Letter to the Editor: Killian Apologies to Town Clerk, Carroll Leaves Ballot

Letters to the editors are printed as a courtesy to readers, and do not necessarily express opinions by the Insider volunteer staff. John Killian is the Realistic Balance Party founder and Mayoral candidate. As with all letter's to the editor, legitimacy of all claims made are solely responsibility of the author of the letter;not the editorial staff of the Insider.

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First, I want to reiterate that I have great confidence in Linda Bettencourt's personal integrity, and appreciate her contributions as the official of this year's election in Middletown.
I want to address proactively any criticism that is bound to arise from Chairman Fred Carroll's intended departure from this year's ballot. While this may frustrate the City's wish to print ballots as soon as possible, with good intentions to facilitate the fulfillment of absentee ballot applications, any printing of ballots prior to a settlement of Kilian v. Bettencourt is presumptive of an outcome in the City's favor, despite recent legal precedent to the contrary.
I have spoken to both Linda and SOS Attorney Ted Bromley about the process that would follow a vacancy created by Fred's withdrawal. Linda confirmed to me that Middletown Counsel supports the right of Realistic Balance Party to replace this vacancy. These conversations have convinced me that our differences due not stem from any malice on their part.
However, this time we will be asking for the parameters for compliance with the law as they see it to be confirmed in writing and in advance.
Sincerely,
John Kilian
Secretary, Realistic Balance Party of Middletown.

Letter to the Editor: Realistic Balance Party Files Suit Against Town Clerk Middletown

Letters to the editors are printed as a courtesy to readers, and do not necessarily express opinions by the Insider volunteer staff. John Killian is the Realistic Balance Party founder and Mayoral candidate. As with all letter's to the editor, legitimacy of all claims made are solely responsibility of the author of the letter;not the editorial staff of the Insider.

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This morning, via phone call, I requested the Town Clerk of the City of Middletown to provide a copy of the Working Family Party's endorsement letter of their candidates for election in 2013 in the City of Middletown. I was told that before such documents were revealed that she would first have to consult with the City Attorney.

My wife appeared in the Clerk's office and, after also being denied a request for this and other documents in person, filed a written request.

This afternoon I received access to these documents.
Among them is a hardcopy of a simple text email conferring the Working Families Party endorsement, without any signatures.
This seems at odds with a strict reading of the statute that the Town Clerk claims left her no option but to remove several people from the Realistic Balance Party line of this year's ballot.  It certainly deserves to be brought to the attention of the Middletown public.
Attached is a scanned version of the email hardcopy provided to me this afternoon.
Sincerely,
John Kilian
Plaintiff
Kilian v. Bettencourt, Docket CV135008261

Middletown's Town Clerk to Retire Friday

Sandra Russo-Driska, Middletown's Town Clerk will be retiring Friday June 21, 2013. From the all of us at the Middletown Insider, we wish her a a Happy& Prosperous Retirement! A public coffee hour in her honor is being held at City Hall from 9-11 am Friday.

No word on who will fill the vacant position.

We Need Your Help

A few weeks ago, William Wilson, vice chair of the Middletown Republican Town Committee sent letters to the Mayor, Town Clerk, and Water & Sewer Director under FOI for some documents that would show where tax payer money is being sent. Below is his letter. We are told, he has only received the receipt for Mayor Drew's plane ticket to China, and nothing more. The questions below are very important to tax payers. Do not let your city government get away with ignoring the voice of the people. They can ignore one, but not many! 
Download the FOI Here
If you care about where your money is going copy and paste this letter, sign your name & address, and either email or send to: 
question@MiddletownCT.gov 
cc: TownClerk@MiddletownCT.gov
Town Clerk, City Hall
245 deKoven Drive
Middletown, CT 06457 

To: The Town Clerk of the City of Middletown,
     I am sending this letter as an FOI request to be answered by the appropriate parties within the City of Middletown. I would like the all the relevant reports that will answer the questions below.

1.How many discharges from the sewer treatment located at 100 River Road have there been in the last 5 years?  How many gallons per discharge into the Connecticut River during that time? Please provide any DEP reports of spillage & discharge for the last 5 years.

2. Please provide me the relevant reports to disclose any and all spills into the Connecticut River stemming from Middletown's sewage treatment plant and relevant systems dating back five years. Have there been any other spills as documented by the City of Middletown into the Connecticut river where sewage has been discharged or overflowed? Please provide any and all  bypass reports.

3. Please provide documentation to answer the following question: Have there been any fines due to discharges or spills during the past five years to the Water and Sewer department? If so, when, why and for what amount?

4.Please provide information regarding billing oversight at the Water & Sewer department. How many billing complaints have been filed in the past five years? How many customers have been misbilled? Please provide a record of this and the remedy.

5. Please provide receipts& expense report for the Mayor's trip to China. Please also provide the detailed summary report he told the Common Council he would provide at the Common Council meeting immediately following his return. Please include a detailed list of whom he met with.

6. Please provide copies of the documents prepared by the architect hired by the Mayor to do drawings of a proposed addition to house the senior center at City Hall.

7. Please provide a list of open commission seats as of the date of this letter. A list is provided to the Common Council at the Mayor's request but not to the public.

8. In March or 2012, a report was summarizing for the Common Council stating that results of the independent investigation of the Water & Sewer Dept. A report was created at the expense of $10k. Please provide a full copy of this report.

All subsequent data provided may be returned to me as printable pdf files in digital format on CDs I will provide, in lieu of paper copies at the City's earliest convenience.

Sincerely,  Your Name & Address Here