Bad Night For Incumbents

Two high profile candidates for reelection, in races where a second place finish would have been good enough, came in third, and thus out of the money.  Irv Rhodes, chair of the Amherst School Committee, fell to newcomers Lawrence O'Brien and Amilcar Shabazz--both of whom wished to be appointed two months ago to finish out the term of Steve Rivkin.

Presciently, Rhodes was at first reluctant to even fill the school committee position, worried it would give that person an advantage in this April 3 election; but then he strongly supported Shabazz.  The combined Select Board and School Committee, however, chose a high school student instead.

This stunning loss for Rhodes mirrors the school committee election of 2004 when incumbent chair Barbara Love came in third behind newcomers Andy Churchill and Thomas Flitte.  Pundits at the time lay the blame on a mediocre campaign that reeked of overconfidence and taking the voters for granted.

While Michael Aronson came in a distant fourth with 433 votes his base in all liklihood bullet voted (did not use their second vote).  If even half of Aronson's supporters had thrown their second vote to Rhodes, it would have put him in second place.

Incumbent Carol Gray also was odd person out in the three way race for two seats on the Jones Library Trustees.  She joins former chair Pat Holland who lost her seat last year as a result of leading an inquisition against 30 year Director Bonnie Isman.

Birds of a feather crash together.

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By The Numbers:

School Committee

Lawrence O'Brien     1526

Amilcar Shabazz     1160

Irv Rhodes               1004

Michael Aronson     433

Jones Library Trustee

Austin Sarat     1380

Tamson Ely       1245

Carol Gray         907

Voter Turnout:  15.2% (2,429 voters out of 15,991)

Statement of Michael Aronson - Candidate for the Amherst School Committee

I extend my congratulations to the winners of the school committee race in Amherst.  I enjoyed the dialog we shared. I encourage those of you stepping into public service to remember the substance and focus of the debate: determining why we spend so much more than other school districts in our area; returning resources to the classroom; and eliciting the creativity of Amherst to the benefit of the children of our community.

Voting for Dummies

Since it is such a tough task for harried voters to keep track of 24 candidates per precinct (especially with some precincts not having enough candidates to fill all those seats) our friends at Sustainable Amherst did all the work for us and came up with a handy cheat sheet, err, I mean "printable voter guide" you can bring into the ballot box and march in lock step with the supposed "Amherst Center."

If you remember, these folks lost their Op/Ed column at the Amherst Bulletin for journalistic improprieties concerning election endorsements two years ago, so take their election advice with a truck load of salt.  Although I do agree that this election will have a lousy, err, low turnout.  And I could not agree more with their Jones Library Trustees recommendation, which mirrors my Anyone But Carol endorsement.

Notice for School Committee they do not even mention Michael Aronson, the only candidate who dares to discuss the gilded school costs that give rise to the highest property tax rate in the area--almost twice that of neighboring Hadley where school achievement results are comparable to the venerable Amherst system.

Unfortunately Town Meeting is the only game in town.  But voting for someone you do not know is like a bomb disposal technician doing "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" to figure out which colored wire to cut.

Amherst Voting ABCs

Even with all 240 Town Meeting seats up for grabs, the lack of competition for the highest elected office in town, Select Board, combined with a plethora of status quo candidates for Library and School Committee--a good thing in the former not so good in the latter--will lead to a fairly routine, lousy, voter turnout in the 18% range (while the upcoming November Presidential election turnout will be in the fairly routine 70% range).

On Tuesday Amherst Regional High School will distribute 2nd period "report cards".  For School Committee this election should also act as a report card for the only incumbent candidate, Irv Rhodes:  Fail. 

For the past few years--certainly the entire three year tenure of Mr. Rhodes on School Committee--the exceedingly high average per student cost of Amherst education compared to state average or especially compared to Northampton has been an issue of contention, especially since that steep investment does not result in corresponding high MCAS results.

Most Recent MCAS results: worst in seven years

Former School Committee members Catherine Sanderson and Steve Rivkin brought up this platinum plated disparity continuously at SC meetings, Amherst Bulletin columns and on Ms. Sanderson's high traffic exceedingly public school committee blog--the one Mr. Rhodes wanted the District Attorney to investigate for Open Meeting Law violations.

In fact, a School Budget Advisory Committee was formed in early 2010 specifically to ascertain why Amherst's average costs were $4,000 higher per student than Northampton's.  Four months later they disbanded in disgust due to a lack of cooperation by highly-paid school administrators. 

Apparently the only impression made on Mr. Rhodes by all that budgetary discussion was to develop knots in his stomach. Mr Rhodes also failed to file his campaign financial report due last week.  If he can't properly run a low-budget school committee campaign, how can voters have confidence in him to oversee a $50 million enterprise?

Two other SC candidates--Amilcar Shabazz and Lawrence O'Brien--are also firmly in the blank check, rubber stamp, cheerleaders for highly-paid school administrator league.

Michael Aronson, on the other hand, has made that whopping spending disparity between Amherst and Northampton a campaign centerpiece.  And he has the guts and business experience to do something about it.  Thus the School Committee voting choice could not be more black and white:  Bullet vote for Michael Aronson.

The Jones Library Trustee race (also two seats open for 3 year terms) really is as simple as ABC:  Anyone But Carol!  Carol Gray, that is.

After running off 30 year director Bonnie Isman and seeing her partner in mayhem Pat Holland defeated last year as a result, Ms Gray's ignominious defeat is like a long lost library book:  W-a-y overdue.

Party House deja vu

In spite of seasonably inclement weather--a cop's best friend--and a published plea from Select Board Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe in the venerable Mass Daily Collegian (3rd letter down, so not exactly top billing) outlining party behavior that is "Not OK", the damn kids went and did it anyway.  Party that is.  Not OK!

Especially since my winner this week for 'Party House of the Weekend' is the same location requesting a Special Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals to double occupancy from a one family (4 maximum unrelated tenants) to a two family (max of eight).  Which in this case would seem to indicate a doubling of party house potential.  Not OK.

 156 Sunset Ave, within shadow of Southwest Towers

According to Amherst Police Department logs:
12:41 AM early Sunday morning

Large party 200+ people with DJ equipment.  Arrested for Noise and Nuisance House violations ($600 each):

Stephanie Blynn, 14 Valerie Dr, Plainville, MA, age 21
Heather Ohandley, 16 Hillside Rd, Plainville, MA, age 22
Shauna Obrien, 15 Melrose Ave, Wakefield, MA, age 22

Meanwhile on the street near 156 Sunset Ave:

ETOH (highly intoxicated) female on the roadway and unable to walk or get up.  Upon speaking with Nicole, she stated she was going to her dorm, as she attempted to go in the opposite direction of Southwest.  Nicole stated she was coming from the party at 156 Sunset Avenue.  Transported Nicole to her dorm.

Called Back

 
A continuously changing collection of trinkets and mementos adorn EED's tombstone

 

Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage 

Miss Emily's final resting place, centered in West Cemetery, is enclosed by an ornate black wrought iron fence constructed in 1858 for one of the elite families of Amherst--the Dickinson's.

Today the tranquil site enclosing four tombstones attracts visitors from all over the world, almost exclusively to pay homage to the "Belle of Amherst".  And it has been showing its age for too many years now.

More recent plaque looks fine

 The original 1858 gate was stolen in the 1970s and returned in 2004

Next month Amherst Town Meeting will consider recommendations of the Community Preservation Act Committee, whose sole charge is to sort out capital requests concerning Recreation/Open Space, Affordable Housing and Historical Preservation.

Enter the Holy Grail of Amherst history, the decaying fence that has protected the Dickinson family for over 150 years. The $40,000 request, added to $21,000 appropriated two years ago, will allow for complete refurbishment of the entire fence to good as new condition.

The renovation will start this summer and is expected to be completed before first snowfall, although the fence will have to be disassembled and taken off site.

Since Emily Dickinson is arguably the most famous citizen in our 250+ year history, it's a safe bet Town Meeting will approve the spending article.  Although the occasional curmudgeon does point out that perhaps Amherst College with its $1.6 billion endowment and owner of the Dickinson Homestead now turned Museum should shoulder the cost.  After all, her grandfather Samuel Dickinson founded Amherst College. 

But Miss Emily does not belong to Amherst College; she belongs to us all.

Controlled Burn

So I paid the newly instituted $25 fee (good for unlimited burns through May 1), had the Fire Department come do an inspection, ran a hose out to the debris pile, and then lit a match..or two...or three.

One man's trash...

Longmeadow Drive, South Amherst

Last weekend Amherst Police responded to a reported theft of a "55 gallon drum and tires" from this location.  The road side attraction is a sign of displeasure with Butternut Farm, the 26 unit HAP low income housing development that opened last June.

Orchard Valley neighbors put up a bitter, expensive legal challenge that dragged on for years (no doubt enriching their attorney Michael Pill) but inevitably failed to kill the project.  Obviously hard feelings still linger.  After finding no suspects, APD told the reporting party, "facing signs about the new development right at or next to the property would probably lead to the signs being taken down."

Meanwhile over on Snell Street, an irresponsible midnight dumper used the convenient access provided by the road that suddenly terminates to dump trash--including a 55 gallon drum and construction debris--into the woods. Arlo Guthrie is not a suspect.