#1 2010-05-06 17:25:39
The terrain may have changed with the election of our new Selectmen and the fact there is a better opportunity for new voices in our community. For this I am especially thankful to those who helped make this possible in so many ways.
However, each of us must renew our responsibility through participation directed to the common betterment of our Town. This needs to take place at this time of Town Meeting, perhaps the most important one in all our recent history. It is our best opportunity to express and formulate what our community is and will become. As citizens we need to offer valid opinions and worthwhile feedback to our leaders, whether elected or not. They are charged with the responsibility to act in our best interests in the manner we deem appropriate.
As a result of the recent election, I'm confident we have begun to clear the right path. However, in terms of our non-elected officials I believe they stray far from our vision of the common betterment for the Wareham community. Their opinions (or lack thereof) resonate upon all too familiar themes.
It seems as if a regeneration of negative and ill-conceived notions remain. When I question for which purposes this group was hired then things become much clearer. They were hired to complete the decimation of our town infrastructure where our political leaders found themselves limited. Nothing has changed that objective. This group believes they are increasingly empowered to complete that objective because we are not yet directly speaking to those issues.
Specifically, Sanguinet, Andrews and Bizz for all intents and purposes are collectively our town administrators on account of their day-to-day management functions and responsibilities. I truly feel no one has told them that an election happened and a new direction must be considered. I feel, that the tactics - (L)lies, (A)arrogance, (M)misinformation and (E)evasion which characterized our last set of elected officials is thus far embedded in this group of non-elected town administrators. They are acting on autopilot as if on a course established by our former group of political leaders.
These traits are demonstrated in the unfair manner in which our town employees are treated, the unfair way our town organizations are treated, the way town meeting is disdained as an evil concept, their low opinion of an open and fair exchange of ideas, the lack of efficient and substantive progress, etc.. Theirs is an identical path to the one we've begun changing. We have to bring the same discerning and investigative skill set and the determination to change this course of action before what we gained in an open upfront election is lost through the administrators' backdoor.
In the next week our town meeting votes and strength of opinion on things like the Charter, police cruisers,
and those many other important issues will begin to color how our administrators choose to carry out what they interpret as best for our community (or a selfish agenda). Whether we win or lose on those issues should not be irrelevant to our elected and non-elected officials. Be there on Monday night or be gone! Help make sure autopilot gets turned off so this community can complete it's turn to the beginning of a new path.
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#2 2010-05-06 17:37:31
that blonde women ,dont know her name on the finance commitee i a real ditz , or a nut job ,she had to go.
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#3 2010-05-06 21:13:09
ihateliz wrote:
that blonde women ,dont know her name on the finance commitee i a real ditz , or a nut job ,she had to go.
OK?
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#4 2010-05-06 21:47:34
Who, Donna Bronk? The one with the long curly blonde hair sitting on the end?
She's a bit disorganized in her speech, but I don't think she's a ditz, she just doesn't seem all that comfortable as a public speaker.
I thought she made a good argument against Westfield when she said she'd gone to Agawam Village to speak with the residents there, none of whom wanted to move and who just wanted their places spruced up a little. I think that went quite a ways with a few people.
So let's try to avoid making any more enemies than necessary during the renewal process - God knows we still have enough trouble with the ones we already have.
Last edited by Petethemeat (2010-05-06 21:53:07)
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#5 2010-05-07 06:02:14
NO NOT DONNA BRONK THE OTHER BLONDE.
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#6 2010-05-07 06:32:08
The other blonde (okay) is Bonnie Catulli (spelling?) squarely in the pocket of Jane and Brenda. Donna Bronk who spoke against Westfield is in no ones pocket. She is an independent thinker who does her own homework. She is also the one who said to Brenda "you just can't let this go", a comment that Slager and company have attempted to link to one of the new selectmen. Slager could learn something from Donna, do your homework!
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#7 2010-05-07 06:35:56
When you're hunting for bear it's foolish to waste time,energy, and ammunition by blasting away at squirrels and rabbits.
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#8 2010-05-07 13:32:31
Bruce was a fine example of too much power at the top and the abuse of that power.
I understand that Wareham has hired an Attorney who was Mayor of Brockton in the late 90's when I was selling 40 Acres of family land in Abington abbutting the City of Brockton.
Water and Sewer service ran down the middle of the Street dividing the municipalities.
Even though there was an agreement to allow Abington to access the utilities, the City of Brockton appealed the development plans. Looking at a three to five year lawsuit, the developer caved in to a Two Million Dollar payoff. Once the money was paid we had the key to the city.
The State of Massachusetts has a NO SLAP LAW protecting Town Officials from lawsuits, but no laws protecting citizens from lawsuits initiated by Town Officials. The former Board of Selectmen armed with an "open Checkbook" repeatedly said that most of the Town's legal problems came from "land use" problems. Not so! Almost all money was spend for aggressive offensive moves on the part of the Selectmen.
The Mayoral form of government can work well for some Cities, but Wareham has to use a wide broom to clear out the "bad guys" before embarking on a rushed attempt at a new system. The Town meeting system isn't broken. The lack of particiption and the lack of quality leadership has undermined the system.
A "task force" to check out other cities and towns where democracy with open and clean local goverment is working in favor of all the citizens -not just in neighboring towns but in other States. We don't have to reinvent the wheel.
I recently read that more than half of the property in Wareham is owned by seasonal residents or is used for seasonal or annual rentals. In Connecticut, anyone owning property valued at more than $1,000.00 that is subject to taxing has the right to vote at Town Meeting on the budget items only. Massachusetts has enabling laws for the Towns to adopt those laws. Wareham has not. Is this taxation without representation? Something to think about...might bring in more participation and volunteers.
Severl people I have spoken with recently think that a Mayoral form of government will diminish Wareham's problems of recent years. Town meeting is not a problem; it is an opportunity for self rule. Don't give it away easily.
Last edited by mama bear (2010-05-07 13:44:47)
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