IHS..you know I love you, but I must disagree with you about a recall.
You will have both of them gone in the next election, maybe sooner by resignation.
I believe that once you start seeing some 3 to 2 votes (which has already happened), you will see the Chairman and her cohort rendered completely useless.
Mr. Andrews hopefully will not be allowed to stay on, there will be new candidates for Town Administrator and Chief of Police and Library Director, etc.,etc., that will be interviewed through the right methods.
Public hearings, full disclosure (as allowed) by the BOS to the public, interviews that are public, and eventually appointments that are not only competent and  knowledgeable, but not pseudo-politicians and spinmeisters.
This will all be done by the three Selectmen that have intellects and business knowledge and sense. The other two will not exist, and as I said, will probably resign.
If not, they will pull "nutties" and act like the former Chairman and make complete asses out of themselves.
A recall would be divisive and not good for Wareham at this time. Let the Town continue to move together toward a common goal. A lot of work has to be done, and not much time to do it. If a recall takes place, it will alienate people in Town that would support changes as long as they are made aware of them. People do not want to feel excluded, and a recall can only be negative, not positive, in this case.
Bide your time, my friend IHS, continue to be reticent and educate and entertain us.
Meanwhile...do what you can to help your new Selectmen accomplish their jobs.

IHS,

with the utmost respect, I must disagree with the bottom line you cited of having a recall. All of your points leading to your conclusion are valid, for sure. Yet, do they rise to the point of putting the town thru the traumatic experience that a recall election would be?

Let's look at the record.

1. Tremendous progress has been made at the Town Meeting level. this must be nurtured and developed further to make the TM an ongoing force in the governing of the Town. Would a recall election detract from that?

2. New Board. there has been a sea change in the Board of Selectmen. Time is required for the change(s) to settle in and become evident & productive. Would a recall election prevent and/or interfere with the normal development of the necessary inter-relationships on such a Board?

3. Fatigue factor. A recall campaign is just that: a campaign. Is the electorate sated with the events of the recent past, and in need of a break from it all?

4. Cost factor. The costs are in dollars, of course, which must be raised to support the campaign. But there are also costs in terms of time, personnel, etc. Is it too soon to expect citizens to bear these costs after the last election and TM votes?

5. Basic requirement. The entry threshold requires a very large number of signatures. Is there an organization in place to produce, submit & verify the required signatures?

6. Candidate. Is there a candidate geared up and ready to go in a recall election?

Look, I agree that both of them MUST go. And, the focus on Brenda is quite correct. If there is any doubt, please review the recent TM. Watch her speak. Check her body language. Examine her facial expressions. This writer is notaPsychoBabbleBullshitArtist, never trained with Freud, Jung, Adler or DR. Phil; But even I can see the disdain, disrespect and disgust flowing from her to the 'body'. You know, those "assholes".

Recall? no!

Vote 'em out? Yes!  Yes!   Yes!   A thousand times Yes!

Let me know what YOU think.

and not only that.....

Here's some more stuff to contemplate.

1. Timing. Summer is here, shortly. Would most people rather work in a recall campaign, or go to the beach?

2. OK then, how 'bout Fall? Well, there is a State election this year, and signs both in Massachusetts (Scott Brown, governor's race) and around the country (Arlen Specter, Rand Paul, etc.) point to a very intense political season. And, there is a fall TM in Wareham, which no doubt will see more of the issues driving the debates in Town.

3. Well, if you are past summer & fall, it's winter (very good, Nota, go to the head of the class). The point being that you are now so close to April that a recall election becomes moot.

To me, the choice is made doing a risk/reward analysis. My cardiologist has me on Coumadin, generic name warfarin. Yes, warfarin is rat poison. Dr. _____ analyzed the risk of me being poisoned (by bleeding out, the mechanism which kills the rats) against the benefit of 'thinning' the blood to prevent clots ( I hate clots). To maintain this balance, I have to schlepp to the primary MD monthly for monitoring. This is analagous to the current choices. Recall v. April election. the rat poison that I ingest daily is scary stuff. but what is really scary is knowing that without it, the chance of a fatal blood clot is almost certain.


Go for the Recall and LOSE: guarantee Brenda's re-election in April, 2011.

Gear up a stong, steady 10+ month campaign to unseat the two of them: markedly increase the odds of success in dumping them in April, 2011.

There are no neat tidy answers. I would love to have a quick fix for this. Ain't no such animal.

Stay the course. Target April. Keep the pressure on.

That's my opinion. And, it can only be that: an opinion.

discussion?

Last edited by notalawyer (2010-05-20 16:57:33)

You may not want a recall, but don't compare it to the 80s. These sins are FAR WORSE than the ones suggested then, and we are already divided.

Last edited by tmvoter (2010-05-21 00:56:31)

To borrow a bagel biter phrase - "The Hypocrite Elite Civil War Has Finally Begun."