Rubin Could Run Against Pace

OLD SAYBROOK - Matthew Rubin, a former supporter of First Selectman Michael Pace, recently announced that he is considering running against Pace.

Pace, a four-term incumbent, has announced he will be running for a fifth term after Rubin in a recent Board of Selectmen meeting voiced his concerns regarding a number of issues with the Board.

Rubin, the owner and manager of the Old Saybrook Shopping Center, said that one of his main concerns is the inability for residents to bring concerns to the Board of Selectmen.

"Nobody has questioned why all the meetings are held at 10 a.m.," Rubin said, referring to the fact that the Board of Selectmen holds morning meetings and no longer holds evening meetings like they did years ago.

Rubin said most residents work during the day resulting in Board of Selectmen meetings having more members of the press than actual members of the public.

Many who attend the meetings, according to Rubin, are actually on the agenda to speak.

Rubin said the Board of Selectmen meetings have "no genuine dissent" and questioned whether the interests of Democrats, unaffiliated, and third party voters are being met under the current Board.

In response, First Selectman Michael Pace said the Board "acts for the benefit of the town and not partisan interests."

Rubin said that looking at 221 motions made by the selectmen from January 1, 2006 to May 1, 2007, only one of those motions had dissent.

Recently, Rubin questioned whether the referendum that allowed Max's Place, LLC, to buy Center Road West was still valid since its original application for a 135,900 square foot shopping center was denied by the Zoning Commission in December.

A revised, smaller 107,193 square foot shopping center was proposed by Max's Place in January and is expected to be voted on by the commission at its August meeting.

The development would include a Big Y Supermarket and three smaller retail buildings with one housing a Bed, Bath, and Beyond store.

Rubin said some have accused him of trying to prevent the center from opening since his shopping center currently has the town's only supermarket.