(Response to Shaban’s Call for Leadership Is a Little Late, Aug. 19, 2020)
I write to reply to the letter criticizing John Shaban’s article questioning the lack of state and local leadership during the recent storm.Â
Sadly, Hughes tries to excuse her absence before and during the storm by claiming that she will now “call for legislation” after the fact to “hold Eversource executives accountable.” Hughes’ repeated attempts to blame “big business” and “the rich” for all of our problems isn’t leadership, it is deflection and political pandering. Calling Eversource and UI to task before the storm — as Shaban did for six years while in office — is what we needed, not more hind sighted legislation and finger-pointing.
Notably, Shaban helped craft and pass bipartisan legislation in 2011 and 2012 that gave state and local officials the tools to address storms and power outages before and during the crisis. He also pushed for and passed the “Russ Neary Bill” (PA 13-204), named after one of Easton’s firefighters tragically killed in the 2011 storm, to help the families of fallen first responders.
We need representatives in Hartford that focus on our towns — and take the lead before a storm and/or an important issue hits -— not the pandering and partisan politics displayed by our current freshman state representative.
Wendy Bowditch
Easton Republican Town Committee Chair
