Just Say NO

 Amherst Board of Registrars meeting Town Hall 2:45 pm

In a little less than a half-hour the Amherst Board of Registrars came to a vote on whether to accept a challenge filed by Vince O'Connor and Mary Wentworth to the legality of names appearing on the nomination papers of 1st time School Committee candidate Phoebe Hazzard, who set a town record for acquiring the 50 signatures needed for a town wide office.

The vote was unanimous:  No.  In fact there was an undertone of, now go away.  

The challenge was filed 35 minutes after the "two working day" deadline imposed by state law.  The complainants argued a "working day" for Amherst Town Hall is 8.5 hours but one of those days (Thursday) Town Hall is closed to the general public in the mornings, therefor they only had 1.5 working days to file their grievance.

Board member Susan Lowenstein was the most forthright of the three asking Mr. O'Connor somewhat sternly, "Why do you see criminality and fraud?  I'm appalled this is happening!"

To which Mr. O'Connor responded, "I'm appalled the Town Clerk would accept bad signatures."

Another bystander pointed out, "Not a single person has come forward to say they didn't sign those papers.  There's the letter of the law, and the spirit of the law.  I don't see any violations of the spirit of the law."

O'Connor responded, "It encourages people to sit at home, call up their friends for permission and get signatures that way."

Town Clerk Sandra Burgess had wanted this distraction ended quickly, as the ballot for the March 31 election needs to be printed soon.

Election Fraud?

Complaint is addresses look like handiwork of same person

The Board of Registrars will meet on Friday morning to decide whether to take up discussion of a complaint filed by Vince O'Connor and Mary Wentworth regarding signatures collected on the nomination papers for School Committee candidate Phoebe Hazzard.

Ms Hazzard took out her papers only an hour-and-a-half before filing deadline, and then returned them 15 minutes before the drop dead deadline with 65 signatures.

The Town Clerk did disallow 7 of the signatures because the name did not match up with the address or were illegible, but did certify 58 which is 8 more than required for placement on the ballot.

The Board of Registrars met within 48 hours (February 12th) of the February 10th nomination  deadline to certify the results and choose the order of appearance for candidates on the official ballot.

Hand delivered to Board of Registrars 35 minutes past deadline

A challenge to any nomination irregularity is supposed to be filed within 48 hours.  Mr. O'Connor and Ms. Wentworth missed that deadline by 35 minutes, so the Town Clerk originally denied taking up the appeal with the Board of Registrars.

Mr. O'Connor did not take too kindly to that, so now the Town Clerk has called another meeting of the Board of Registrars, but their only decision on Friday will be whether to hear an appeal or not.

If they decide the 48 hour deadline does not apply then they will set another date to discuss the merits of the appeal.

Should enough signatures (9) be disqualified, Ms. Hazzard's name will not appear on the ballot for School Committee and that open seat will be filled by write ins.

There are two open Amherst School Committee seats and originally three candidates filed their papers by deadline.  Incumbent Lawrence O'Brien withdrew before the 48 hour time limit leaving Vira Douangmany as the only guaranteed winner at the moment.

Squeaky Wheel

Stavros, 210 Old Farm Road

The illustrious Amherst Select Board, in addition to acting as Sewer and Liquor Commissioners (an ironic mix) are also "keepers of the public way." So if you wish to complain about road conditions, the tire stops with them.

At their hurried 11/5 meeting, just prior to Town Meeting, hidden away somewhere in the Amherst Regional Middle School, they unanimously supported relatively minor tweaks to Old Farm Road.

The neighbors had complained -- probably for quite a while now -- and requested a four-way stop.

Recommendations of Town Engineer Jason Skeels adopted by Select Board

The impact zone is also the entryway to Stavros Center For Independent Living, a BIG social service agency, even though their $1.627 million property is tax exempt.

The old blame it on Bush

Makes you wonder how the neighbors on South East Street are going to feel about the responses to traffic safety concerns they have been getting.

 Or I should say, not getting.

Let them know how you really feel

And Then There Were None

 

Pat Kamins landlord, Rob Morra (on right)  Building Commissioner

Amherst Building Commissioner Rob Morra reports the most recent Rental Permit Bylaw enforcement actions taken by his office to bring into the compliance the final dozen properties (out of 1,300) has been successful.

Only one remains -- 84 Grantwood Avenue -- and they have told him the "application is in the mail."

 A dozen years ago the Board of Health made an ill fated attempt to bring about Rental Registration but it was mostly ignored; and after the contentious "Smoking Ban in Bars War" from a few years earlier the Board seemed reticent to take on the enforcement challenge.  

Naysayers with a vested interest claimed the current implementation of the common sense bylaw, with its nominal $100 annual fee, would be a logistical nightmare and that the Zoning Board would be overwhelmed with hearings to approve the parking component of the program. 

But all of that sound and fury has apparently signified nothing.

100% compliance now sets the stage for rental occupancy peak season when students return next month.  So the next big test is yet to come.  

Decisions, Decisions

Could Amherst voters decide fate of $15/hour Minimum Wage hike?

UPDATE (Friday morning):

The Town Clerk just confirmed that even if the Select Board set the referendum election for September 9, the date of the State Primary, it would only result in "minimal savings."  The cost for the Special Town Election would still be around $10,000 vs a normal stand alone election cost of $12,000.  

Separate ballots would still have to be printed and the number of check in and check out workers at every precinct would need to double.

#####

After reading this morning's article Matthew Cunningham-Cook, the optimistic architect of the $15/hr minimum wage hike for all Amherst laborers, wished to add an interesting point:

If Town Meeting should reject his article at the March 19 Special Town Meeting he will "referendum" that decision by collecting 880 signatures within five business days and bring it directly to the voters of Amherst in a Special Election that will cost taxpayers $12,000.

Since he's already collected 200 signatures to force the $15/hour minimum wage warrant article on a Special Town Meeting, his threat is not to be ignored.

And when I mentioned how difficult it can be he responded, "That's true.  We're a big group and five business days afterwards would be the 26th.  Collecting signatures on election day(3/25)  is pretty easy."

The Town Clerk confirms his deadline analysis and agrees she can't stop folks from collecting signatures near a voting precinct unless they are interfering with voters.

The rule stating no electioneering within 100 feet of a voting precinct on election day would not apply since this issue has nothing to do with what's on the election ballot.

Since 1998 only twice has a Town Meeting action been referendumed by collecting the signatures of 5% of active voters:  The Parking Garage in town center and the Soccer Fields on Potwine Lane.

Both capital items had Town Meeting approval, and the referendum was an attempt to overturn that approval.

Both referendums failed.  In fact, in order to pass at least 18% of registered voters have to vote "yes," otherwise it automatically fails.  And Amherst only turns out over 18% at a local election if there's a (much needed) change in government question on the ballot or a Proposition 2.5 Override Question. 

The really interesting thing happens if Town Meeting fails to muster a quorum on March 19.  Obviously the lone article is then pocket vetoed, but there would be nothing to referendum.

And unlike the scene in "House of Cards," you can't send out police to drag Town Meeting members to the Amherst Regional Middle School to attain a quorum.

The Town Clerk has asked the Town Manager to ask the Town Attorney for guidance, since there's nothing in state law at the moment to address this quirk.  In other words, how long does the Moderator wait before he announces there's no quorum, and hence no meeting?

Perhaps the safest route would be for Town Meeting to approve the article (only requires a simple majority), thereby avoiding a $12,000 Special Town Election, thus sending it on to the State Legislature where it will be Dead On Arrival. 

Another Joins The SB Race

 

Amherst Planning Board 6/5/13 Connie Kruger center 

In case you were wondering who would garner the second vote among first-Selectboard-candidate-out-of-the-gate Andy Steinberg supporters, the answer fell like snow from the heavens this afternoon: Current Planning Board member (and former town employee) Connie Kruger.

 Even better to balance the ticket, since she's a she.

 In her own words ...

Let The Race Begin

Finance Committee Chair Andy Steinberg

Andy Steinberg is first to announce his candidacy for the five member Amherst Select Board, our executive branch of government. As an entrenched insider -- i.e. Town Meeting and Finance Committee -- Steinberg, a retired lawyer, is a slam dunk for one of two open seats.

Especially since he touts "collaboration and transparency" on a shortlist of his priorities.  Who can argue with those?

And as a Town Meeting member he voted in favor of flying the commemorative American flags every 9/11.  Well okay, maybe that one will cost him a few votes.

Interestingly enough, he's probably the only North Amherst/Cushman homeowner who does not have a "Stop The Retreat" lawn sign prominently displayed in his yard.  So yeah, that too may cost him a few votes since NIMBYs usually patronize the ballot box.

If they really possessed political power, however, they would not have been so unceremoniously blown out of the water at the last Town Meeting.

It's been a while since two incumbents both decided to retire from their Select Board seats, thus the field this coming election (March 25) is pretty wide open.  Fitting I suppose, since Stephanie O'Keeffe and Diana Stein both won their seats almost six years ago in a strongly contested election (5 candidates) but at the election three years ago neither had competition.

The odd thing about an election with two open seats is a voter gets two votes.   Thus like-minded candidates usually form an unofficial team, quietly telling their ardent supporters to throw their second vote to candidate B.

Theoretically Candidate A can have only 750 entrenched supporters as does Candidate B; but with each telling their supporters where to throw their second vote both candidates end up with a whopping 1,500 votes.

Thus making it tough on lone-wolf Candidate C, an outsider who tells their voters to "bullet vote"  (don't cast second vote) with a respectable 1,000 supporters,  but still ends up coming in a distant third.

Whereas if voters were only allowed one vote, Candidate C would have come in first.

Since there's no Proposition 2.5 Override or change-our-antiquated-form-of-town-government Charter issue on the ballot, voter turnout will be in the usual range ... dismal.

Over the past five years annual spring town elections averaged a pathetic 15% turnout (with an Override question on the ballot, 2010 had a 32% turnout) while the 2012 November Presidential election garnered a 69% turnout.

In addition to the two Select Board seats other town wide contests for three years seats include one seat on Jones Library Trustees, one  seat on Amherst School Committee, one seat each (for five year term) on Amherst Housing Authority and Amherst Redevelopment Authority (that did not meet once in the past year).

As usual the Town Meeting Moderator position is up (although Jim Pistrang has a 20 year lease). And Town Meeting will have the usual rotation of eight seats per Precinct up for three year terms (80 total) and a dozen other shorter term seats contested.

Amherst currently has 17,851 registered voters.

In his own words ...

Fire & Brimstone

The vitriol over stopping the "The Retreat," a housing development targeting Amherst's #1 demographic who patronize our #1 industry, is reaching a fever pitch. NIMBYs are starting to get a tad, err, twitchy.

As usual, the call has gone out to pack the Select Board public meeting Monday night to try to intimidate them into spending $6.5 million tax dollars to "protect" a quaint neighborhood.  

After all, somewhere in an alternate universe "The needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many." 

Let's hope they leave the torches and pitchforks (or phasers) at home.

 ##### 

From: llan starkweather 
Sent: Friday, July 26, 2013 2:58 PM
Subject: Fwd: Reality of the Cushman Retreat


To the GALACTIC LOG mailing list, 

On July 21st I sent my umpteenth not to be printed letter to the editor
of the Amherst Bulletin, Reality of the Cushman Retreat, enmeshed below.
It was not printed, as most of mine the last decade have been rejected
as threatening to the media establishment that controls the Valley, so I
responded this morning with the long piece also below starting with
To the local so-called Editors of the Illuminati controlled dark media
cabal, the last obstacle to true reality for valleykind:


The immediate reply from the news department was

On Jul 26, 2013, at 10:46 AM, DHG News Dept. wrote:

 Llan Starkweather: 

 If you send another vaguely threatening email (to wit, You have a short time
left to understand what your soul's mission was) I will notify the police. 

Larry Parnass 

##### 

 I could not help but respond in this fashion:

From: llan starkweather <llan3@hughes.net>

Date: July 26, 2013 2:26:06 PM EDT

To: "DHG News Dept." 

Subject: Reality of the Cushman Retreat

You have a short time before god puts you out of your nasty lying business
in allegiance with evil against humanity. Your soul's mission is your
mismanaged affair and it is more than vaguely threatened. What a poor
substitute for a being of any good will you are, little soul-shrunk Parnass.
How many lines of god's truth did you read before you started shaking your
fists at any attempt to awaken in you your real purpose in incarnation. 

I am done with you, but like Zimmerman, god isn't. And that doesn't change the
fact that you have been intentionally using your elite power to fuck me over
for a decade and would 'notify the police' for my rocking your cradle of the
dark hegemonic forces' dominant protection. Or that this valley has for very
long been denied truth and reality out of the fear in those who have usurped
all power-over through control of the fucking media. I speak for those who
cannot, or do not even know they are targeted and are being disposed of as
useless eaters by the hegemony that is now currently and finally being
revealed and dis-mantled. 

You are a loving god too. Know that. 

##### 

The Republican reports 

Snowstorm Silver Lining

 Snowplow Amherst Town Center 2/9/13

Although it took the federal government less than a week to declare Boston a disaster area after the terrorist bombing, the epic snowstorm that caused the entire state to "shelter in place" took over two months for Massachusetts to garner that designation, bringing aid in the form of federal dollars.

Same day declarations by President Obama (who did quite well in Mass back in November)

Guilford Mooring Amherst DPW Chief

Amherst DPW Director Guilford Mooring submitted a request to MEMA for $100,000 that includes vehicles, material and 72 hours of work for storm clean up.  The amount was only an "estimate" so the actual grant could be more (or less).

The money will go to cover deficit spending in the "snow and ice removal" budget and the surplus will go back into the General Fund.

Although it would be nice to set some aside for union raises for DPW employees, firefighters, police officers, police supervisors and service employees whose contracts all expire July 1st.

A Cold Reality

Finance Committee Chair Andy Steinberg Co-Chairing Budget Coordinating Group Thursday morning

Amherst finance guru Andy Steinberg addressed the two town meeting warrant articles calling for many millions of dollars in spending for the eminent domain taking of two properties in town and his brief comment Thursday morning could fit on their tombstone:  "It's hard to imagine how these things are feasible."

Indeed.

But where was he 25 years ago when the town spent the most money in history for an eminent domain taking:  Cherry Hill Golf Course @ $2.2 million, simply to satisfy 100 NIMBYs in North Amherst.

But yes, two wrongs do not make a right, and at least maybe town officials learned something from the Cherry Hill debacle ... maybe.  The taking of W.D. Cowls property in the bucolic Cushman section of North Amherst would cost many times more than the $1.2 million that appears in the warrant article.

Since Cinda Jones has an offer of $6.6 million on the table from a serious developer who wishes to construct high end student housing,  that is how much it would cost the town to take it.  6.6 million.  Dollars.   A UFO piloted by Elvis landing in town center on the 4th of July is f-a-r more likely to happen. 



The taking of Echo Village, which would cost close to $3 million, has a far better shot with Amherst Town Meeting, as the impacted residents who are being evicted will generate far more sympathy than the well off white people from North Amherst.

And the new Echo Village owner, Jamie Cherewatti, is not overly popular with neighborhood groups all over Amherst.  At the Housing & Sheltering Committee meeting yesterday, where about-to-be-evicted tenants presented their case to the committee, Town Meeting member Paige Wilder chimed in, "Jamie Cherewatti owns four houses in my neighborhood that are all party houses."

Social activists Vince O'Connor and Kevin Noonan also spoke in behalf of the tenants urging the committee to support their article for an eminent domain article.  O'Connor pointed out if the town used Community Preservation Act money to fund some of the taking it would place an affordable housing restriction on the deed.

 Peter Jessop, Chair Amherst Community Preservation Act Committee

The CPAC did vote on Thursday night to support an emergency appropriation of $15,000 to help the tenants with relocation.  Apparently the former owner, Jerry Gates, was a tad more benevolent than the new owner and did not require first and last month's rent for new tenants so now there's no savings to rely on for getting a new apartment where that is required.  

But if Town Meeting should override CPAC committee recommendations and use money towards the outright purchase then the 24 units of housing would count towards the town's affordable housing stock, currently at 10.8%. Now in danger of falling below 10% and opening the town up to a Ch40B development.

 Echo Village Tenant Tracylee Boutilier addresses Housing & Sheltering Committee

Either way, with the Residential Rental Property Bylaw bringing a game changing permit system to town also on the warrant, Amherst Town Meeting should be more interesting than a night of network reality TV.

I can't wait.

If You Do Not Build It ...

 UMass Southwest Towers: 6 were proposed, 5 built

The overwhelming influence of our local Juggernaut, the University of Massachusetts, comes shining through in the "Town of Amherst , Massachusetts Housing Production Plan" unveiled last night at the Housing & Sheltering Committee public forum.

Simply put, the oldest law in capitalism at work:  supply and demand.  UMass provides an overwhelming supply of college aged youth (now comprising 59.4% of Amherst's population), which drives up demand for too few housing units, which sends average prices through the roof. 

Population increased 2.75 times vs housing only 2.3 times

And anytime someone tries to build anything bigger than a dog house, the neighbors sharpen their pitchforks and fire up the torches.

Most impacted are what's left of the classic nuclear family:  According to the report, adults age 25 to 44 saw a staggering drop of 45% since 1990.

The housing picture could soon change, however, as the consultant's report illuminates how precariously close Amherst now is to the dreaded 10% threshhold for affordable housing (10.8%).

And with 204 units at Rolling Green Apartments threatening to come off the affordability list, that would bring overall percentage down to well under 10% (8.5%).

And then, via a Ch 40b comprehensive permit, BIG time developers get pretty much a blank building permit, as long as 25% of the units are affordable.  

Even just the eviction of low-income Section 8 tenants from 24 units at Echo Village Apartments by housing kingpin Jamie Cherewatti, AKA Eagle Crest Management, will reduce our affordable housing index by one-quarter of one percent.

The clock is ticking. 

Amherst's Political tragedy of the year

10/29 storm: overall story of the year

Since all politics is local and Only In Amherst is a hyper-local news blog, I'm duty bound to do that routine Main Stream Media thing and--in spite of Satchel Paige's cogent advice--reminisce over the past year, as painful as that may be.

The death of the Gateway Corridor Project, a unique coalition between Amherst, UMass and the Amherst Redevelopment Authority to significantly enhance the main entryway to UMass connecting with our downtown, had the potential to add $75 million in mixed use, high end development to our anemic tax base.

Killed by NIMBYs who feared a resurrection of the notorious Frat Row, which ten or twenty years ago could have served as a location set for an "Animal House" remake. And as an outspoken member of the ARA who never missed one of the dozens of meetings we had over the past year, it's hard not to award this debacle the most important local political news event of the year.

If the local spring election has a Prop 2.5 Override or Charter change of government question, that usually is the political story of the year. But this past election we, thankfully, had no Override or, regrettably, no Charter question, no contested races for Select Board (our highest office) or School Committee (our most revered office) so voter turnout was a pathetic 8.5%.

But still, that election is the backdrop for my political story of the year--only because Catherine Sanderson was not on the ballot. She was battered and bullied into not returning her nomination papers--duly signed by over 50 registered voters--simply because she had the temerity to expose the emperor and empress had no clothes, and did not look particularly attractive naked.

Closing Mark's Meadow (boutique) Elementary School, saving taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, alone should nominate her for sainthood.

But her real power to stir the pot like an outboard motor and actually make change (and I'm not even sure she ever realized this) was the power of her blog, that so frightened town officials from Amherst and the surrounding region they actually petitioned the District Attorney to shut it down. My God.

The 10/29 nor'easter starkly reminded us of the awesome power of Mother Nature, and a blog done right is another formidable force of nature. My School Committee Blog was so very right.

Catherine Sanderson

Amherst: "I get no respect"

The professor ignores Amherst, education capital of the world

So we had an important politician peruse the Happy Valley yesterday--Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren--and she never bothered to come calling on the People's Republic of Amherst, located only 7 miles away, snugly behind the tofu curtain.

Now yes, I suppose that would be like preaching to the choir--but let's face it, as much as they try to distance themselves from our little town, the city of Northampton is cut from the same, all natural, vegan fiber.

And what's up with Ms. Warren's glitzy wine-and-cheese $1,000 per (platinum) plate affair in Hamp? Oh she who fights against the economic inequality from fat cat Wall Street investors and claims to have spearheaded the Occupy movement (right after Al Gore invented the Internet) .

Not to many of us 99%ers can come up with $1,000 for a little bit of facetime. Although...skype is free.

Glad they are not Union 666

Methinks SEIU888 is sending the town of Amherst a message. Probably has something to do with the Town Manager recently being awarded a 9.8% raise, or the million dollar surplus the town has averaged over the past five fiscal years. Or maybe the Devil made them do it.

################################

SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION

SEIU/888: 8 Hours of work, 8 Hours of Sleep, 8 Hours of Recreation promoting healthy, balanced, hard working union members.

Resolved on September 29, 2011 by the Town of Amherst Employees chapter of SEIU 888:

We will donate to the Amherst Survival Center (at Thanksgiving): $888.00

We will donate to the Senior Center Thanksgiving Dinner: $88.80

We will donate to the Amherst overnight shelter (Craig’s Door): $88.80

In these tough economic times, even though we have been offered a Zero percent COLA, we feel we need to extend a helping hand to our neighbors and colleagues. These funds were rebated back to the chapter five years ago.

Not in South Hadley

UPDATE: 8:45 PM Results are in and no BIG surprise:
Mayor/Council loses in a landslide Yes 1815, No 2938 and Fire District merger by a fair amount 2250Voting Yes and 2522 "No" for a merger.
############################################################
ORIGINAL POST: Noon
So based on lawn signs alone I would project that once again the attempt to professionalize South Hadley government from part-time volunteers--Town Meeting and Select Board—to a more modern, accountable Mayor/Council will go down to defeat in today’s vote.

As too will the question of merging two Fire Districts (each with its own expensive bureaucratic overhead)

Change is indeed hard.

While I think merging Fire Districts in South Hadley, like closing Amherst’s Marks Meadow Elementary School create significant cost savings (and would support both if I had duel citizenship), I would not support the merging of a Police Chief and Fire Chief in the form of a Public Safety Director, which apparently--now that both our Chief's have announced their retirements--Amherst is considering.

First of all, police and fire have vastly different cultures (even though both involve public service, sometimes at great personal cost). And since these jobs involve routine activities that could lead to death, the rank-and-file need to have great faith in their leadership.

Police who perceive a Public Safety director as being more Fire Department oriented are not going to have great faith and trust in such a person thereby diminishing moral; and if firefighters perceive the person as too Police orientated then it will be the same.

And chances are the town would hire an Assistant Public Safety Director anyway to oversee one or the other disciplines, so you may as well have two separate Chiefs each having come up in the culture.

When Barry Del Castilho first came to Amherst in the early 1980’s from North Carolina one of the very first things he tried to do as town manager was to merge Police and Fire under one leader as well as having the front line troops perform both functions.

He was almost laughed out of town; and he never again brought up the subject over his twenty+ years of dictatorship.
#################################################################
Interestingly current South Hadley Town Manager Barry Del Castilho told a Longmeadow Charter Commission back in 2003 that he preferred a Mayor/Council/City Manager form of government. And of course I biked by Ms. Awad's house and she has one of those ubiquitous yellow "Vote No" to the mayor lawn signs on her front yard (gotta wonder if she is still registered to vote in Amherst).

Breaking "news" (9:30 PM)

Soooooo with four Precincts (out of 10) reporting we can conclude: T=P (Turnout is Pathetic)

Precinct 4: 7.9%
Precinct 5: 13%
Precinct 7: 13%
Precinct 10: 7.7%

Looks like Rhodes and Rivkin are our next two new School Committee members.

Scary race at the moment is for Amherst Redevelopment Authority with anti-development, tree hugger Rob Kusner leading former business owner, former Chamber of Commerce Director (and most importantly, Dad to Princess Stephanie)John Coull in a squeaker: 261 to 258.

UPDATE: 10:15 PM: Whew! According to the Springfield Republican John Coull pulled it out for ARA 909 to Rob Kusner's 832.

And naturally Gazettenet is reporting the School Committee race ass backwards showing Rivkin #1 with 1,454 votes and Rhodes #2 with 1,153 votes when those numbers should be about reversed:
Irvin E. Rhodes 1,564 , Steven G. Rivkin 1,240

Suicide is Painless

Last night as the economic summit between the Select Board, School, Library, and Finance Committees met next door (they got the bigger room) the Amherst Redevelopment Authority voted 3-1 not to commit suicide by passing my motion to oppose Town Meeting Warrant Article #32, calling for our “abolishment.”

Vince O’Connor, who crafted our death sentence, showed up fashionably late and insisted he had no personal feelings one way or the other about the ARA. But, of course, he also insists he did not know anything about acquiring 18 write-in votes in the March 28 election where I knowingly ran a successful last minute campaign with 67 write-in votes.

Mr. O’Connor thinks the ARA (4 elected and 1 governor appointee) has “too much power for folks to get elected by write in." I pointed out that the two most recent examples (going back a decade) consist of Curt Shumway, who was originally elected with over 1,000 votes but then forgot to get his nomination papers in on time for reelection; and little old me who was the governor's appointee for over 10 years.

Mr. O’Connor also thinks that since the ARA has not met in two years to exercise all that “power” we should be put out to pasture.

Let’s hope for consistency sake Mr. O’Connor’s next target for extermination is the Cherry Hill Advisory Committee, who have not met in THREE years (when the ailing Golf Course is critically in need of “advisory” help) and currently has SIX vacant positions out of seven.

Interestingly the town provided legal council for the meeting and we were informed that the ARA powers likely extend beyond only the downtown. So we could get involved in Village Centers in North or South Amherst or that somewhat run down area coming in to Amherst from the east.

But even is we simply stick to town center, there’s lots to be done. And with the Town Commercial Relations Committee now revived we could make a potent one two combo for commercial development—something Amherst desperately needs.