Time, with a wrinkle or two

Two years ago today I posted my first blog piece.  It has been an interesting run so far. Certainly there have been some peaks and valleys, both from your perspective I am sure and I know from my own. 

It has been a crazy run in many ways.  The biggest uproar caused by a piece was in fact from a comment to a piece.  Hindsight being what it is, I still say that one was a mountain made out of a mole hill.

When we first started, it was in the face of an "early" election season.  I should say early by the then standards.  Seems the times are in fact always changing.  Can anyone thin of the last time we had two people declare there candidacy for selectmen before the first of the year?

Granted, this was the first year I can remember when papers were available prior to the first business day in January.   Still, whatever the primary reason, it is still early, right?  Fundraisers in the summer and fall, although I seem to recall a fall fundraiser or two lat fall.

There has been a fair amount of loud whispering in some circles about who may run, who won;t run, who shouldn't run.  All interesting stuff, yet all just whispers until papers are pulled. 

Speaking of papers, if you are a Town Meeting member and up for re-election, and approximately 1/3 of you are, if you decide to run again make sure you notify the Town Clerk.  Sitting members need only file a written request to get on the ballot (contact the Clerk for the form to use). The deadline for that is posted on the town website (February 10, 2014).   Miss that and you have a short window to pull papers and get signatures to be on the ballot.

Anyone interested in running for anything should consult the election calendar. Rather than list the various dates and potentially screw it up, here is the link to the town election calendar.  Call the Town Clerk with any questions.

Everyone seems to like the concept of Town Meeting.  The disagreements start over the make-up of the body.

Year in and year out, even pre-DOR report, you hear the arguments about having too many members in our representative body. I seem to recall an attempt a number of years ago to adopt what is known as the "standard form" of representative town government.  That would reduce the body to something like 240 members. We are something like 425 TMMs right now. The problem with a reduction in size is that the statics for smaller bodies elsewhere (and indeed even in "open" communities) do not tend to be compelling reasons to do so.  

The biggest sticky wicket people seem to have is the "stacking" argument. I don't buy into it.  First the practical rationale.  Okay, you somehow come up a legal way to keep town employees out. Now how do you monitor the spouses, moms and dads, siblings, issue, other relatives and friends.  

If town employees should be kept out, what about all the "at-large members".  Every selectmen, every member planning board, bpw, school committee, board of health, along with the elected members of the housing authority, commissioners of trust funds, the town clerk, the moderator, chair of fin com and tree warden oh and any state rep residing in town (not as uncommon as you might think by the way) are all deemed at large, voting members.

If I tally it up right we are talking about a min. of 33 at large members.  Now let us face reality, the odds of getting all at large votes to vote as a block are probably has as much a realistic chance of happening as a foot of snow falling in Fairhaven on August 1st of any given year.

Still getting a large chunk of votes from government to vote the government line is not unrealistic.

If we are going to apply any type of conflict of interest to town employees, how is it right not to apply it to any other member?  Let's face it, we see it time and again, private citizen Town Meeting members making pitches for their causes, involvement in which would be a direct conflict if they served in any other capacity but as a Town Meeting member and but for the legal "no conflict" for Town Meeting member rule.

Reducing the numbers isn't going to make it go away. I agree it isn't a perfect system. But creating a caste system for votes, even ignoring the logistical nightmare, isn't going to cure the problem per se.

The absolute best one can hope for is the personal integrity of each member. The realistic goal is involvement by the average citizen.  

If just 10% of the people who don't vote in elections, and just 10% of them decided to run for town meeting member, they would certainly become a force to be reckoned with.  

Anyway ... seemed to have gone down a track that has been well worn in the past. 

Shifting gears a bit. 

The selectmen will be meeting tomorrow night.  That will be meeting number six in a five week period I think.

Not sure what else is up this week.  Will try to remember to check it out tomorrow.

In any event the Feb. 12th STM is a go.  That puts a wrinkle in the regular budget process. How big a one depends on how big a pile on of articles there will be.

One day at a time I suppose, and that's all the time on this day I have for this.

Be safe.