As I’ve listened to the discussion surrounding the charter changes to the Library board it is interesting how this has evolved since the charter was voted on to be opened after months of secrecy by the republicans on the Town Council.

On its face, it would seem like a harmless proposal to give the Town Manger more control over another department. As I delved into this it was apparent there are other reasons for this charter change.

If it was as simple as giving the town manager budgetary control and being the top official for the Library board then it begs the question why is the charter not being changed for the Fire and Police departments, which are also autonomous from the town as is the Water Department and the Housing Authority.

They each have budgetary issues, which lead me to believe you do not trust the Library Board, that is republican controlled, to control the budgets and library dollars correctly. But this council does believe the police and fire, both of which are republican controlled, is fine under this same charter.

As I see what is going on across the country with libraries and books under the republican control of the towns and states I worry about censorship of books and removal of books. This will be much easier under the control of one, rather than nine members. Also, I worry that the Southington Librarian has supported the Pride groups request last year and ruffled some republican feathers as did the pride flag on town property as well as the Martin Luther King mural that was dedicated last year.

It is a shame that Southington has become less inclusive under republican control.

I believe the “city of progress” is no more, due to the changes our town has undergone. We’ve taken steps backward instead of steps forward; to be exclusive to some residents instead of being inclusive to all residents.

The good news for Southington is this charter change must go to the voters, who I suspect will vote this down as they did when the Republican Council tried to do the same charter change to the Police and Fire Departments a few years back. In the end the voters are much smarter than the Town Council is giving them credit for and will vote “no” on this charter change. The reason is that civilian oversight of the Police, Fire, and Library board is more important than the political games being played.

Southington voters will have the final say in November.

John Moise