Given my interest in improving the atmosphere in town politics, I note with sadness that someone has decided that it would be a good idea to cross out "Hubley" with black paint on some of his campaign signs. No matter what your political ideas or affiliations, I hope you will join me in noting what a pathetic maneuver that was. I guess there's plenty of work to do in terms of setting a respectful tone.
Remember to vote!
5 comments:
As a person who did not vote for Mr. Hubley, I join you in noting how pathetic a maneuver those acts of sign defacement were.
Similarly, some of the behavior on LWV Candidates' Night involving the snatching of Sustainable Amherst's printed material still sticks in my craw. But I admit that there's plenty of blame to go around. No one has cornered the market on political virtue in town.
But for every act of pettiness, if you look hard enough,you can find disarming gestures of grace. My daughter was out in the center of town waving her Alisa Brewer sign on Friday. She noted to me afterwards that Mr. Hubley walked up to her and spoke with her. He was extremely positive, respectful, and kind to her, and she won't forget it.
For me, the craziness of town politics has been about fear: fear of seeing our town transformed into something we don't love as much, fear of not being able to honor our civic responsibilities as we did, fear about not being able to afford to live here, fear that we won't be able to pass on something as wonderful to our children.
Rich Morse, Precinct 7
You're right. It's pathetic. I've lived here 7 years and have never seen signs tampered with...and there have been candidates running for offices that hold far more odious positions than Robie Hubley ever has! Let's hope it's an aberration.
Rich-
Thank you so much for your heartening story. Having had the pleasure of meeting your daughter, I can truly say that such an encouraging thing couldn't have happend to a nicer person.
Your story reinforces an idea I've been having. I suggest a rule that we could all use to keep things civil:
I believe we all need to think of people we would really like to have involved in town governance, people we would like to "recruit" -- smart, practical, with useful skills and important viewpoints. I believe we can all think of people like that, who won't join the process because it is currently so "hot". I believe that any time we speak out publicly, we need to think of ourselves as speaking to that person, even if we are not. That way, we would set a tone that would create an environment that would truly be inviting to a broader range of candidates (with all kudos going out to the people who are currently participating in spite of the heat).
I have several friends in my current stage of life -- launching careers, raising little kids, who can't really dive in yet. But I know that they would be great, if we can create a setting that they see as workable without wearing armor to meetings!
Rich, I see your daughter as the perfect example from the next generation. I truly hope that she is willing to lend her energy, intelligence, and eloquence to local governance for a long time -- not because she has acquired a thick skin, but because we are all smart enough to give her the respect she deserves. We can only do that by giving the same respect to everyone involved.
Thanks for the kind words on my daughter.
Now let me say some kind words about Gerry Weiss:
1) Gerry Weiss was involved in hiring Larry Shaffer, who seems to be doing a great job.
2) Gerry Weiss has been a stalwart supporter of affordable housing, including Habitat and the Stanley Street Project, visiting there frequently, I'm told.
3) Gerry Weiss agreed not to take endorsements from other incumbents in town government, after I urged him to do so. I haven't forgotten that.
4) Gerry Weiss stood almost alone and did not remain silent when all seemed lost and risked being disagreeable last Monday to get one override amount on the May 1 ballot, an important focusing of the issue for the voters.
5) Gerry Weiss was instrumental in getting the mutual aid agreement for the police with UMass.
6) Gerry Weiss was the first SB member that I'm aware of from the current group that went out on a ride-along with the police.
7) Gerry Weiss does not talk in meetings just to hear himself talk.
There are others, I'm sure. I did not vote for Gerry Weiss, however, because I honestly could not tell where he wanted to take the Town in the next 3 years.
I think that Gerry Weiss needs to be out front in support of this override. I believe that it will not pass without vocal and enthusiastic support from him.
I want to make an important distinction here: there's a difference between representing all the voters of the Town and working for the common good of the Town. I believe that Gerry Weiss's job is the latter. I believe that the common good of the Town is served by this override, and the accompanying plan that has been proposed with it.
I see him hanging back on this override, and I'm disappointed by that. But I wouldn't be on this website, if I didn't have some hope that he might change his mind.
Is that respectful enough for you, Mr. Camera?
Holy Smokes, that's fantastic! More than I had hoped, and of course I agree wholeheartedly. I'll make sure he sees it and responds as soon as he can.
Thank you for reading and contributing to this blog. I know you are a supporter of Alisa's, and I would invite her and other members of the Select Board, Town Meeting, the committees, etc, to send in positions or arguments on such issues. I'm hoping that this blog can be a place where we can post relatively concise treatments of these topics, but I also realize that sometimes issues can't be reduced very much. I just hope that we might be able to reach a whole new circle of folks with such an approach.
Thanks, again!
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