The Good Side to Local Politics

Last week I was lamenting that a proposed ordinance that might benefit the town needed work. Before the evening meeting ended, fixing the ordinance was turned into an Us vs. Them political football that soured me a bit on Town Government.Last night went a long way to restoring that sense of pride we should be feeling when doing good for the town.The Democratic Town Committee hosted its annual Sullivan Award event and for the tenth year, state and local luminaries gathered to bestow the award on Michael Tetreau. Mike’s a great guy, known around town for his work with Pop Warner football and being president of the local Realtors’ association. Beyond that, Mike has been involved in town politics for years, serving on the DTC, the RTM and currently the Board of Finance. His strength is the ability to get everyone focused on the key issues and leave the rest of the crap behind. He served brilliantly on a sub-committee that shed much needed light on how the town’s systems failed to properly file for construction reimbursements from the state. We’re better off for his and the sub-committee’s efforts.That’s serving the Public Good.At the event, Mike was showered with proclamations, gifts, hugs and many kind words. The rest of us got to chat in a relaxed setting with mediocre food that passed for an early dinner. As you would expect at such a function, all the major government leaders got their say and fortunately, no one hogged the spotlight and things moved along.I buttonholed our Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal, to lobby him on one of my pet peeves – not something you get to do most days. I got a chance to speak with several of the town’s representatives to the state legislature and also got a chance to chat with fellow DTC and RTM folk without the pressure of following an agenda. As a result, I got to actually talk to them as people. I even got to meet a few significant others reminding us all that there is a life beyond the politics.Tuesday night, the good government continues as the District 8 RTM reps meet with interested constituents. We haven’t tried this before and with the election season behind us, we can have a discussion without agendas or expectations – a real chance to hear what might be on peoples’ minds. That is, presuming anyone attends.