Dear Editor:

Killingworth has an opportunity on Election Day. It is an opportunity for all of us as voters to get involved in our local town government. We are electing our so-called "executives," who will run town business for the next few years. As "stockholders," we as voters, have a need to set the direction of where we are going in this business that we also call home. The direction we select depends upon the people we select to lead. Let's choose the direction by first choosing experience on the Board of Selectmen. By returning current selectman Fred Dudek to the board, Killingworth benefits from an enthusiastic and tireless public servant who listens, understands, and takes action.

As vice-chairman of Killingworth's Pay As You Throw (PAYT) Committee, which is studying and offering improvement recommendations for the town Waste Transfer Station, I have worked with Fred regarding ways to make the waste facility more efficient and user-friendly. I find Fred to be honest, forward-thinking and open to new ideas. Fred has had a key role in implementing PAYT's recommendations for Transfer Station improvements. Fred's involvement is but one example of how Killingworth has benefited from his leadership in town government. Fred's role as Fire Chief is often most visible, but there is so much more that he has done for the town, especially during his first term on the Board of Selectmen.

Killingworth has also benefited from Steve Hollander, a new candidate for Board of Selectmen. Steve has also brought our town years of tireless service and leadership on so many town committees, commissions, and study groups. His participation on the Park and Recreation, Pay As You Throw and new Town Hall Study committees are just the most recent in examples of decades of volunteerism to the town and town government.

I have known Steve over recent years in his capacity as chairman of PAYT. As our entire group embarked on ways to improve waste removal at the town Transfer Station, I found Steve's leadership as a catalyst to what our committee has been attempting to accomplish. Like Fred Dudek, Steve Hollander cares about Killingworth and its people. They both listen to town residents, their thoughts, concerns and needs. While this may seem to be basic to true representative government, it so often is lacking in the leadership that many of us experience.

As election day approaches, we as voters need to take seriously our responsibility to find and elect those candidates who can lead and also listen. In Killingworth, we clearly have two of those candidates hoping to be on the Board of Selectmen. As voters, it's now our turn to take the first step, by going to the polls and electing Fred Dudek and Steve Hollander as two of Killingworth's leaders on the Board of Selectmen.

Jeff Reisman
Killingworth