MOOREcol.03-12.2005 . . . . . . . .34

HED :

Finding what's
Important before
It's too late


By BOB MOORE


It's so easy to let slip away what the April 5 election is all about.

It's not about Manager George King's contract speed-passed through
the Board of Selectmen after hours. That's just one case against the
board.

The issue is the 4-1 board. The answer is : Change Personnel, Not
Government.  Manager government works.

That can be done on April 5 with the election of two selectmen who
will work to overcome the lax, no-direction setup the present
board has left us in.

That's easy to say but last week when I dealt with "The Other Three"
[Rizoli, Paulsen and Wolfe], the so-called one-issue candidates, I
missed a point and from one - Dennis Paulsen - I got a quick reminder
of what it's all about. One paragraph tells the story :

THEY DON'T LISTEN - "My biggest concern," he writes, "is that other
people who have issues with the town will get treated the same
way. Most people are rather easygoing, non-confrontational and will
quickly back down when attacked by people with authority.

"I'm running so that those same people will have someone to speak up
for them."

I think I implied one run-in with the board was all. For upwards of
two years, Paulsen says, he and neighbors had a taut go-round with
authorities over parking on Concord Street. At one point, he
cancelled one of his college classes to appear, only to find no one
on the other side of the table.

The same goes for all of "The Other Three." Jim Rizoli's persistent
complaints about illegal immigrants gets scant notice. As one
selectman explained it to me, "Those fellows make the town look
foolish." My thought : It may be the other way round. I repeat,
members of the 4-1 board do not see how they are seen, nor grasp how
many agree with Rizoli. One writer told me : "I don't like Rizoli,
but do go along with what he says.

As for Harold Wolfe and his repeated insistence the board and King
are overspending - well, Wolfe seems so intimidated that he nearly
apologizes for facing the board with his charges. He speaks, with his
feet, ready to retreat.

THE MISSING FACTS - Wolfe's problem is that while he thinks less
money should be spent, there is so little information given by King
and solicited by the board that no one can be sure what is or is not
affordable.

Take the request for $86 million capital expenditures that's lain out
there since August with no facts attached. Might be needed by
King. But the board doesn't seem in a hurry to find out. Summed up :
King doesn't say; the board doesn't ask.

The board's no-direction inactivity is the problem. To pin it
down, the failure to hold regular meetings has contributed to an
upside version of Town Manager Government : The manager doesn't take
orders, he gives them and the board abandons its policy-making role.

We're faced with an election on April 5 and it seems fair to ask :
What are we going to do about Our Life in the Quicksand? And who are
those who ask for our votes? Taking up the three major candidates :

THE 3 BIGGIES - Well, I see that thrice retired John Stasik allows
he'd like to get in selectmen's race. The word on Stasik among those
who pick candidates is he has one advantage. He has a well known
name.

John served eight years on the Planning Board and four years in the
House of Representatives, 32 years as a top science teacher in
Weston. As a rep, John had a non-productive four years on the
Hill. He told fellow Democrats waiting for results in 2001 that "my
wife and I decided" to give up politics because his pension would be
greater if he continued in teaching.

Stasik has done little to talk up his candidacy but in one interview
in The Daily News he refrained from finding shortcomings in the
current, 4-1 board but would hope as selectman to help keep the
community from becoming "stagnant."  Subtext : Don't step on anyone's
toes.

John, the current board has already sponsored "stagnation." We don't
need a repeat. Being polite doesn't get us moving. And six in the
race indicates widespread dissatisfaction. Two members of that board,
Chairman Chris Ross and former Chair Esther A.H. Hopkins, changed
their minds about running for re-election.

Stasik's two opponents, Dennis Giombetti of the FinCom and Precinct
1's Town Member Ellen LaRose, are already working to undo the
sit-tight Board of Selectmen.

In mid-September Giombetti became the first to announce. He thought a
change was needed. Giombetti cites his government experience as staff
director to former Rep. Drew Rogers, marketing director with Stratus
Computer and Motorola, chairman of Cable Advisory Committee. He is a
member of the Columbus Society..  He has also served in Town Meeting
on the Area boards of Children services and the Department of Social
services.

LaRose has made no secret from the start that the work undone by the
4-1 board needed correction. She is serving on the Government Study
Committee looking into the pluses and minuses of Town Manager
Government. LaRose has two decades in business, including running her
own firm. Her point : the board needs business savvy in running its
activities. She is also active in Saxonville affairs and is known in
promoting local interests.

That's part of the picture we don't want to lose sight of.

__________________________________________________________
You can reach Bob Moore at edmoore4@aol.com or at 1-508-620-1449. [Let it
ring; he'll be listening.]

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