Elect Deborah Kleckowski as State Representative in the 100th District

Dear Citizens,

The South Fire District Firefighters' Union has announced its

endorsement of incumbent representative Matt Lesser (D) for the 100th

district. No surprise, unions typically always endorse Democrats no

matter what the facts really are. The Middletown Patch quoted Local

3918 Union President James Mastroianni as follows: “Matt Lesser has

been a friend of South Fire District’s Professional Fire Fighters for

many years and we fully support this endorsement.”



I would like to know what exactly has Matt Lesser done to

deserve this endorsement? Where are the actual facts?



Councilwoman Deborah Kleckowski, Lessor's Republican challenger,

was not even given a fair shot for this endorsement as she was never
given an opportunity by union members to discuss any South Fire issues

or interviewed by them before the endorsement was summarily

announced. Furthermore, no vote was taken by the local union members

nor were they otherwise polled to determine who they wished to

endorse.

Deborah Kleckowski has always been a proponent of public safety.

She sits on the Public Safety Committee of the Common Council. In

2011, she and former Republican Mayor Sebastian Giuliano aided in the

support of the Middletown Moose Riders' program to distribute stuffed

animals to children during emergency calls. Kleckowski ardently

supported the South Fire budget every year, attended the Fire Ops 101

Training program for public officials and completed the entire

exercise.

In 2010, Matt Lesser showed up for this training briefly to show

off his Dan Malloy campaign shirt and take a photo before leaving.

Kleckowski spearheaded the effort to purchase and install specialized

communication equipment inside the helmets of all city firefighters so

that they may more effectively communicate in a fire, not only helping

to save more lives, but to ensure their own safety on the job as

well.

When no emergency access road was designed into the original

plans for the new Middletown High School, Deborah Kleckowski advocated

and made sure a road was installed at the site.

Kleckowski worked tirelessly at the emergency shelter set up at

the High School after the power outages last summer and fall. She

worked to make sure emergency personnel had access to the facility

when the last Board of Education Administration fought to block the

shelter from even being set up. She also made sure all the union

workers- everyone- was paid when the Board of Education, under the

direction of then Superintendent Michael Frechette, withheld their pay

for over a month. During all this, Lesser was nowhere to be found.

It would be most enlightening and helpful to be able to compare

Lesser's status as a "friend of South Fire District's Professional 

Fire Fighters" with Kleckowski's actual involvements
and

accomplishments.

The failure of the employees of South Fire not to stand up for a

person like Kleckowski, and to permit their parent union to endorse

Matt Lesser is shameful.

Kleckowski has proven herself as a true public servant time and

time again. Not endorsing her is demeaning, not only to the rank and

file firefighters, but to all of the residents and taxpayers of the

South Fire District.

What is more, it perpetuates a stereotype in Middletown that

party affiliation and cronyism outweigh proven hard work and

dedication to the greater good. The firefighters' union owes

taxpayer’s more of an explanation than Lesser is a “friend.”

William Wilson,

Vice-Chair Middletown Republican Town Committee

Originally posted on www.middletowninsider.com as a Guest Blog,