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Health & Fitness

37 Votes and Why You Should Vote on March 31

Townwide participation in local elections tends to be less than 50%. Yet it is these very elections that can have the MOST impact on our day to day lives.  Look no further than the annual town election of 2010 where Bob Haarde beat incumbent Bill Keller by a slim margin of just 37 votes. The impact of those 37 votes is still reverberating through the town to this day. How?

First, the move to 3-5 selectmen.  The three to five selectman initiative had been tabled, discussed, sent back to committee and discussed for years by the long serving selectmen in town. Lavendergate was the spark that ignited voter anger at the board. Had Haarde not been on the Board of Selectmen, it is doubtful  Lavendergate would have received any visibility and certainly the ensuing voter outrage would not have happened. Some may see this as a good thing, I don’t. Haarde’s presence on the committee opened a lot of people’s eyes to a dysfunctional board.  It is ironic that many of today’s sitting selectmen opposed 3-5 at the time going so far as to head down to Beacon Hill in an attempt to defeat it. 37 votes made the difference.

Second, senior tax relief.  Haarde’s election made the incumbent selectmen realize they could be defeated. Senior tax relief, now claimed by many as their baby was by no means guaranteed.  In fact, if you read the selectmen’s minutes you see much of the same old tactics of requesting more study.  This time around however, with Haarde’s support, and more important vigilance to the inner workings of the board, ignoring the issue was not politically feasible.  37 votes made a difference.

Third, the rail trail. Whether you like the asphalt or the dirt version, the rail trail is gaining momentum in town.  After years and years of delay, the presence of Selectman Simon is helping to push this issue  Why? He got elected in the 3-5 movement.  37 votes.

Finally, the Fairbanks roof. Haarde’s minority opinion not to repair the roof until a long term solution for Fairbanks could be addressed stopped us from spending $700 at town meeting to fix a roof on a building that is less than ideal.

Those 37 votes made the difference in 2010. 37 votes can make the difference this Monday, March 31st to get us even more minority opinions on our board.

We still have a long way to reach a thriving “multi-party” system here in Sudbury – and I don’t mean Republicans and Democrats. I mean a system where multiple viewpoints are respected, discussed, and a decision is reached based on all viewpoints.

Just a single opposing viewpoint can make all the difference. Imagine what a second minority opinion could do for issues such as:

  • the inadequate funding that Lincoln provides to LS and the impact this has on SPS and the town budgets
  • the lack of a true plan to deal with 40B despite years and years and years of town employees focusing on this issue, the establishment of the Sudbury Housing Trust and over a $1M of tax payer money spent in a crusade that has no strategy nor end point
  • rationalization of the ever increasing OPEB obligation with the inability to fund the ongoing operations
  • gaining a more balanced performance review of the town manager

If we can get to a true “multi-party” system in town, then we will reach better decisions, and the progress from the past few years can accelerate.  If we stall where we are today, I fear that progress too will stall, much as it had over the previous 20 years.

I will be voting for all new representatives for SPS and the Board of Selectmen - Pat Brown, Christine Hogan, and Lisa Kouchakdjian - to support more diversity in our decision making process.

Whether you agree with my analysis or not, please vote on March 31st. Thirty seven votes can make all the difference.
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