Committee Nominations Process Reveals Tension Between Parties

 The tension between majority Republicans and minority Democrats on the Winchester Board of Selectmen is still apparent as the seven-member board works its way through its third month on the job. At Tuesday night’s regular meeting, the issue of committee appointments came up, with Democrats Candy Perez and Michael Renzullo complaining that the process of nominating and approving new committee members had been arbitrarily changed by the majority.
 
 
 The Democrats rightly pointed out that Republicans made them jump through hoops to make two recent committee appointments, requiring letters and a waiting period for nominees to be approved. On Tuesday, the GOP brought forward a number of new committee appointments, deciding to nominate and approve the candidates immediately. Perez spoke up, asking if Republicans were changing the process. “I just want to know if this is what the process is now,â€� she said.
 
Senior Republican David Cappabianca said Democrats were welcome to bring nominations to the table and that he did not “recall� requiring the Democrats to observe a waiting period for their appointments. In any case, he said, the new process will be a streamlined one, in which nominations will be brought to the board and voted on at the same meeting. Cappabianca may also not recall that he was one of the proponents of a waiting period for appointments during the last board’s term, when he was a member of the minority party. He and fellow Republican Jay Case abandoned the process entirely at one point, complaining they were not being adequately represented in the nominating process.

 
Despite the fact that Democrats now feel similarly put out, it’s not the Republicans’ responsibility to assist them. Renzullo said at one point Tuesday that he hoped he could discuss nominations with the Democratic Town Committee and bring them forward to the board for discussion. The uneasy silence that followed had symptoms of suppressed laughter.

 
The Democrats can suggest whatever they want, but Republicans certainly have no obligation to care what the Democratic Town Committee thinks, and that’s just tough luck. If the minor party wants to bring forth nominations, it should do so in a timely fashion. All that’s required is a little planning ahead.

Latest News

Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

Keep ReadingShow less
Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

Keep ReadingShow less