One Raised Hand in 100 at a Town Meeting Is Far More Important In Your Daily Life Than One X Marked on a Hundred Million Ballots

With permission from the author, and for your consideration, I offer the following:


From: Howard Hansen
Town Moderator
Stoughton--
"The Birthplace of American Liberty"

To the Enterprise (Brockton):

Low Turn-outs at Polls; No challengers; Write-In winners; Retiring
Elected Officials have No Successors; and New Council Government in
Turmoil; all in Sunday's Enterprise Local Section.

Your editorial "Your Community Needs You" is correct in its message,
but is kind of late for doing any good. It in some ways contradicts a
number of editorial views expressed by The Enterprise over the past two
decades about the need for large towns to "have more efficient
government by shedding those antiquated, ancient, inefficient
public-participating Town Meeting form of Government. I have a file of
Enterprise/Patriot Ledger editorials and I don't remember reading any
that supported retention of Town Meeting government in Weymouth,
Braintree, Randolph, Plymouth, Easton or Bridgewater.

The Massachusetts Moderators Association has been observing this
anti-democratic trend spreading across the Commonwealth. We have been
asking How and Why the "New England Town Meeting" is deteriorating.
There are a number of factors contributing to this situation. The
role of media and educational institutions is a key to how well citizens
of our communities understand what the late Speaker of the House, Thomas
P. O'Neil meant when he said "All politics is Local".

First, the Towns themselves must "Sell" town meeting government.
Every four years there is a heavy promotion for citizens to register to
vote so they can elect a President. We have expedited that process so
that you can register to vote by mail, when you renew a driver's
license, and special voter registration nights at ANY town hall. These
are laudable efforts to get the nation to vote for its President.

But who tells these new voters that the Most Important vote is the
one you make in a Town Meeting and for your town officials? One raised
hand in 100 at a Town Meeting, is far more important in your daily life
than one X marked on a 100 million ballots. You, and all the citizens
of your town are solely responsible for how well your local government
serves you.

This is the message that our newspapers, radio, television,
internet and cable should be delivering. Our Public Schools and Colleges
(Universities) should return to teaching old-fashioned Civics and the
History of American Government.

Howard Hansen



To quote Mr. Hansen: "You, and all the citizens of your town are solely responsible for how well your local government serves you."

Couldn't have said it any better.

Thanks and take care.

Jon