My recent post highlighting the toxic aspects of the Knickerbocker administration contained an erroneous statement that demands clarification.
First of all, I’d like to apologize to Town Attorney Martin Lawlor for stating that he changed the wording of the call of the April 2012 "All or None" from what was legally warned in the News -Times. That sentence misstated the facts and I publicly retract it.
What he actually did was worse: He altered the language of the legal warning, changing the call of the meeting from the language on the original petition signed by the taxpayers of Bethel.
Find out what's happening in Bethelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The "All or None" petition, signed by nearly 600 residents (5%of Bethel's registered voters), was designed to "compel and urge" the Selectmen to enact an ordinance that would prohibit the selective use of taxpayer-funded " voting reminders" once the date of a referendum had been set.
By changing the language of the petition post facto from "compel and urge" to "consider and recommend,” the Town Attorney eviscerated the purpose of the Town Meeting, changed the intent of the petition and the nullified the efforts of the signators. The current administration's altering of the petition language was a legal strategy designed to thwart the the will of the citizens who were seeking equal treatment by local officials.
Find out what's happening in Bethelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A voting majority supported a motion made by Michael Duff to revise the call of the meeting to reflect the original language on the petition. First Selectman candidate Will Duff was among those who supported that motion.
Altering the petition language and ignoring the town meetings' approval of the "All or None" ordinance are examples of this administration’s' toxic "fundamental transformation" of the town of Bethel.
Will Duff as First Selectman of Bethel is the antidote!
