It’s that time of year again! On Monday night, Town Moderator Jack Attridge will gavel our annual Town Meeting at the Veterans School Performing Arts Center to order, and what an event this looks to be. A combination of 53 government and private-citizen-sponsored articles comprise this year’s town warrant, many of which are routine, some of which are controversial and, of course, there is the budget for the next fiscal year. It appears that our town leaders and the Finance Committee have put together budget proposals that will not call for a general Proposition 2 1/2 override. Given the town’s unwillingness to support such overrides in recent years, this is commendable.
As for potentially controversial articles, we have Articles 24 and 25 (adoption of local meals and room taxes), Article 34 (adding a new Community Development and Planning Department), Articles 35 (placing the Assessing Department and the town assessor under the supervision of the finance director) and 38 (changing assessors from elected to appointed positions), Article 37 (increasing the membership of the Board of Health from three to five members), Articles 43-45 (leaf blower issues, which have become part of the annual rite of spring at the PAC), Article 49 (to rescind the vote of last year’s Town Meeting that changed the one-year terms of Select Board members to staggered three-year terms), Article 50 (to add recall of elected town officials provisions to our bylaws) and last, but not least, Article 36 (to adopt multifamily overlay districts, or what we might simply identify as the MBTA Zoning Law).
Over the course of the past many weeks, we have both reported on and opined about most if not all of these controversial articles, and there has been much public discussion and debate on the merits — or lack thereof — of each of them, some more heated than others. Now it’s time for voters to decide all of these issues.
And as we approach this year’s Town Meeting, our readers will hear, and many will say, “This (open town meeting) is the purest form of democracy.” And who among us can disagree? For all that it takes is for each registered voter to come to the PAC, listen and/or speak to the substance of each and every article, and cast their vote up or down.
But yet, almost all of our eligible voters stay away, some for very legitimate reasons (failing health, work or family obligations, inability to secure childcare and the list goes on). But what of those who can but simply choose not to attend, thereby forfeiting their right to determine these important issues?
We have in excess of 16,000 registered voters in Marblehead at this time. The Performing Arts Center seats just over 700 people, and while there is overflow seating in the Veterans Middle School gymnasium, rarely is there a crowd at that site. If 5% of eligible voters exercise their right to decide the future of Marblehead by attending Town Meeting, that is considered to be the norm.
So, while we have this pure form of democracy, it would appear that apathy rules, and to a large extent many important and impactful decisions are made by a small minority of ‘Headers each year. We think this is a poor reflection on local participatory government, and we call on all of our readers who have the ability to come to the PAC this year and cast your votes.
You will find pleasant surprises awaiting you: Electronic clickers will be used to expedite the counting of votes, and certain standard articles will be bundled to eliminate repetitive presentations on related matters.
So, grab an early dinner and come on down to the PAC this coming Monday. Be part of democracy in its purest form.
The Current Editorial Board
The members of the Current’seditorial board are Bob Peck, chairman of the Current; Virginia Buckingham, president of the Current's board of directors; board member Brian Birke, Current editorial staff member Kris Olson, and Joseph P. Kahn, a retired Boston Globe journalist.
