BETTER CHOICE 2011 Chairman Gerald Lucas responds to Democrat Chairman Stephen Anderson: "Lay your cards down on the table"

“Strawman argument”; it's a phrase that refers to the dishonest practice of deliberately misrepresenting an opponent’s true position. From attacking this misrepresented position and showing that it is wrong, it creates the perception that an opponent's true position is wrong without ever actually discussing it. 

The reason I bring this up is because it is the position of the Better Choice 2011 political action committee to take the moral high road and avoid deceptive practices like this, and dedicate ourselves to presenting to the residents of Killingworth our plans and our vision for how we intend to improve the future and character of our town. It is for this reason that I am disappointed in having to respond to the recent "Strawman" arguments used by Chairman Anderson that deliberately misrepresent our position, and having to not only correct what has been said, but also to point out what has not been said.

Strawman argument #1:  the property tax has been raised by 1.77 mills, requiring us all to pay hundreds of dollars more in taxes on our homes, and this is an absolute fact that cannot be denied. Our town administrators have given us confusing and contradictory reasons for why the people of Killingworth are obligated to shoulder this burden and we simply want to know the truth. In Selectman Iino’s address she stated that taxes have been raised due to the school budget being increased, when not a week earlier, Board of Finance Chairman McMahon announced that a tax hike was unnecessary despite the school budget being increased. When, in one moment, Selectman Iino boasts she is presiding over a town with a financial stability that is the envy of our neighboring towns, and in the next moment, she laments the primary as an overbearing expenditure the town can hardly afford, obviously, one statement or the other has to be incorrect.

Strawman argument #2:  Our town administrators are giving taxpayer money to the Parmalee Farm, and this is an absolute fact that cannot be denied. The Parmalee Farm was purchased using hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money with no clear goal in mind for its use or how it would benefit the town as a whole, and when it was discovered to be unusable for development, our town administrators turned it over to the care of a private organization, likewise with no clear goal in mind for its use or how it would benefit the town as a whole.  It’s evident this is a taxpayer funded experiment to invent a use for the property that advances no clear strategy for the town, and it is the position of The Better Choice 2011 political action committee that this is a money pit project and a prime example of our current administration throwing good money after bad.  We need to remind the Democratic party chairman that it is up to the people of Killingworth, not the town administrators with vested interests in pursuing these taxpayer funded experiments, to say whether our position is incorrect.

Strawman argument #3: Selectman Iino requested and approved raises for herself and select town employees, and this is an absolute fact that cannot be denied.  Chairman Anderson pointing out it was Board of Finance Chairman McMahon who formally submitted the raise that Selectman Iino requested is of cruel comfort.  The fact remains that the town of Killingworth is becoming too expensive to live in, even for Selectman Iino now, and the fact remains this is a situation that’s either due to Selectman Iino’s own policies, or due to the lack of them.  There is nothing in Chairman Anderson’s statement that shows how this is incorrect.

I need to point out to Chairman Anderson that the people of Killingworth aren’t stupid, nor are they little children that need a political elite to make decisions for them.  Rather, the people of Killingworth are perfectly intelligent people who are able to make sound decisions for themselves and for what they feel is best for their town, once all the facts are made available to them. This is why it is the campaign platform of the Better Choice 2011 committee to present the facts on all sides of the issues to the people of Killingworth so that they may make an informed decision in which direction they want the town to go. Therefore, instead of continuing this ridiculous waste of time from debating strawman arguments, we formally call upon the Democratic and Republican election committees to abandon these adolescent partisan politics and join us in laying out our respective plans before the people of Killingworth so that they may show how their own platforms will best serve our town.  We are openly laying our cards down on the table for all of Killingworth to see, and we invite them to do likewise so that the residents of Killingworth may determine for themselves which of the candidates "has the better hand".

First Selectman candidate Steve Hollander states our town needs an overall strategy to see it prosper and grow, and the town website as well as the Parmalee Farm need to conform to this overall strategy and cannot simply be random projects thrown together.  Board of Finance candidate David Adametz states our town needs leadership with fresh ideas and imagination to best manage our existing resources, rather than spending money we don’t have and raising taxes to get the people to foot the bill for it all. Tax Collector candidate David Miller states compassion and firmness must go hand in hand, and a family should not be made destitute simply to make a balance sheet look good. In the next few weeks we will be stating our other positions for how we intend to improve the future and character of Killingworth, and I need to remind our opposing candidates they have an equal obligation to explain their own positions to show how they will be of service to the people and to the town. Up until now, I have seen no real position from our current administrators on what they have to offer except criticism, and I think I speak for the people of Killingworth that it’s high time they justify this criticism and explain how they have actually benefitted our town in some tangible way in the past and how they intend to benefit our town in some tangible way in the future.

If this misrepresentation is all we can continue to expect from our opponents, instead of intelligent, reasonable explanations of how they can be of benefit to the people and to the town, then I think I likewise speak for the people of Killingworth that perhaps it is, in fact, time for a change.

 -Gerald "Jerry" Lucas

Chairman, The BETTER CHOICE 2011 political action committee