“Once again, Tim Herbst is blatantly using taxpayer resources to bully his political opponents and benefit his own campaign. Since he took office, Herbst has seen the first selectman’s office as nothing more than a stepping stone to higher office.

“Tim Herbst has made it abundantly clear who he really is, and his thin-skinned, bullying tactics are exactly wrong for any statewide elected position.” – Connecticut Democratic Party spokesman Leigh Appleby

Trumbull Times: Handout critical of administration prompts Citizen Alert notification call

Does political criticism constitute a town emergency?

That’s what some town residents are wondering after First Selectman Tim Herbst used the town’s Citizen Alert notification program to respond to a flyer distributed by Trumbull Democrats Monday afternoon. The flyer cited the town’s plan to sell six municipally owned properties, including the Board of Education building, the Aram Tellallian Building, and the Nature and Arts Center, all on Main Street. The VFW Hall, Center at Priscilla Place, and a property on Berkshire Avenue are also potentially on the block.

The flyer rhetorically asks why the properties are being sold, what potential development could result, and the possible effect on property values would be before asserting that “The Town should NOT sell municipal property in your neighborhood.”

Democratic Town Committee Chairman Tom Kelly said his group had distributed the flyers to a targeted list of homeowners who live within ¼ mile of one of the affected properties, about 1,000 homes in total.

So most of the town was surprised to receive a telephone call from Herbst Monday afternoon, using the town’s Citizen Alert program, criticizing the flyer.

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