Jim Richetelli MIA

Our Republican mayor Jim Richetelli is out of the office this week. His family has reported that he had an adverse reaction to some prescription pills he took. Currently he is receiving treatment for this condition at an out of state facility and has pledged to give the public more details about his recovery when he returns.

The deputy mayor is currently in charge until the Mayor returns from this "out of state treatment." Meanwhile Richard smith the Milford Democratic Party Chairman said this is a time for "community unity and not judgement, we need to pull together as a community and support his family and medical privacy."

However, the Democratically heavy blog boards have not been so forgiving and have even questioned why he left the state for treatment. A Topix blogger had this to say: "I am sorry to hear the mayor is ill but quite frankly this story does not pass the smell test. We live in an area where people come for medical treatment from all over the world. Yale School of Medicine and the hospital it is affiliated with is literally a 15 minute ride from Milford. The fact that Richetelli felt he had to go out of state is suspect at best. It is rarely the action that gets a politician in trouble -it is usually the cover-up."

People around Milford, I spoke with, are mostly saddened about his treatment, and wish for our Mayor to gain a speedy recovery and a return to politics. However, some fear that his condition may have been triggered by these economically challenging times. I personally feel it can be stressful being a Mayor of a city who demands very high standards from our leaders. We will see how forgiving the people of Milford are when he returns to work, as for the Democrats they will show their true colors next Mayoral election as they always do.

In my opinion, Jim has done a great job holding the line on taxes in 2009, and even presided over the first ever 3% increase in a school budget that usually is double that. Jim has in my opinion, been a very friendly and compassionate Mayor and I wish him, his wife and children all the best in dealing with this difficult unfortunate situation. Lets keep him, and his family, in our prayers.