Vernon Connecticut Democrats » VDTC

Terri Goldich – Successful Board of Education Candidate

Vernon Democrats — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 14:53:26 +0000

Terri Goldich – Vernon, CT Board of Education Candidate
tgoldich@snet.net

Member, Vernon Board of Education
Past Member, Vernon Planning and Zoning Commission
Lay Leader and Sunday School teacher, Rockville United Methodist Church
Co-Chair, Connecticut Children’s Book Fair
Librarian and Curator, Northeast Children’s Literature Collection, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, 1996-Present
UConn Libraries
RHS Graduate and Mother of RHS Graduate
BA, UConn; MLS, Southern Connecticut State University

Michael Winkler – Successful Town Council Candidate

Vernon Democrats — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 14:39:47 +0000

Michael Winkler – Vernon, CT Town Council Candidate

michaelwinkler@comcast.net

Member, Vernon Town Council
Past Member, Zoning Board of Appeals
Member, Community Voice Channel Board of Directors
Member, Friends of Valley Falls
First Vice-President, Administrative and Residual Employees Union
Masters Degree in Political Science (Public Administration), UConn

Marie Herbst – Successful Town Council Candidate

Vernon Democrats — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:07:32 +0000

Marie A. Herbst – Vernon, CT Town Council Candidate

pemaherbst@comcast.net

Member, Vernon Town Council
Former Vernon Mayor
Former Member, Vernon Board of Education
Founder, Community Tag Sale/Halloween Happening
Chair, Public Safety Complex Building Committee
Member, Town Capital Improvement Committee
Bicentennial Committee (Bicentennial Book Chair)
Member, Tolland County Chamber of Commerce
Member, Friends of Valley Falls
Member, Vernon Historical Society
Member, Rockville Downtown Association and Rockville Community Alliance
Retired Teacher
BA, Albany St; MA, Columbia Teachers’ College; Intermediate Supervisory, UConn

Former public works chief takes Vernon mayor to task

Vernon Democrats — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:57:07 +0000

By Max Bakke
Journal Inquirer

Published: Monday, August 17, 2009 11:09 AM EDT

VERNON — George Fetko, lately the public works director in Ellington, blasted his former employer, Republican Mayor Jason L. McCoy, for acting unprofessionally in his failure to hire a fulltime replacement following his resignation from a similar post in March.

He added: “Six months later, the Public Works Department still has no fulltime director. This reinforces the reasons why I left — this administration does not have the experience or the knowledge to recognize the importance of this department.”

Fetko’s letter goes on to accuse McCoy of ignoring two public works employees who volunteered to take over for him while the mayor sought a fulltime replacement. Meanwhile, David Tomko is presently serving as the interim public works director.

When reached by e-mail for comment Friday McCoy said that Fetko told him that no one on his staff was qualified to serve as public works director on an interim or permanent basis and that no existing employees would be interested in applying for the post fulltime.

McCoy also dismissed Fetko’s letter as inaccurate and praised Tomko’s work as a qualified temporary department head, and mentioned newly-hired Assistant Town Administrator Peter Graczykowski, whom McCoy said has a strong background in public works learned from past employment with the city of Springfield.The vacant fulltime director’s position has received a markedly higher level of scrutiny that past McCoy appointments after the disclosure that former councilman and past mayoral candidate Robert Kleinhans, a fellow Republican and longtime friend to McCoy was seeking the job.

McCoy failed to hire Kleinhans at a council meeting in July, when two Republicans, Dan Anderson and Nancy Herold, joined four council Democrats to block the hire.

Democrats have called the potential hire overtly partisan and have questioned Kleinhans’ credentials as it relates to the public works job.

Kleinhans, who lives in the Niantic section of East Lyme, owns the Vernon construction company, Bunnell Construction Co. Inc., and serves on the town’s Economic Development Commission and the Rockville Downtown Associations’ board of directors. He is East Lyme’s deputy first selectman, though he is reportedly not seeking re-election this fall.

He was on the Vernon Town Council from 1997 to 2005, and ran for mayor in 2005. He also twice ran for a seat in the state legislature.

The council is slated to meet Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. It’s unclear if McCoy intends to bring a candidate for the director’s position before the council at that time

Fetko declined to discuss the letter publicly, and has been otherwise mum about his reasons for leaving Vernon. His departure earlier this year, combined with a grievance he filed in spring against the town over accrued vacation and sick time, have fueled speculation among McCoy critics that the pair’s working relationship was strained around the time of Fetko’s resignation.

“On March 10, 2009 I gave notice that I was resigning as Vernon’s director of public works. The first priority for Mayor McCoy and the town administrator should have been to search for a qualified, experience director to run the department,” Fetko wrote in a letter to the Journal Inquirer Friday.

Democrats Seek Citizen Input on Energy

Vernon Democrats — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:26:55 +0000

Vernon, 15 July 2009: Democratic mayoral candidate Michele Arn wants to hear ideas from Vernon townspeople about what the town’s energy efficiency and clean energy policies should be. Vernon is eligible for up to $110,767 in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) under the federal American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) stimulus effort, but must submit a specific proposal for funding by September 15. While the current town administration theoretically has an Energy Efficiency Committee to address just this question, this committee has not met or held any public hearings, to the knowledge of Town Council members or Vernon’s 20% by 2010 local clean energy contact Jeff Boulrice.

“Energy policy is going to be critical to the town’s future,” said Arn. “If we do it right, we can not only save the taxpayers money and protect the environment, but also bring new jobs and tax revenues into Vernon.” In addition to the direct EECBG grant, Vernon would be eligible for regional bonus grants if we could partner with one or more other towns and put together a proposal by October 15.

Both the direct EECBG proposal and the competitive regional bonus plans must meet specific federal criteria to be eligible for funding, and careful planning will be required to ensure Vernon leverages these grants for the maximum long-term benefit. At a recent multi-town meeting in Vernon, current mayor Jason McCoy said he would be meeting with “his staff,” but to date no public hearings or Energy Efficiency Committee meetings are scheduled. “Someone should be asking the public what they want,” said Arn, “and if the administration won’t, the Democrats will. Residents who have ideas about how they’d like to see Vernon implement energy conservation and efficiency measures should e-mail me at michele@vernondemocrats.com. Also, let me know if you’d be interested in attending a public meeting on this topic.”

VDTC Convention Date 7/28!

Vernon Democrats — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:57:52 +0000

On 7/28 the Vernon Democratic Town Committee will nominate their full candidate slate for the Fall 2009 elections. The convention will be held in the GAR room of the Civil War Museum in downtown Rockville. Come join us for our convention and meet our great 2009 slate!

Hello world!

Vernon Democrats — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:10:08 +0000

This is the home of the Democratic Party in Vernon, Connecticut. Pardon our dust while we get the site up and running.