By Dave Richardson

Municipal elections are less than a week away, and though there are only a handful of seats being contested, the strain is starting to show.  

With seats on the BOE and BOS essentially settled as there is only one candidate for each seat, most of the focus has been on the four candidates vying for the two open BOF seats.  Yesterday the RTC, in a move that cries of desperation, came out in support of democrat Richard Cass.  Why Cass versus me, a registered republican, or Charlie Super, either of which actually have experience managing large complex budgets?  Simple, they are absolutely petrified that someone knowledgeable, who might ask hard straight forward questions, would get on the Board of Finance.

In their latest attack on me they try to draw an analogy to Joe Breen and the Breen party of a few years ago suggesting that I have some hidden agenda and have been somehow working that agenda behind the scenes.   The record however is very clear.  Over the last three years I have spoken out in PUBLIC meetings - town meetings and BOF meetings - openly raising questions and issues with the administration of Prop 46 and with deceptive spending and mismanagement, especially on the part of the BOE/WPS administration.  I have also repeatedly written about these issues in the Villager and at this website, and provided the supporting data – all public records available through the town treasurer’s or school superintendent’s offices and posted on this website along with video – for anyone who chooses to check it.   I have also offered, repeatedly, to sit down with the BOS and/or BOF and the town attorney to review and discuss the issues that I have raised.  This is the direct opposite of what has been done in the past. I could not have been more open and upfront about any of these issues. 

Specifically on Prop 46 and the suggestion that I am somehow a threat: I am the one who for the last three years has been pointing out that the BOF and BOS have been skirting the spending limits through blatant errors that resulted in over $1.7 million in excess taxes charged to the taxpayers over the last 6 years, and creative accounting procedures like those which have allowed emergency expenses approved as ONE TIME expenditures to be rolled over year after year.   What I find almost comical is that the only time these folks come out in support of Prop 46 is election time.  Even Mr. Cass, a self declared “tax and spend liberal” is now a Prop 46 supporter, as is Mr. McCoy whose stated financial management philosophy is “let’s worry about next, next year”.  And I’m the threat to Prop 46?   From 1980 until 2004 Prop 46 appears to have worked just fine having been triggered only with exception such as when large expenditures, like bonding for the new town hall or the middle school, pushed spending to the limit; since 2004 it has been the rule and has been abused year after year.  

While there may be only a very few seats in contention this year, getting out and voting couldn’t be more important for the future of our town.  Therefore, I ask you to please come out and vote in support of me and Charlie Super, then perhaps we can stop some of the shenanigans that have been going on far too long.

Dave Richardson