Can you trust the CCA in Charlestown?

After you look at their record, no, you can't

Frank Glista, Charlestown 

When voting in Charlestown, most residents look at which candidates have participated in our local government, whether by volunteering for a board or commission or by elected office.

The candidates that are supported by Charlestown Residents United (CRU) have done just that. All nine of their candidates have had extensive experience in our local government. 

In comparison, the candidates from Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) fall short of this basic achievement. 

Three of their five candidates running for Town Council and one of their four running for the Planning Commission have never been involved with any volunteer or elected position that Charlestown offers. 

So who do you trust to run our town government? Dedicated residents who have given decades of service, or citizens that have been asked to serve to fill up the CCA ballot card?

Speaking of trust, here are a couple of interesting tidbits for you to review:

■ Did you know that the CCA Town Council attempted to giveaway YOUR town-owned property by giving a conservation easement to an outside agency? (You, the voters rejected this idea by a margin of 618 to 548 during the all-day financial referendum on June 1, 2015.)

■ Did you know that the CCA knew about the Federal RailroadAdministration attempt to create the Old Saybrook /Kenyon bypass a year before the CCA revealed it to the residents of Charlestown? (Town Council Minutes of January 10, 2017, or watch the video at the 49:30 min. mark.)

■ Did you know that in 2019 the town of Charlestown had an excess surplus of $3.1 million? The CCA members of the Town Council tried to include that amount in the municipal budget that went before the voters, instead of making it a warrant question. They wanted the money to construct a building in Ninigret Park without a plan or cost estimates even though a majority of residents spoke against this plan. Only Town Council Vice President Deb Carney listened and agreed with the voters. (The CCA didn’t adhere to the will of the voters and the budget was soundly defeated by a vote of 739 to 265 at the all-day financial referendum on June 3, 2019.)

The CCA won’t tell you these things, but instead spin the truth to benefit their own agenda ... so much for transparency. Don’t fall for their propaganda. Do the research and find out for yourselves. After all, the only thing transparent about the CCA is their lack of transparency.

Please support the CRU candidates:

Deb Carney, Craig Marr, Rippy Serra, Peter Slom and Stephen Stokes for Town Council; Glenn Babcock and Laura Rom for the Planning Commission; and Ray Dreczko for town moderator and Laura Chapman for School Committee. 

A version of this article appeared as a Letter To the Editor in The Westerly Sun on October 30, 2024.