Letter To The Editor On Joining The Aspetuck Health District

To the Editor,

In my 10/4/21 letter in the Easton Patch I asked this question: "FS Bindelglass rushed to join the Westport Weston Health District (now called Aspetuck Health District) — but did the doctor
perform badly needed due diligence first? Did he interview Dr. Louis D'Onofrio, the Director of Community Health for WWHD who soon after Easton joined sued the Executive Director for
health and safety?"

According to a press release dated 10/6/21 quoting Dr. D'Onofrio (who is now running for Westport Selectman) the answer seems to be that Bindelglass did not interview D'Onofrio before joining
the WWHD.

Referring to my Patch letter to the editor, Dr. D'Onofrio states, "Selectman Bindelglass was being criticized for rushing into joining the Westport Weston Health district without properly
vetting the department. Selectman Bindelglass alluded to the fact that Selectman Candidate D'Onofrio's lawsuit was not rooted on a real basis."

Dr. D'Onofrio goes on to say in this press release, "I am saddened that Selectman Bindelglass would make such a public accusation, given you need to step foot in the health department
to visualize the health concerns, and I personally have never seen Selectman Bindelglass at the health department. As a healthcare provider, I do not think Selectman Bindelglass would approve of the poor office hygiene and financial misdirections that Mark Cooper, the current health director, has been allowing for years. I ask that Easton's selectman take my concerns seriously, as they are rooted in facts with evidence, and this has already been presented to the Westport Weston Health District's board members."

Also in this 10/6 press release, Westport First Selectman candidate TJ Elgin adds the following, "Rather than misleading your people, I challenge Easton's Selectman to instruct his health
district board member, Easton's police, and his RTM to launch an investigation of the health district on their own. Mark Cooper's improper operations of our regional health department needs
regional investigation."

On 10/7, I emailed D'Onofrio's press release to first selectman Bindelglass and asked him to put this issue on the agenda for that night's Board of Selectman meeting because this issue involves
important health and safety issues for Easton. He did not put it on the agenda, so I raised the issue in public comment at the meeting. At the end of the meeting Bindelglass spoke for the first
time about Dr. D'Onofrio's press release statements saying this:

"He (Dr. D'Onofrio) responded actually not to what I said, but to Grant's characterization of what I said." This is yet another completely false statement by Bindelglass. There was no
"characterization" by me. They were direct quotes that can be verified by the video recording of the 8/19/21 BOS meeting (https://vimeo.com/showcase/7815363/video/589715816).
As a medical doctor and first selectman, Dr. Bindelglass's apparent failure to thoroughly investigate the WWHD before rushing to join this outfit, and his subsequent dismissive and
pejorative comment regarding the lawsuit against it, call into question his credibility and his ability to lead our town.

Grant Monsarrat
Easton, CT