Winsted Republicans evade public forum

Members of the Winchester Republican party announced a hugely disappointing decision this month, saying their candidates for local office will not participate in a political debate at The Gilbert School.While it is understandable that the GOP will not be participating in a Board of Education debate on Oct. 17, as they have fielded no candidates for the school board, the party is also sitting out a selectmen’s debate on Oct. 24, purportedly because they don’t like the idea of sharing a stage with so many competing candidates, who might take attention away from them — or worse, call attention to their record.Based on the performance of local Republican selectmen in recent years, the GOP candidates may have good reason to fear a debate. Republicans have been the party of “no” for the past two years, impeding economic progress while simultaneously claiming to be experienced business people. Redundant negativity and shouting have been regularly employed tactics at public meetings.One major economic initiative selectmen considered this past term, a Winchester Land Trust land-preservation deal that would have brought more than $400,000 to the town, was killed by the GOP for what can only be seen as personal political reasons, and Republican party members came up with absolutely nothing as an alternative to bring in new money.Instead, the GOP-led majority voted to illegally defund the town’s school system this year, shorting students by more than $1.3 million, and have since started a fight with state Board of Education officials over the minimum budget requirement for Winchester Public Schools.Explaining all of that in an open forum might prove difficult for a group of people whose mission is supposed to be doing what’s best for the town. But deciding not to participate in a debate hosted by local high school students amounts to an act of collective political cowardice. It’s also a slap in the face to high school students, who put a tremendous amount of effort into organizing debates for the benefit of the community.Republican candidates for the Board of Selectmen seem to think they can behave any way they want without having to answer to local voters, and skipping out on this month’s debate is a perfect example of their arrogance. That’s reason enough not to vote for them on Nov. 8.

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