Moorecol.12-02-04. . . .18 Hed : The coming election - chance for real change By BOB MOORE This is a crazy, muddled time, and about the only thing to come out of three weeks of expensive, unproductive contract hearings with Comcast is the certainty that we'll have one helluva campaign for two seats on the Board of Selectmen on April 2. Joining perennial selectman candidate Harold Wolfe are Ellen LaRose of Livoli Road and Dennis Giombetti of Circle Drive. All three are active in town affairs. And from the growing discontent with the 4-1 board we can expect more in the race before nominations close on Jan. 18. This is a long story so let me get into it. It may shed some light on what the elections this year can mean to you : Under the law, the Board of Selectmen sets policy and actions are taken by the town manager. In practice, Manager George King's actions often seem to have set policy with which the board's sanctions following suit. Invariably by a 4-1 vote. The one opponent [Ginger Esty] wins re-election by margins larger than the other four. This is noised about town - a matter of some comment. Once-weekly meetings of this board in the nine month buildup to elections and Town Meeting in April/ And this year board meetings have been changed to every two weeks. Ummm. Frequently the meetings are overloaded and critical matters come up when most people have gone home or gone to bed. WHY NOT TWO? - Since Nov. 4 the board has been locked in weekly sessions devoted solely to a court-like battle with Comcast to the neglect of any other but minor business. [The latter taken up, I might add, in a conversational manner; there, that's finished.] Still to be faced: the cost of special counsel, Peter Epstein, and the fees of Town Counsel Chris Petrini who sits each night as a legal adviser to the chairman who serves as the judge in such proceedings. Trading courthouse drama for in-house icky-picky. Question : If time is limited, why not schedule two meetings a week to look after vital business? Meanwhile, matters such as preparing for the next budget [Fiscal Year 2006] are omitted. One giant proposal for a $90 million "much-needed" capital budget overhaul was proposed by King in September but since has vanished. Tracking these matters I find that no one has heard a word dropped about them in any quarters. Nor have we heard anything about setting water and sewer rates or tending to the sale of MetroWest Medical Center. By this time this year, we have been accustomed to getting some insight on upcoming needs. If capital budget changes such as improving our neglected roads, upgrading our sewer and water systems and improving the Memorial Building and other town-owned buildings are important enough to be brought to our attention, then why not get at them . . . . . if we have time? CANDIDATES & SUCH - Such questions are being asked. Usually our upgraded town divisions and our budgetary improvements are at work and we are involved in such discussions. And that brings us to the upcoming April 2 election and the selectmen candidates. LaRose is a member of the Government Study Committee reviewing the Town Manager Act. She is determined to run especially the incumbents who seek re-election. Wolfe's campaign to block more overrides has thwarted a proposed debt-exclusion override proposed by Manager George King. Giombetti has served in many campaigns since his role on the town manager search committee in 1999. Unless roles have been reversed, then this board voted to get us into this swamp with Comncast - a struggle that is not apt to end [how?] sometime next year when critical town decisions just have to be made. Have to. All three candidates want a change. A change in what? Changing direction in our form of government takes time. One election at a time. Yearly. And if the one [or two] seeking re-election at that time, don't find your favor - you're for one or two who do. Right now we have the 4-1 board - the same Four, the same One. And two of the Four are up for re-election : Chairman Chris Ford and Selectman Esther Hopkins. That's the way the ball bounces. If dissatisfaction with the unrelieved consistency of the 4-1 is high enough, election of two opponents of "4-1ness" could determine a new majority. And a change in attitude. King has done well as manager, whatever his rough methods, but even the best can benefit from some doubt. Reason enough for voting? GOVERNMENT STUDY - It's a tough time of year to call people together to see how we might improve our eight-year-old town manager system, But it's happened, and what is there to say for the Government Study Committee's two hearings on the subject? Not enough showed ip; the build-up was too casual. For the subject ---Most will think "not another hearing!" Chair Christine Long and Vice Chair Joel Winett knew that just maybe enough would stand up and let their thoughts flow. That happened. A lot felt relieved at the Nevins Hall hearings. But there's a lot more to go - and the committee that includes Doug Freeman, who suggests an elected manager "to get the public involved" or a Charter Commission to consider another form, stands ready. Winett stands for "some fine tuning" of the 1996 act. Some felt the first step in analyzing the manager act lies in defining the problem. What's wrong now? Steve Kruger of Precinct One felt appointments to the Finance Committee should show a universal knowledge of finance. A frequent suggestion : Finding a way to attract more candidates for office from "the Southside." Whoops! The Southside? South Framingham? Speakers in the Memorial Building meeting - note the location - so often referred to "the lack of interest in this section of town?" Again please? The most frequently warped term used in serious discussion is Southside. Undefined. So often. The term is used to define Precincts 15-18 [below the tracks] as Southside. Not so. Meaning, in that case, a section of low-paid workers, immigrants and inadequate housing and parking. I live in the Southside - Precinct 8, bordering Route 9 and extending to the railroad crossing. An area occupied by lawyers, doctors, business owners, workers, consultants and media people. That's the Southside. Anything below Precinct 12 is not "Southside," although I heard one of the study group referring to Selectman Ginger of Precinct 11, as coming from the Southside. Excuse me, Precinct 11 is virtually a mirror image of upscale Precinct One. My thought. Until we give more thought to precisely identified sections of town, we'll come to many useless conclusions concerning the Southside, for one. _____________________________________________________________ You can reach Bob Moore at 1-508-620-1449 or at edmoore4@aol.com. [Let it ring; he's slow.] To unsubscribe, send email to majordomo@syslang.net with body unsubscribe frambors (the subject is ignored). Please read the Frequently Asked Questions maintained online at http://frambors.syslang.net/faq/about.html before posting or replying.