Pat Erickson: 'Grossman An Embarassment'

Last night I attended the debate for the 67 State Representative seat being vacated by Clark Chapin. I was shocked at how nasty one candidate was during the debate. For some reason, Andrew Grossman chose to say very negative things about Clark Chapin.Then he proceeded to find fault with how our town is run. He had a lot to say and it was all negative. I wondered why he choose to move here two years ago. As a life long resident, I had never witnessed a candidate who was so arrogant.

One young lady in the audience who attended her first debate asked me "are these things always this nasty"? She said it made her very angry, I too felt the same way.

I felt embarrassed for the Democratic Party because I know this is not how its Members operate in our Town . We have many Democrats serving in our Town who work well with others and are very civil.

Mr Grossman was an embarrassment to our Town.  God forbid he represent us in Hartford.  I realize he has only lived here two years but this is not how I expect a candidate to behave.

My sincere thanks to Nicholas Payne and Cecilia Buck-Taylor for being cordial and acting with decency throughout the debate.

They kept on topic and did not feel the need to be rude and disrespectful to each other or any other elected officials.

Tom Sprong, Town Engineer, Dismissed

Director of Public Works Mike Zarba confirmed that Town Engineer Tom Sprong is no longer employed by the Town of New Milford.  Mr. Zarba had "no comment"  about the circumstances of his dismissal.