Esty Finally Visits Roxbury -- Another in Her "Forgotten Towns' Tour!

Statement

If you believe in the concept of "better late than never' you might find the news that Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty finally visited the small town of Roxbury on Saturday as unimportant.

But not Clay Cope. The Sherman First Selectman who is running for Congress is dogging Esty over her lack of attention to the people in small towns in CT5.

"After more than three years on the job, Liberal Elizabeth Esty has finally found Roxbury, CT, another small town like Sherman that she has ignored since taking office in January, 2013," Sherman First Selectman Clay Cope said over the weekend.

The two-term Congresswoman from Cheshire visited Roxbury on Saturday to conduct a long overdue and very brief 60-minute "Congress on your Corner" event at the Minor Memorial Library.

Outside of possibly attending a private fundraiser or two, it is the first time Esty has been in Roxbury to meet with constituents since taking office more than 38 months ago, according to a google search of Roxbury activities over the past three years.

To underscore the rare nature of an Esty appearance in a small town, Cope, a Republican, traveled to Roxbury himself so he could at least meet the Congresswoman who supposedly represents both him and his town.

Cope maintains that Esty has bypassed Sherman during the three years she has been in office. He said it took a front-page article in the Torrington Register Citizen , where he pointed out Esty's embarrassingly long absence, to trigger her recent quick visit to Sherman, and now to Roxbury.

Possibly other overlooked small towns in CT5 will soon follow. The small town of Washington may be the next in the "Forgotten Towns' Tour. At the event on Saturday, observers say Esty did not even recognize Washington First Selectman Mark Lyons, who was among the small group in attendance.

Absent and Out-of-Touch

"My objection is more than just her lack of attention to the people of the small towns in CT5, which is serious alone and clearly illustrated by her inexcusable absence," he said. "It is also her ultra-liberal voting record, which is completely out-of-touch with reality and actually puts working families in our district at undue risk."

The three-term Sherman First Selectman pointed to two key votes as evidence of Esty's misplaced priorities. The first vote he cited was in favor of the Iranian Nuclear Deal, which Cope said imperils the security of U.S. ally Israel as well as stability across the Middle East.

"The ballistic missile tests conducted by the Iranian government just last week -- for the second time in a little more than a month -- serve as evidence of the folly of Esty's vote on the Iranian Nuclear Deal," he said. Those missile tests reportedly violate U.N. Security Council rules as well as recently re-imposed U.S. economic sanctions.

The second vote was against the bipartisan SAFE Act, which Cope said was "intended to protect families in the 5th District and across the nation from the risk of a possible attack from terrorists hiding among the thousands of Syrian refugees seeking entry into our country."

There are 41 towns and cities in the 5th District. At the rate Esty is currently visiting them, it will take her about three and one-half years to get to all of them.

"Visiting a town in the 5th District once every three and one-half or four years is just inexcusable," Cope said. "When I am elected, I will visit every town and its elected leader at least once every year to make sure I am fully in touch with their priorities. I don't see how Mrs. Esty can claim to represent the entire 5th District when she is AWOL from portions of it for over three years at a time."

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