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RTM Keeps Steele As Moderator

“Well, that was easy,” First Selectman Kenneth Flatto said in reaction to the first of many quick decisions by the Representative Town Meeting on Monday night at McKinley School. The legislative body voted unanimously to keep Jeffrey Steele (R-2) as moderator.

“I am honored and appreciative of your confidence in me,” Steele said to the RTM after his unopposed re-election. “I will continue to work hard over the next year in ensuring that the business of the RTM is conducted as evenhandedly, fairly, and thoroughly, yet expeditiously as possible.”

The RTM first elected Steele moderator in May after former moderator James Walsh moved to the Board of Selectmen after the death of Ralph Bowley. Steele  will hold the position at least until November 2011, when the current RTM faces re-election.

Steele’s duties will include running RTM meetings, coordinating communication among committee chairs and preparing necessary documents for each agenda item. Should Steele be unavailable to perform the job for a meeting, Peter Ambrose (R-2), who was re-elected deputy moderator, will take over.

In addition to promising fellow RTM members to make sure meetings run smoothly and quickly, Steele said after the meeting that he wants to assure voters that he will keep the RTM transparent and open to public comment. Just after his re-election, he reminded the RTM of the procedure for public comment and that it could not be passed over for the sake of speed.

“I want people to be able to speak,” he said. “I don’t want anyone afraid to speak. I’m going to try to keep this open dialogue among members, and get the public involved as much as they want to.”

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