tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post7337560283106019169..comments2023-10-17T22:56:42.784-04:00Comments on Only in The Republic of Amherst: Voting for DummiesLarry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-52318741326126927412012-04-05T04:17:03.743-04:002012-04-05T04:17:03.743-04:00michael: what do you mean by "one of my '...michael: what do you mean by "one of my 'colleagues'"? do you have "colleagues"? i thought you did some kind of a shoe thing for central americans or something like that, like that amherst high school kid did a few years ago (when you're not being a "critic of the schools", that is, i mean.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-29186239249140925082012-04-05T04:10:22.423-04:002012-04-05T04:10:22.423-04:00i'm so glad that catherine sanderson has decid...i'm so glad that catherine sanderson has decided to get into the mix here, even though her involvement has been, is, and will be hard for her husband and children. (she said that, in the amherst bulletin, not me.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-63781943844321524802012-04-04T22:23:51.010-04:002012-04-04T22:23:51.010-04:00Our friends at Sustainable Amherst have posted &qu...Our friends at Sustainable Amherst have posted "very unofficial" results for the Town Meeting members in each precinct, including the people who didn't get enough votes to get a seat. Their posting does not include all the write-in votes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-24111838031340060672012-04-04T20:21:20.231-04:002012-04-04T20:21:20.231-04:00and if you don't whine loudly, and ask the sam...and if you don't whine loudly, and ask the same questions over and over that are already being addressed, some will label you an apologist for the administration.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-71837148971734184202012-04-04T20:09:38.901-04:002012-04-04T20:09:38.901-04:00this truly needs to be investigated: aronson is c...this truly needs to be investigated: aronson is charging that he should not have been listed last on the ballot. mr. aronson, plese tell us what happened in more detail.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-35801409359905559142012-04-04T20:07:36.448-04:002012-04-04T20:07:36.448-04:00wow, one of the people who voted for the guy who l...wow, one of the people who voted for the guy who lost big time is here to anonymously say "i bullet-voted for aronson." super.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-3489028325245925672012-04-04T20:05:44.407-04:002012-04-04T20:05:44.407-04:00such bullshit about aronson being one of the few w...such bullshit about aronson being one of the few who would ask the "tough questions". tough questions are asked everyday, difficult, tough decisions made everyday. mr. shabazz and mr. o'brien don't strike me as the types who will cow-tow to the administration, let's hear it if you disagree. if you were all correct about the cronyism and so forth, maria geryk wouldn't have just fired someone she hired herself. mg asked tough questions, when she didn't get answers that satisfied her, she had to fire the person who was responsible. that's tough. sitting in a room looking down your nose at everyone and reading in a complain-y, condescending tone something catherine sanderson wrote for you to say at a school committee meeting is easy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-57962488479591622942012-04-04T19:55:11.864-04:002012-04-04T19:55:11.864-04:00again... aronson received 9.5% of all the votes th...again... aronson received 9.5% of all the votes that were cast for a school committee member. what don't you get about that larry?<br /><br />if some people decided to waste BOTH of their votes by bulleting aronson... that's their problem, now they will continue to live somewhere where they will continue to be angry and unhappy. but of course, these folks will always find something to cry and complain about, because that's their m.o.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-84821043210302961712012-04-04T18:48:06.547-04:002012-04-04T18:48:06.547-04:00Michael Aronson is a smart, kind man who is thougt...Michael Aronson is a smart, kind man who is thougtful and articulate. When not many people are able to stand up to MG and the SC, and ask difficult questions about policies, programs, finances, and scores, he (and others) get labelled negatively.<br /><br />I bullet-voted for Michael Aronson.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-23471052417946845932012-04-04T18:16:27.895-04:002012-04-04T18:16:27.895-04:00The turnout for this election was 15.2%. The Town...The turnout for this election was 15.2%. The Town Clerk arrived at that figure by dividing the number of voters who showed up to the polls (2,429) by the total number that could have showed up (15,991).<br /><br />Aronson garnered 433 votes. Divided by the total number of voters who showed up that day (2,429) comes to 17.8% of the total. <br /><br />Keep your eye on the ball.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-43112911154547023782012-04-04T17:56:17.609-04:002012-04-04T17:56:17.609-04:00aronson received approximately 9.5% of all votes t...aronson received approximately 9.5% of all votes that were cast. some people probably cast more votes than others. is that incorrect, larry?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-39540510932414846552012-04-04T17:45:46.954-04:002012-04-04T17:45:46.954-04:00generations to come will see what a mean-spirited,...generations to come will see what a mean-spirited, nasty person aronson is, as well as see the crazy which is cs. lots and lots of tape on both of 'em being total jackasses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-31457998366795946932012-04-04T07:45:47.142-04:002012-04-04T07:45:47.142-04:00For all you know Shabazz's votes and O'Bri...For all you know Shabazz's votes and O'Brien's votes were bullet votes. I know alot of people who were bullet voting for either one or the other. Aronson is a nasty person with a personal vendetta and hatred of Maria Geryk. It's good and right that he lost and not at all surprising. Anyone who has seen him in action at the SC meetings knows what a mean-spirited person he is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-85490189288768259292012-04-04T07:19:05.433-04:002012-04-04T07:19:05.433-04:00Actually Aronson got twice that percentage since y...Actually Aronson got twice that percentage since you seem to be confused by folks being allowed two votes: 343 out of 2,429 cast. And there's no doubt his were "bullet votes." <br /><br />For all you know half of Shabazz's supporters threw their second vote to O'Brien and vice versa meaning they individually had less than twice the support of Aronson (fun with figures, eh?)Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-88583754097888761062012-04-04T01:31:38.632-04:002012-04-04T01:31:38.632-04:00i believe that aronson got only 9.5% of the vote b...i believe that aronson got only 9.5% of the vote because it is very easy to see and hear what a complete horse's ass he is. he is a chronic complainer who has a personal gripe against the schools and maria geryk. he probably got a few of the racist votes, a few "i'm just going to fill a couple of these in" votes, and then some votes from the usual handful of complainers who keep wishing and wishing they lived somewhere else, where the schools don't suck and all the people working there aren't evil conspirators trying to unravel all the good that exists.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-86969974674376980352012-04-03T22:30:39.117-04:002012-04-03T22:30:39.117-04:00No one channels the conventional wisdom in town as...No one channels the conventional wisdom in town as it evolves better than Isaac Ben-Ezra.<br /><br />So Isaac the Interviewer told us through his questions to SC candidates in the past week that teacher morale in Amherst is so fragile that we really can't have a public debate within School Committee about how effectively our schools are operating, without significantly damaging our teachers' outlook on life and their jobs.<br /><br />The "educational bureaucracy complex" has now regained complete control of things in School Committee. That leaves the only remaining place in town politics for the loyal opposition to make its stand: override votes.<br /><br />There the politics are a little different than they are in yearly elections. We have a significant regressive, anti-development vote ("let's keep Amherst a small town")<br />that thinks that yuppies in Amherst have gotten too big for their britches. They think that higher property taxes are a threat to our agricultural sector and to the overall socioeconomic diversity in town. They will find newfound bedfellows on the next override in unrepresented parents and other critics of how our schools operate, who see no alternative course to say a loud "no" to a bloated, underachieving, but politically savvy public school bureaucracy than to vote "no" to higher taxes.<br /><br />So you can put the champagne glass down, Ms. Geryk. We're still out here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-81281631926899253542012-04-03T22:13:50.060-04:002012-04-03T22:13:50.060-04:00I'm impressed Michael Aronson got 433 votes, w...I'm impressed Michael Aronson got 433 votes, with no campaign, no funds and no signs. That's a lot of people unhappy with the status quo and wanting answers about the bloated administrative budget. Thanks for stepping up Michael.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-14355943023896765152012-04-03T22:04:16.798-04:002012-04-03T22:04:16.798-04:00Ladies and gentlemen of Amherst, I present to you ...Ladies and gentlemen of Amherst, I present to you an utterly domesticated School Committee.<br /><br />This membership will chew its cud, switch its tail, and come and go from the barn whenever Ms. Geryk tells it to. (I use the singular pronouns because we are talking only about one mind.)<br /><br />We will now resume addressing our schools' problems in the same way that our national leaders deal with global climate change.<br /><br />Denial, denial, denial.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-42955839478395483062012-04-03T21:53:21.407-04:002012-04-03T21:53:21.407-04:00When Irv changed his mind on Maria Geryk, he began...When Irv changed his mind on Maria Geryk, he began to seal his fate. He had already alienated Geryk supporters, and, as we've seen, they don't forgive. So then he tried to do something kinder and gentler, and proceeded to alienate those who wanted someone to challenge the existing status quo. <br /><br />So we're left to wonder: who is the real Irv Rhodes?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-37493510180402280282012-04-03T21:50:17.386-04:002012-04-03T21:50:17.386-04:00anyone know the number of votes each SC candidate ...anyone know the number of votes each SC candidate received today?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-41346274570219327772012-04-03T21:32:19.176-04:002012-04-03T21:32:19.176-04:00Hey Michael Aronson, if you don't run any kind...Hey Michael Aronson, if you don't run any kind of campaign how do you expect to win?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-34770427224916001382012-04-03T21:24:38.770-04:002012-04-03T21:24:38.770-04:00Did anyone here the collective cheering from the s...Did anyone here the collective cheering from the school administration. No one left to question anything. Conform Conform Conform. I wonder how much spending they will want to do next year. Maybe O'brien can lead the next teachers union negotiation and really show us what giving away the farm looks like. Oh how far we have fallen and most of our neighbors don't realize it or worst just don't care.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-79710376247055374652012-04-03T20:56:05.708-04:002012-04-03T20:56:05.708-04:00Congrats to Amilcar Shabazz and Lawrence O'Bri...Congrats to Amilcar Shabazz and Lawrence O'Brien as well as Tamson Ely, Austin Sarat and Carl EricksonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-82336360275575448242012-04-03T20:48:15.874-04:002012-04-03T20:48:15.874-04:00Anon 1:54
I hope your assertion is inaccurate. A...Anon 1:54<br /><br />I hope your assertion is inaccurate. As I was bringing in my completed paperwork one of my colleagues on the ballot was just pulling his papers to seek access to the ballot.<br />Michael AronsonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-13095119881855769182012-04-03T20:33:48.766-04:002012-04-03T20:33:48.766-04:00I didn't vote for some of the TM members becau...I didn't vote for some of the TM members because I DO know them!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com