Two Non-Rhetorical Questions
- Sean-Michael Green
- Feb 15
- 2 min read
By Sean-Michael Green, Orange Resident
Last month, I attended the Board of Selectmen meeting for Orange.
I didn’t want to. Like most of you, I’m busy. Besides, I am lucky enough to live in a town with people who were elected to office or who volunteer to serve our community. While I have opinions, I also have faith in those folks to do the right things.
But I attended because I have strong concerns about an incident in our town. I raised my questions at the meeting. Maybe I’m naïve, but I thought my questions might result in answers. They haven’t, so I will summarize my two key questions here after a brief recitation of the backstory. Second time’s a charm, right?
First Selectman Jim Zeoli made a decision to not reappoint Mitch Goldblatt to Orange’s Pension Board. Goldblatt has been volunteering on this committee for more than 20 years. His day job includes working with pensions. By all accounts, he is knowledgeable and dedicated, and he is a willing volunteer. Nevertheless, Goldblatt’s appointment to the Pension Board was not renewed.
According to the story, Goldblatt was told directly by our first selectman that the decision was political retribution. It wasn’t disguised or presented as a euphemism. Goldblatt asked why he wasn’t being reappointed; the first selectman responded that Goldblatt’s political party wanted change in this election season, so he is giving him that change.
Thus, we come to my two questions:
Question 1: How is this helping our community? We have a smart, willing and experienced volunteer being pushed aside for petty and misplaced vengeance by someone elected to serve our collective best interests. I ask our elected public servants: How exactly does this decision serve us?
Question 2: Are you comfortable quietly watching this happen? Bullies thrive on fear and silence. We can shape this town, and we will with our voices or our silence. Yes, this is something happening to someone else. Not my cousin or coworker – probably not yours either.
But I ask you: Do we speak up for each other, or do we allow this?
This letter to the editor originally appeared in the Milford-Orange Times, February 12, 2026.
From the January BOS meeting:
Sean-Michael Green asks how NOT reappointing Mitch serves the community, citing Mitch’s extensive board experience and professional expertise with pension issues. Are residents OK with decisions such as this being made unilaterally and without cause?
