Sunday, February 28, 2016

What Are They Afraid Of?

 Select Board (2/22) to Larry Kelley:  Go away


Last week the Select Board wasted a golden opportunity to ascertain the will of the voters by turning down my request to ask voters if Town Meeting should be maintained.  The non-binding question is pretty straight forward and a voter is as free to choose no as they are yes.




Using the Charter change process to simply tweak Town Meeting is like using a backhoe to plant a daffodil.

Obviously voters who support forming a Charter Commission at the upcoming March 29 election have strong concerns about our current form of government.  So why not ask them more specifically what those concerns are?



And why is it only the Town Meeting loyalists wanted it blocked from the ballot?



You know, the same three who refused to sign the Charter petition in the first place (that 3,500 other voters did sign) but now want your vote to be elected to that Charter Commission.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Me thinks the townspeople will have ample opportunity to weigh in on their hopes for Amherst's system of governance based on who they elect to The Charter Commission. Candidate position statements have already begun to appear on the Amherst For All website. All those invested in this process (and its eventual outcome) should check them out

Anonymous said...

Old man-you love to put yourself in the middle of every story. We all know the type of people who love to be "among the 1st to the scene", of fires, accidents, etc. We are never surprised to learn that kooks, like you, start the commotion, so you can report on it, or be a witness or try to be the hero. Your act is old, just like you.

Larry Kelley said...

"too old"

Anonymous said...

Too many Popeye cartoons when you were young?

If the voters agree to seat a commission, you'll have plenty of fodder for a few years.

If not, you'll have a lot more time to spend with your family.

Sounds like the best of both worlds….

Dr. Ed said...

I've used a backhoe to plant Daffodils.

Why not?

Anonymous said...

It is kind of interesting who doesn't want to know how the public feels about the question. The same ones who claim to care about Representative Government.

Anonymous said...

Stop cluttering up the ballot with non-binding questions.

Anonymous said...

What would be the point?

Larry Kelley said...

To ascertain the will of the voters.

Pretty simple really. Even you should be able to figure it out.

Anonymous said...

No time for long questions on voting day, anon 8:08 AM?

Anonymous said...

Hours and hours for questions and answers for weeks on end into the evening at TM, but one question on a paper ballot on voting day so that everyone gets a chance to voice their opinion, and it's clutter.

Anonymous said...

That's what the vote on the proposal will be. We don't have pre-votes on anything else.

Anonymous said...

You know what gives you the will of the voters? An actual vote on a concrete proposal.

Anonymous said...

Larry, starting to think you won't print this because it's so well-reasoned. Will you finally give me a chance to say why I wrote to the Select Board? Janet McGowan

Dear Select Board,

I am writing because I was startled to learn that the Select Board is considering adding a Question 2 to the ballot. As I understand it, the Select Board is considering adding the non-binding question: "Should the Charter Commission, if formed, pursue alternatives to the Representative Town Meeting form of government." I'm not sure the intended purpose of this question but it may inadvertently create the appearance that the Select Board is advocating for the end of representativeTown Meeting. I am sure this is not the Select Board's goal. As you all know, last two Town votes not to change the Charter and end Town Meeting were very divisive in our community. It is easy to stir up hard feelings on this issue.

I strongly suggest that the Select Board not include Question 2 on the ballot -- or add more questions to get a much more detailed understanding of the thoughts of voters. These additional questions could include ones about ending the Select Board, ending the town manager position, going to a paid mayor, moving the School Committee under a mayor, going back to a standing Town Meeting, making Town Meeting smaller, and so on, including the many other variations of town government in Massachusetts towns.

cont…..

Larry Kelley said...

Actually I did print it in the original article and it's not well reasoned enough to print twice.

When I embed a document using Scribd you only see the 1st page displayed on the blog, but if you click the headline you can read everything.

Anonymous said...

Sorry I missed it.

JM