Category Archives: Politics

Carney Earns 100 Percent Voting Record for 2017 Legislative Session

Posted on by
Reply

State Rep. Devin Carney

State Representative Devin Carney (R-23),, whose district includes Lyme, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook and the southern section of Westbrook, earned a 100 percent voting record for the 2017 legislative session according to recently released data from the House Clerk’s office. There were 417 votes cast during the 2017 regular session and special session. This marks Carney’s third year in a row with a perfect voting record.

“It is my duty to be present for every vote and I am glad to have accomplished that for the third year in a row,” said Rep. Carney. “My first priority is to ensure that the people of Lyme, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook and Westbrook always have a voice in Hartford.”

Rep. Carney currently serves as the top House Republican on the Transportation Committee and is also a member of the Environment Committee and the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.

The next regular legislative session will convene in February 2018.

For an overview of important legislation addressed in the 2017 legislative session visit the Office of Legislative Research website:www.cga.ct.gov/olr/Documents/year/MA/2017MA-20170620_Major Acts for 2017.pdf

Anyone with questions, ideas or concerns about state-related issues can contact Rep. Carney’s office at Devin.Carney@housegop.ct.gov or 860-240-8700.

Lyme First Selectman Candidates Respond to Our Questions

Posted on by
Reply

To assist our Lyme readers in making their choices regarding for whom they should vote tomorrow, we posed three questions in writing to the candidates for Lyme First Selectman as follows:

  1. Why are you running?
  2. What are the three most significant issues that Lyme is currently facing?
  3. With reference to your Question 2 response, which issue of the three is the greatest and how do you envisage dealing with it?

We gave a 250-word limit for the response to each question to which each candidate adhered strictly: we are most appreciative of that.

We thank both candidates sincerely for responding in a timely manner and are pleased to publish their responses today accompanied by their respective biographies and photos.

Click on the links below to read each candidate’s responses:

Steven Mattson (D): Candidate (Incumbent) for Lyme First Selectman

Mark Wayland (R): Candidate for Lyme First Selectman

 

Old Lyme Board of Selectmen Candidates Respond to our Questions

Posted on by
Reply

To assist our Old Lyme readers in making their choices regarding for whom they should vote on Tuesday, we posed three questions in writing to the candidates for the Old Lyme Board of Selectmen as follows:

  1. Why are you running?
  2. What are the three most significant issues that Old Lyme is currently facing?
  3. With reference to your Question 2 response, which issue of the three is the greatest and how do you envisage dealing with it?

We gave a 250-word limit for the response to each question to which each candidate adhered strictly: we are most appreciative of that.

We thank all the candidates for responding in a timely manner and are pleased to publish their responses today accompanied by their respective biographies and photos.

Click on the links below to read each candidate’s responses:

Bonnie Reemsnyder (D): Candidate (Incumbent) for Old Lyme First Selectwoman

Judith “Jude” Read (R): Candidate for Old Lyme First Selectwoman

Mary Jo Nosal (D): Candidate (Incumbent) for Old Lyme Selectwoman

Chris Kerr (R): Candidate for Old Lyme Selectman

 

Letter to the Editor: (Still Unfinished) Boathouse Project Cost to Town Now $550K Over STEAP Grant/Donations; Elect Read to Regain Fiscal Responsibility

Posted on by
2

To the Editor:

Old Lyme Town Ordinance 20-8 states: “The responsibility for the management, control and development of the Town’s recreational facilities and expenditures made in connection therewith is vested in a Parks and Recreation Commission” (PRC). Thus, PRC requested that it review and approve plans proposed by the ad hoc Boathouse/Hains Park Improvement Committee (BHPIC), as it did for the original Boathouse in 1987 and all three phases of Town Woods Park.

While PRC supported the plan to upgrade the existing Boathouse submitted with the $478,000 STEAP grant, PRC raised serious objections to subsequent BHPIC plans involving $405,000 in Town funds.  So, First Selectwoman Reemsnyder decided to overrule Ordinance 20-8, and requested the previous Town Attorney justify her decision. That factually inaccurate “justification” was unambiguously refuted by a highly respected local attorney on legal grounds.  However, Ms. Reemsnyder continued to ignore PRC concerns about BHPIC-proposed Boathouse plans and likely cost overruns.

The result:  the Boathouse phase of the project exceeded the budget presented to the community in Jan 2016 by over $175,000 – primarily due to structural and code issues and related design errors and omissions; and the project is still not complete, due to on-going drainage issues.

Because the Boathouse cost overrun consumed funds earmarked for the project’s second phase:  upgrading the park’s ADA accessibility and restrooms for use by both rowers and the public, Ms. Reemsnyder requested an additional $150,000 be incorporated into Old Lyme’s 2017-18 Annual Budget to complete the project.  This brings total Town costs to $555,000, in addition to the STEAP Grant funds and donations.

We need experienced community leadership that respects important checks and balances, and will restore governmental and fiscal responsibility to Old Lyme.

Please elect Jude Read First Selectwoman!

Sincerely,

Bob Dunn,
Old Lyme.

Editor’s Note i): The author is the Old Lyme Parks & Recreation Commission Chairman, former chairman of the Town Woods Park Building Committee.

Editor’s Note ii): The author is also a member of the Boathouse/Hains Park Improvement Committee. We apologize that this detail was omitted from the original posting of the letter.

Letter to the Editor: Wayland, Lord Are Both From Lyme, For Lyme, Understand Lyme

Posted on by
Reply

To the Editor:

I am pleased to have served the Town of Lyme for many years as a selectman, school board member and for 30 years as state representative in Hartford. During that period, I worked with some great selectmen in Lyme who knew the importance of maintaining our essential services with one of the lowest property tax rates in the state.

I am now confident that, when elected, Mark Wayland will continue with our tradition of having exceptional people serve our town as its chief executive officer. He grew up in Lyme and knows firsthand what our residents appreciate and in fact why many have moved here from other towns in the state.

I hope you will vote for Mark and his running mate, long time Board of Selectmen member, Parker Lord, on Nov. 7. They are both from Lyme and deserve to be elected.

Sincerely,

John J. Tiffany II,
Lyme.