To the Editor:

The Newtown League of Senior Voters organized seven different meetings at the senior Center for many of the candidates whose names appear on the November 7 ballot. Each of the candidates had an opportunity to talk about their education, their work experience, and what they can contribute to Newtown. I was impressed by the presentations and their professional achievements. But some of the new candidates were outstanding as evidenced by their creative ideas and in-depth analysis of the Newtown fiscal challenges. Their solutions reflected the corporate management culture in which they operated and succeeded. They exemplified, in my personal opinion, the necessary proactive thinking that the elected leaders will need to apply if we are ever to get a handle on continuous questionable spending that forces seniors and small businesses to leave Newtown.

I believe that we need leaders who are ready to break out of old, self-perpetuating patterns and generate new ways of looking at pressing issues like rising education costs, questionable town projects, and inflated expenditures where "the devil is in the details." Residents seem frustrated with leaders who make promises before elections and then never fulfill them. In this November election, there are some elected candidates who are again asking for voter support but seem to have failed to "walk the talk." It's time, I believe, to seriously evaluate and reflect on all the candidates and what they bring to the table because we need elected officials who possess "creative abilities" and "deliberate thinking skills" necessary for dealing with future challenges and problems.

Those candidates who seem unwilling to change their thinking are the problem because any solution becomes more difficult. We can no longer kick the can down the road especially with regard to seniors who in the last eight years have had to bear an increasing tax burden, while the other residents have not. Our current tax relief is inequitable because it fails to provide for many who live on fixed incomes and who have to deal with rising medical costs. We need more senior elected officials and now we have two senior age candidates on the ballot.

Dr Rudy Magnan

60 Watkins Drive, Sandy Hook         November 1, 2017