I’ve known Lane Hiltunen since the fiesty Army veteran got interested in local politics in 2003. He came out of the woodwork when Windham’s town government proposed a 14 percent tax increase and the town began aggressively cataloging and taxing personal property. Hiltunen bristled at the thought of town assessors trespassing onto residents’ property to catalog possessions and vowed to stop it. His strong reaction to over-reaching bureaucrats in Windham’s government led to a grassroots petition effort and the eventual resignation of the tax assessor.

Since that successful campaign, the fiscally conservative Hiltunen has been as active as any Windham resident in trying to prevent the mismanagement of taxpayers’ hard-earned money. He’s dedicated to lower taxes and trimming waste in local government, something that is needed especially in the current economy. He knows the difference between wants and needs as it pertains to budgets and he is a policy guru who enjoys delving into the nooks and crannies of a budget. I would trust him to make sound financial

decisions as a member of the Windham Town Council.

Most importantly, I believe Hiltunen will “walk the talk” when he gets elected to office. Many councilors seem to give in to the prevailing winds a little while after getting elected. Hiltunen, however, isn’t afraid to buck the system or go against the grain. As proof, he spent about two years writing a column in this newspaper taking issue with many actions of local government. As his former editor, I often wondered what Windham government would look like if Hiltunen was part of the decision-making process. Now, with his hat in the ring, that opportunity has come. He’s talked and written much about how Windham can be better. Now, it’s time to see what he can do to make Windham government more efficient and easier on the taxpayer’s pocketbooks.

John Balentine

Windham