord to grant you comfort and peace.
With love,
Vince and Sandy Venitelli
Bruce, your advice that voters should “read, listen, and engage” would be much more persuasive if you practiced it yourself.
You campaigned on openness and responsiveness. You declared that “evasive answers or silence are unacceptable in government” and promised to answer constituent inquiries within two days. Yet you never answered my straightforward public question about Main Street demonstrations, traffic disruption, pedestrian safety, and the effects on local businesses.
After taking office, meaningful public engagement has largely been replaced by “Brews with Bruce” at the Senior Center—requiring reservations and, for some residents, a day pass. That is not accessible, townwide engagement. Previous first selectmen held open coffee hours and walk-and-talk sessions that any resident could attend.
Then came the failed storm communications, your apology, and another promise to communicate better—followed shortly afterward by more silence while multiple police agencies conducted a significant search near Saw Mill Road.
You now tell voters to examine what candidates say and “how they say it.” I would suggest going one step further: compare what politicians promise while seeking office with what they actually do after winning.
Your record presents a stark contrast. You told voters exactly what they wanted to hear to get the job, then failed to live by those promises. Whether that is dishonesty or simply indifference, it is the same familiar, two-faced politics you once claimed you would replace.
Nothing says “I care about Newtown homeowners” quite like lining Main Street with plywood campaign billboards—apparently built just inches below the size at which officials say they can take action. At this rate, we’ll need property-tax relief just to offset the loss in curb appeal.
