MOOREcol.05-19-2005.. . . . . . . . .35


Hed :  Third graf in this listing forums is a GO.

This is a review
And a preview :
It's your move now


By BOB MOORE


Time is running out. Just time for a review and a preview. The
preview - important to all of us - involves our chance to size up the
six candidates for selectmen on April 5.

That's two weeks from next Tuesday at 7 in the Civic League on
Concord street when the League of Women Voters kicks off the first of
three or four candidates' forums.

So far, FIMBY's forum Wednesday at 7 in the Hemenway School will
follow.  After that, on Tuesday, March 29, at 7 in the Main Library,
a forum sponsored by several groups interested in immigration matters
is scheduled. That will be offered by The Framingham Connections at 7
on the 30th at the Woodrow Wilson School..

  That's four chances for you to judge how well each candidate
measures up to what you see as a cure for the present, lackluster 4-1
Board of Selectmen. So much for the preview. We'll come back to that
but now to a review.

Irritation is in the air after the narrow defeat this week of a
proposal to build a library annex in Saxonville. Taking care of the
families of town employees now in Iraq beyond 90 days got hotter than
noontime sun on a Florida beach in July.

Rebecca Blais, wife of Police Officer Al Blais, pled for help in
meeting an unexpected $2,000 health bill that she believed was
covered by her husband's service. It was a vigorous speech Thursday
night. Polite but no holds barred and it took

For months, I know, selectmen have been pressed to bridge the gap
between Blais's local salary and insurance coverage while he - and
other town employees - found his tour extended well beyond 90
days. The board has said that such a change "was not bargained for"
by the unions and hence impossible to bridge.

Alex Capone, another veteran, was heated in his argument to take care
of these employees who had not foreseen the war or the extension of
short terms. In the end, a TM audience responded for Rebecca Blais
and other veterans' families.

Lack of action by selectmen left the matter of aid up to Town
Meeting. As such it remains as law. It was clear Thursday night that
TM members were incensed by selectmen's inaction. That may last for a
while. And it doesn't add support for the current board whose
membership will altered with the addition of two new members on April 5.

LIBRARY DEFEAT - The library board's two year effort to get the
addition in Saxonville came to naught this week when it failed to get
a two-thirds vote from Town Meeting. Libraries don't come easy in
Framingham. When I moved into the region in 1960, the library was
squeezed into narrow confines in the Memorial Building.

After a short stay on Rte. 9 at the Centre, political knowhow on the
board insured the Federal funds for what became the Downtown
Library. Patriotism played a role in getting the squat building in
Saxonville that proved so popular.

But hard times have played a role in halting library expansion. So
much to do with Downtown Revitalization and tight state aid entered
the fray.  Uncertainty of where we stand financially has been
prevalent lately. Even the $86 million for capital projects, Town
Manager George King introduced remained "out there" in a fog
. . . . with no support figures.

I think the final blow to the library came the other night when King
managed to get called on before Article One came up. The 20-25
minutes he took to run over all the "probable" expenses in the Annual
came down to the same figure he broached last month - $2 million
short on FY 06 budget. That put the kibash on thoughts of spending,
no matter how noble.

WHERE DO WE STAND? - Uncertainty seems to be the tone these
days. Although the manager had hurried up with a request for a
super-override to take care of infrastructure improvements, we still
don't have any figures on how that could be met - given the expected
lessening of state funds. OK. But since August that has been a
mystery. Even the hurry-up committee to analyze the figures has met
. . . .  inactively.

Now that we are just a month from the Annual Town Meeting, we've got
to come to grips with FY '06. Given the nature of budget-building,
uncertainty extends for weeks on end. Maybe until the Legislature
passes what is left of Gov. Romney's proposals.

Keeping things uncertain is one way to bring decisions down to the
last minute - and a hurried "solution." One reason we've been so
uncertain is that the present 4-1 board just doesn't get around to
press for answers. The major complaint coming up to the April 5
election is that Selectmen Ross, Hopkins, Murphy, and Sisitsky are
out of touch. They have failed to grasp public needs, to set policy
and prod the manager.

Well, Ross and Hopkins didn't feel they'd run this year, so their two
unused spots are up for change:
MAKING A CHANGE - One change that all six share : The board has
drifted into inaction. Fewer meetings, fewer questions, no patience,
no initiatives.

This has scared some people. Some argue that it's time to change our
form of government; get a city or whatnot that will give residents a
chance to have their say. The odd thing about this year is this : Get
behind two candidates you feel will be proactive. Get something done
before problems overwhelm.

One candidate who doesn't stand much chance of being elective is one
person who has hit on what bugs residents the most : Dennis Paulsen
says the board just doesn't listen, or pretend to listen. It's
thin-skinned and reacts against those who complain about how they're
handled.

I'll add one thought : So often those appearing before the board
simply don't get what the selectmen propose, and failure to listen
and reason provokes further complaints . . . . that grow into
campaigns. We have Jim Rizoli and Harold Wolfe for example. Just an
outcropping of some of the griping that listening could tame.

We have three contenders whose campaigns are more than just "not
listening."  They are FinCom member Dennis Giombetti, TM activist and
business person Ellen LaRose and John Stasik who has served on the
Planning Board and as a state rep.

There's a lot to ponder as you size up these six candidates in the
forums.  And hopefully, you recall past performance throughout the
year. Would-be voters are on stage now.

_________________________________________
You can reach Bob Moore at edmoore4@aol.com or at
1-508-620-1449.

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