Alan Jepson Retiring From City Clerk

There is no greater icon in town than our beloved city clerk Alan Jepson. For most of his life Jepson served the town of Milford in various offices, including the duty of our Mayor.

Jepsons retirement marks an end to over Twenty years of service as Milford's City Clerk. These memories are none the less fonder around this time of year, because on the 4Th of July Alan would dress the part of Uncle Sam at out town celebration and greet residents at the gazebo on the green. For the first time in many years the man under the beard and hat will be someone else, as Alan will not be doing it again.

Alan is at the age where he is ready for retirement, but those in the Independent Party here in Milford have stated that Jepsons retirement has also brought some challenges for those individuals who are seeking to replace him.

The job of City Clerk will be passed on, and some popular names are emerging as contenders for the post. The Democrats are expected to put up Currently Serving State Rep. Richard Roy. Roy, who has not formally announced he will retire from the the House if elected Clerk, has the option of holding both jobs. This will allow Roy to earn a salary estimated at $130,000.00 per year. This of course, also comes with benefits from the state as well as the city of Milford. This would make a Roy win a very lucrative proposition.

According to the Democrats, the position of City Clerk is "Settled" and they are expecting no Republican contender, this they indicated on their blog is the "tradition." Of course the blog post has been removed as of today, but none the less the allegation now stands and no known Republican contender exists yet.

The Independent Party in Milford, is questioning the the practice of "Cross Endorsements" and the practice of "holding multiple elected offices." Should someone like Dick Roy run for, and succeed in his bid for City Clerk the people of Milford could be denied the exclusivity of that office, instead sharing Mr. Roy with the state legislature if he fails to resign. The Independent Contender for City Clerk Michael Konopka has indicated he will give the people of Millford "110% of his attention," hence meeting the expectations of the job and the needs of the public.

This Democratic practice of "double dipping" was seen once before when Gubernatorial contender Jim Amann attempted to take a $120,000.00 job as the new CT House Speaker Donovan's assistant. This job was to be accomplished in tandem with his private sector job working as a fund raiser for a Charity and Running for Governor with the funds (3 Million Dollars) he expects to receive from a CEP grant.

Even though the city of Milford will miss our endeared City Clerk Alan Jepson, the voters need to be vigilant against the shenanigans of party politics here in town. The public pays the City Clerk very well for a reason. That reason has more to do with the fact that it is a full time job that demands a great deal of time and responsibility.

That responsibility also includes attending Board of Alderman meetings as Jepson did very well. Placing a person in this office, who also holds the job of a State Representative will surely find conflicts in his ability to attend the aldermanic meetings. This will also limit the amount of time he can spend at his desk in the Clerks office. The Clerk needs to be available to personally sign important documents, and this should be noted when discussion as to the individual candidates career choices arises and the condoning of absenteeism. They need not be the problem of Milford's Taxpayers.

Photo from Milford Rotary Website