So the uber-left, anti-development crowd is in a full-court press to get Denise Barbaret reappointed to the Planning Board after Town Manager Larry Shaffer failed to reappoint her when her term expired June 30.
Of course it was the town manager who first appointed her three years ago, and now apparently wants to "move in a new direction," as in the real world.
One of the major "goals" for the town manager outlined by his volunteer bosses the venerable Amherst Select Board is to enhance the tax base via commercial development.
And it's kind of hard to carry out that charge, when Ms. Barbaret votes against every economic development initiative to come before the Planning Board. And she always makes the effort to give Town Meeting a "minority report" (often where she was the only "nay" out of nine.)
This should be fun to watch. My prediction? The town manager holds firm; the tree huggers wither at the roots.
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7 comments:
As usual, the issues get mixed.
Would there be any less squawk if "Denise Barbaret" was "Dennis Barbaret" with the same views about development?
I doubt it.
Don't tell us it's about gender equity, if it's not.
Indeed. Fortunatley for the town manager she is not black, lesbian and in a wheelchair.
Has Denise Barbaret ever supported a development initiative of any kind in town?
Not that I know of. And if you check her tally votes as a town meeting member, she supported more rather than less spending on budget issues.
Can't have it both ways...
fck shamherst
I can understand the conflict in wanting to keep Amherst a sweet little bucolic kind of town, and finding sources of revenue to support it. However, as a home owner with ever-increasing property taxes that my not so ever-increasing raises can't keep up with, I would welcome some more business into the town if it meant the town getting off my very beleaguered back.
It isn't Ms. Barbaret's views that have bothered me the most as a TM member. I (and I assume the Town Manager) can deal fine with dissenting minority opinions. It is her rancorous, condescending and disrespectful manner that has gotten under my skin. I don't know how anyone can work with her. Which from issues alluded to in the Gazette article seems to be the major reason that she isn't getting reappointed. Bravo to Shaffer on that one.
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