Middletown honors two council members, retiring law director

Middletown City Council said goodbye to a longtime employee and two council members during its City Council meeting Tuesday night.

Les Landen, who has worked in the law office for nearly 30 years, most recently as law director, is retiring at the end of the year.

Vice Mayor Dora Bronston, who served on council for four years, was defeated in the November election, though she has indicated she may run again in two years, possibly for mayor.

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Dan Picard, who served for eight years, didn’t run in November and said he plans to retire in Maine.

Landen called his career “a great trip for me,” and through his job he gained “a different view of my hometown.”

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Working and being active in his hometown has been “a great honor,” said Landen, who has served on numerous boards.

After receiving her certificate, Bronston said: “I love Middletown.”

Picard, a local attorney, discussed the controversy earlier this year that came after he suggested that a person who overdoses in Middletown receive a summons to appear in Municipal Court and receive an administrative penalty to do community service equal to the costs of the EMS runs and other penalties for more occurrences.

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After making the comments, which first were reported in the Journal-News, Picard was interviewed by news agencies around the world.

But, at the same time, he said, his comments also created work for city employees, and he was sorry for that.

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