Mahackeno Now

Amy Ancel (RTM District 3) is back from her post-holiday slumber. Earlier this week, she was seen driving around the Old Hill neighborhood, putting flyers in private mailboxes. (Click on the above image to read it.) We sympathize that the obstructionists are too strapped for cash to buy stamps, but this is a bit much. Although countless house painters and cleaning services stuff paper in our mailboxes every day, you’d think that an elected member of our local government would know it’s illegal to use mailboxes for personal use.

With its underscored words and bold text, Ms. Ancel’s leaflet looks like a Microsoft Word version of one her Town Hall speeches. But at least – and at last – Ms. Ancel has gotten to the real reason she and the founders of Y Downtown rant and rave about the Westport Weston Family Y: They are afraid that a new facility will “add ten minutes of driving time” to their day.

Well, there is something called a stoplight. Adding one to the Partrick and Wilton Road intersection would mitigate the effects of increased traffic. However, Y Downtown doesn’t want Westport to add a stoplight, because it would be an improvement – which is antithetical to Y Downtown’s credo.

Ms. Ancel goes on to say that the Town of Westport should protect a “residential-only district” from encroachment. Is she talking about the Mahackeno district with its cell phone tower, restaurant, commuter parking lot and entrance ramps to a four-lane highway? Maybe she is only talking about Wilton Road (where she lives), which is one of two state highways that lead north out of Westport. No matter. Ms. Ancel’s flyer raises more important ethical and legal questions.

Although Y Downtown says it is “not for profit” on its Web site, it does not appear to be a charitable organization, according to the IRS. If that is true, then it seems that Ms. Ancel may be in violation of the Connecticut Code of Ethics, which prohibits a public official from using his position “to obtain financial gain.” Regardless of the legality of her soliciting, Ms. Ancel crossed the the line of propriety this week when she went driveway to driveway, cup in hand.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. After all, Ms. Ancel spent the holidays publicly lambasting Westport’s first selectman on a news blog, which he founded.

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