Letter: 'This Is Not An 'Oops, I'm Sorry Situation''

To The Editor:

Ready! Fire! Aim! "This is not an oops I'm sorry situation."

This Board of Selectmen has provided more opportunity for public comment than any time since the heydays of the Kupinse era. Badly needed and commendable.

That said, an election issue of serious concern is first selectman Bindelglass's tendency to be unorganized and act in haste, often without adequate time for public discussion, participation, or clarification of important matters. Here are just a few examples:

1. Newly elected, FS Bindelglass quickly issued a resolution declaring racism as a public health crisis in Easton without citing any specific support or allowing any public discussion – causing dissention, anger and widespread disharmony in Easton. The resolution was then soundly defeated by the public at the polls.

2. 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 violations? If the first selectman had asked, one would think that Dr. D'Onofrio would have told him about the many alleged problems. Then, in Dr. Bindelglass's August 19 BOS meeting he said this about Dr. D'Onofrio's lawsuit: “There are some things I have to be a little bit evasive about with the lawsuit," and then he immediately went on to say, “I daresay that not all lawsuits have a real basis.” That's not evasive – it smacks of judgment.

3. The first selectman waited until the very last minute to finalize the Land Use and Ethics Ordinances, disallowing adequate time for public scrutiny, input, discussion, and clarification. He recently missed the deadline for signing the Aspetuck Land Trust (ALT) purchase agreement and scrambled to obtain an emergency extension to avoid losing the deal. In the 9/16/21 BOS meeting selectman Sogofsky told Bindelglass, "This is not an oops I'm sorry situation," and then she went on to recite a long litany of serious deficiencies in Bindelglass's handling of the ALT grant, contract, and sale processes. The first selectman had to admit that he "managed the process poorly."

Why is all this happening? Is the first selectman, as a practicing orthopedic surgeon, unable to devote enough of his time and attention to the first selectman's job?

This haphazard "ready fire aim" process of town governance needs to be corrected. And FS Bindelglass also needs to stop disparaging his constituents with broad, unsubstantiated smears like claims of conspiracy theories, sensationalism, and fear mongering.

Grant Monsarrat
Easton, CT