Paul Hinckley supports Martin Overton

I saw a letter from Woodbury's former First Selectman Paul Hinckley today.  He wrote something that was so patently false that it requires a response. 

Hinckley stated "He (Overton) knows how to conduct a meeting in an atmosphere of openness, inclusiveness and consensus." 

This is completely and totally false.  For those who followed what went on with the Zoning Commission in 2011, you know this is a lie. 

After the initial complaint against Tom Arras and the Crawfords for putting up a Martha Dean yard sign, Zoning started a review of its regulations on signs (among other items). 

Overton worked with the former town planner and wrote a draft of regulation changes while excluding the entire commission. 

These changes were sent to the town attorney for review and a legal opinion was sent in June 2011. 

Overton hid this legal opinion from the commission until January 2012, 7 months later and a month after the public hearing started on the proposed changes. 

Overton also got the town sued at the Freedom of Information Commission over this. 

What was the end result of Overton's complete lack of openness? 

Upon receiving the legal opinion, the Zoning Commission threw out what Overton wrote behind everyone's back.  This cost the town thousands of dollars in legal fees defending the town at Freedom of Information.  All that money was wasted because Overton attempted to ram through some very very bad changes to the zoning regulations (and they were not just limited to political signs). 

Overton is the entire cause of the mess that the zoning commission has become.  When you drive by the empty commercial space, remember that it is because of Overton.  He ran the commission like a dictatorship for years.  It will take many more to turn it around.