The end of the begining

So I'm preparing a more detailed analysis of the election for my Umass online journalism course mid-term assignment but figured I would throw out some off-the-cuff analysis for now, as I think both sides were surprised by yesterday's margin of victory (and no, unlike Cherry Hill Golf Course I'm not going to blame it on the weather.)

1) The 31.5% voter turnout was almost exactly the same as the Override that failed in 2007 so it's hard to blame voter turnout (although we usually get almost 80% every four years for the Presidential election.) So why the different outcome this time?

Well first off, there's a big difference between $2.5 million (that failed in 07) and the current $1.68 million. And if you listened to Andy Churchill at the forum last week sponsored by the crusty Gazette/Amherst Bully he made it sound like the $350,000 teacher giveback was already factored into lowering the Override amount. Which of course it did not, although town officials claim they will not use that amount by not taxing to the full extent of the new higher levy (one year only of course.)

And this year the Vote Yes folks were smart enough to order lawn signs (in two different varieties no less.) The Amherst Bulletin ran a rather long rambling editorial supporting the Override but then the Gazette followed suit with a tighter one, probably more widely read than the bloated Bully version.

But either way, two bricks-and-mortar newspapers supporting the Override certainly ads a fair amount of value that would have to be made up with paid advertising.

The Yes folks also raised more than the No folks ($5,000 to $4,000) although I still have not figured out how they spent that last $3,000. And I did notice that their "Vote Yes" lawn signs do not appear as expenditures on the Campaign Finance Report.

Their carefully crafted message got out: The town cut $7 million over the past (I heard either "two years" or "three years" and you could not tell whether they were including this upcoming year's cuts into that figure or not.) But the fact remains, the 2007 $2.5 million Override would have generated almost $8 million by now and over $10 million if you throw in next year.

And if THAT Override passed safe bet there would not have been ANY cuts. Yet somehow the town seems to have survived...

No way to start the day

A truck stalled in the middle of a busy intersection on Rt. 116 around 7:45 AM

Epilogue

9:45 PM

So yeah, by now you know the Override passed handily. But the real victory (for us crotchety conservatives) is Rob Spence winning a seat on the venerable Amherst School Committee.

And although they will never admit it, the Vote Yes folks did everything in their power to take him out.

As I stated earlier today, for the first time in at least a generation, a majority of sane fiscal conservatives controls that all-volunteer, amateur committee of do-gooders overseeing well over half the $65 million Amherst town budget.

I will actually sleep well tonight.

Collateral damage

6:15 PM

So if you ask recently retired Amherst Police Chief Charles Scherpa for a shortlist of the hardest working most dedicated person in Public Safety, Animal Control Officer Carol Hepburn would be exceedingly high on that list.

And as you can see from this afternoon's photo, she is also an Elections Warden.

But when the Override goes down, her full-time job as Animal Control Officer goes to half time, thus costing her $21,820. I bumped into her at the Hess Station in front of my Club early one weekday morning and she asked me how I thought the Override vote would go? "Down," I said--and then quickly added, "Sorry about that." "Why," she responded curiously.

"Because your job is half at stake."

"Don't worry about me," she said with Yankee certainty, "I'll be fine."

I hope so.

No concentration of power there...

1:55 PM

So here we have (dead center), Princess Stephanie O'Keeffe, Chair of the venerable Amherst Select Board and to her immediate left John Coull, Chair of the venerable Amherst Redevelopment Authority who is also, of course, her Dad.

Below Mr. Coule is my stunning daughter Jada. Interestingly the Amherst Select Board and Amherst Redevelopment Authority are the only two entities in the People's Republic with the awesome power of eminent domain.

Override rage continues...

1:45 PM

Hmm...so this is a public Facebook post brought to you by an Amherst Middle School teacher (you know, somebody vested in the status quo); and normally I would say 'who cares' as she is one in a hundred or so and certainly entitled to her opinion under the First Amendment.

But what is particularly scarier is she is also part of that elite insider group known as the Middle School Principal School Search Committee. You know, that secretive little group outspoken, overly-public School Committee member (and blogger) Catherine Sanderson was recently purged from.

An anonymous letter-snail mailed to me last week from a school insider indicated great concern about not hiring an "insider" for that ultra-important position of Middle School Principal. Double Hmm...

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1135648190>

These are turbulent times on the Amherst School Committee, made worse by
poor conduct on the part of Committee members associated with ACE. I've been
to several meetings of the Regional School Committee and watched, appalled,
at how Sanderson and Rivkin display open contempt and mistrust of Educators
and Aministrators, attempt to undermine the Committee chair, and are hostile
toward Committee members who don't share their views. They vote as a block,
work together to get their motions forwarded, and communicate behind other
Committee member's backs in open meeting. Adding Spence into this mix would
create an even larger "block" of these like minded folk, who really don't
represent a majority view in Amherst, and choose divisiveness over true
leadership. We need diverse views that represent the community on the
Committee, and there are several candidates that will do this. Read and
learn about all of the candidates and vote!

My Anonymous Snail Mail Letter post

Who shoots the photographer?

11:00 AM

Gordon Daniels, is by far the very best thing about the Bricks-and-Mortar Daily Hampshire Gazette. A Grand Master photographer with over 30 years experience. Look for this scene on their Front Page...umm, tomorrow.