Last Updated on December 9, 2025 by Matthew Hallock
Connecticut is the Charter Oak State. This proud title originates from a profound act of courage in 1687, when colonists in the future state defied King James II by hiding in the hollow of an oak tree the Royal Charter that he expected them to sign, pledging fealty. Our CT forefathers truly earned our state’s nickname through this brave act. They didn’t know what was going to happen; the king could have said to arrest every adult male or burn the towns, or both. Captain Joseph Wadsworth led a colonial band that met the king’s Governor in a pub, showed him the unsigned charter, then blew out the candles, passed the charter in the dark out a window, and hid it in a soon-to-be-famous white oak tree, the Charter Oak.
The Charter is a town’s foundational governing document and operational manual, functioning as the local equivalent of a constitution. It defines the structure, powers, and duties of all town offices, departments, boards, and commissions. The Charter establishes the essential rules for how the town is run. In Fairfield as in many New England towns, the Charter is viewed as a sacred document that embodies a moral compass: citizens will not pledge loyalty to a power that is not built to serve them.
The Charter Revision Commission (CRC) has produced a document that is an affront to the spirit of the Charter Oak State. This is not a revised Constitution for Fairfield; it is a manipulated operational manual designed to institutionalize bureaucratic gridlock and defy public will. The process was defined by its secrecy: key provisions were inserted at the last minute to avoid public scrutiny, public links to transcripted, recorded meetings were intentionally hidden, and parallel solutions with groups unknown were “negotiated” at the same time. Multiple revisions — many major, made quietly — have the fingerprints of people who don’t live here – out-of-town, vested interests. It ignores input and commentary from both the public and town leaders.
Finally, the entire document—which ignores commentary from citizens, department heads, and even the path laid by our late First Selectman, Bill Gerber—is cynically presented to the public on a woefully insignificant and manipulated postcard, deliberately obscuring the core, manipulative changes being proposed. The lack of value in this Charter is rooted in the CRC’s abdication of responsibility and its calculated exploitation of a political tragedy and is itself another flagstone of the path of the erosion of Fairfield.
The Postcard Indictment: The Many Traps
The ballot questions presented to voters on the official postcard are a deliberate attempt to gain approval for the status quo by obscuring the core, manipulative changes. The Qs sailed through with affirmative votes, except the town seal — proof that the public was not aware of the issues discussed.
The Vague Proposal
1. RTM Legal Counsel: Creates redundancy and pulls the RTM out of central town control with independent counsel. Creates insulation by having RTM make their own decisions with their own legal counsel without town involvement or implicit support.
2. WPCA Utility Manager: A one-off fix that ignores the systemic need for a complete organizational chart. No conversation about adding more personnel and thereby justification for budget beyond control of First Selectman.
3. Chief Operating Officer: Codifies a title without installing the proper executive structure (Town Manager) or accountability (At-Will power). Wait until org chart is finished.
4. Remove Public Notices: Eliminates newspaper publication, shifting critical notice to a less accessible website-only model. Makes town even more inaccessible.
5. Selectman Vacancy Rule: While seemingly democratic, it’s bundled into a document that rejects *all* other true structural reforms.
6. Change Town Seal: Spends time on a politically sensitive issue beyond their knowledge or knowledge when foundational governance is broken.
7. Accept Everything Else: A “Yes” vote ratifiesdthe entire document, including the “For Cause” trap, the 35-mile residency loophole, and the chaotic term lengths.
The full, detailed analysis of this corruption—including the specific quotes proving the CRC worked in secret, the mechanism used to guarantee “Jobs in Perpetuity” for out-of-town bureaucrats, and the legal basis for your complaint to the Secretary of State—is available exclusively to our intelligence subscribers.
You can no longer wait for the traditional media to tell you this truth. The evidence is in: read the full story here.
IV. Conclusion: Draft a True Charter
The flawed Charter is a betrayal of the spirit of Fairfield and the global rights of man. The town can withhold approval of the Charter revision vote results until after the February 3, 2026 Special Election. We can recommission the Charter Revision Commission with a transparent, citizen-led process to write a Charter that installs accountability and restores power to the citizens of Fairfield’s $\text{24}$ neighborhoods. A charter written by and for the people honors the spirit of the Charter Oak state.
