The following letter to the editor was submitted by Steve Walther (photo), a local government activist whose wife, Kathy Grant, petitioned to get Article 1 on the special town meeting warrant last month. The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Andover News. You can learn more about our policy on opinion and commentary on our Mission and Policies page.
On Monday night (12/11/23) the Andover Select Board considered what to do about Special Town Meeting article 1, which passed overwhelmingly. Article 1 is a non-binding article requesting the Select Board to put a question on the local ballot asking voters if they wish to retain Open Town Meeting as a form of government. The Select Board didn’t like the question, didn’t like the wording, complained about the ‘enforceability’ of a non-binding question, and looked for a way out. Unfortunately there are those pesky facts:
1. Special Town Meeting passed this article with 3X the votes that the Town Budget had at regular Town Meeting. The will of Town Meeting is clear.
2. As Town Counsel stated, the Select Board can put the article 1 question on the ballot if they choose to.
3. The article, wording and all, follows the precedent set by other Towns, specifically Braintree over 20 years ago. It’s legal, it’s been done, there is a path to follow.
4. The only issue at hand is if the Select Board respects the will of Town Meeting and implements the article as passed at the recent Special Town Meeting.
During the Select Board’s discussion there was a lot of lip service to the large majority of voters who approved article 1, and a textbook example of Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt, better known as FUD (see Wikipedia). Despite the lip service, it appears the Select Board may attempt to obstruct article 1 by posing a different question on the local ballot and ignoring what passed at Town Meeting. If they choose to ignore it, they reject the will of the Town Meeting process they claim to respect. Local elections are coming, don’t vote for someone who doesn’t respect voting.
Steve Walther
Andover
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