Should I run for Selectman?
As you've read, two slots on the BOS are up, Esty and Sisisky. As far as I know, Harold Wolfe is the only person collecting signatures for a run at them, as an independent.
I'm taking a poll to see how our readers feel about the performance of the board and if they are satisfied with the direction they have taken the Town.
My own thoughts are, we've spent to much money, and continue to spend to much money on high priced lawyers and lawsuits, police details, the war on drugs and endless studies. The BOS are, a group of separate egos, running the Town separately, ignoring anyone who is not a supporter, making questionable decisions and not holding the legislature accountable for many of our problems.
Thoughtful rants would be appreciated.
posted by Jim Pillsbury @ 1:21 PM
11 Comments
11 Comments:
Tom Mahoney from the Planning Board has pulled papers also.
No harm in running I guess but I don’t think anyone has a chance of beating the 2 running for re-election. And the more people who run against them the more divided the votes will be giving anyone less of a chance to beat them. I don’t think Wolfe has a chance of a snowball in hell but Tom Mahoney could give them a run for their money.
Tell us more of what you would do differently? What do you think about the Dover Amendment, about the SMOC things, about the police chosing not to use the imigration funding, about the tax rate, about budget shortfalls? If you are asking me for my vote I need to know more about what your politics are and what you would be doing for the Town that the incumbents would not do. I like much of what you say here but need more information before I would commit to supporting you.
Are you asking if you should run then the answer is of course if you want to. Are you asking if you will win the answer is a different one. The town is not necessarily in trouble enough that would indicate the Selectmen are doing a bad job. I think they need to rein in the board of health, and I think they need to be more open with us about the state of the budget and what they see coming. But I am not sure I would say they are doing a bad job but that could be because I don’t know enough about what it is they are doing to know if they are doing it wrong. I think they have all been doing it for a while so they know what they are doing what issues do you see specifically with there job performance that would make you say they should not serve another term?
Time for a change in the town politics so any new face would be a good one. That is why there are term limits in so many places. So I would say time to get some of the old boys out and get some new blood in.
It would be an interesting debate with you and Wolfe that’s for sure. To be honest I think you should become a Town Meeting member and get your self known before you run for Selectman. That being said, you would get my vote, but lots of people have the wrong idea about you and not sure you could overcome that enough to beat out a sitting Selectman.
I say run. You have my vote.
Thank you all for your comments.
My thinking was to attract attention to an otherwise walk off re election for the incumbents.
While Mahoney has a long standing commitment to our community, especially with the ruling party, even he seems to feel the BOS are not in tune with the rest of the Town and I think he would be a good selectman. My intent would be not to ruin Tom's chances and I'm very confident that anyone who votes from Tom would not vote for me anyway.
Wolfe wants the debate, it's as simple as that.
The usual 3 thousand party loyalists who vote for deceased or indicted candidates will vote for the same old people no matter what other qualified candidates there are.
There appears to be enough voters who tell me that Framingham is not run well and most free thinkers want more action than inaction from the BOS. The "study group mentality" has stifled decision making. The lack of communication has costs this town Hundreds of thousands in legal fees, which will again increase after tonight's closed door BOS meeting.
Issues like SMOC, downtown revitalization, rail crossing, illegal immigration, whether the town should move towards a city form of government and even wind turbines, linger in space, with no clear vision of the future.
Is it possible that more of the 33k registered voters would take an interest in the race if more candidates were in the mix, other than the usual party loyalists?
I've already written and believe strongly, that Dover needs to have the educational definition clearly defined by the Sate. The Legislator should be held accountable for this work and in the meantime, perhaps the suggestion by the attorney from Framingham who suggests a portion of the grant money social service companies get, go to the Town for central services.
SMOC is not leaving Framingham in my life time. Richardson's proposed bill doesn't make residents happy. The best we can hope for is that Beacon Hill is made to deal with the definition of Dover and get some reimbursement to the Town for services rendered, in lieu of taxes. Spending more tax dollars on lawyers seems not be working well
What I would do different? I would have not voted to end the illegal immigration program, nor would I have voted to approve a gas station selling alcohol. I would have not voted for any tax increase for homeowners or business this year. I would have asked for salary reductions of 5% for any employee making over 100k a year. I would make recycling mandatory, demand the government access producers make all meetings clear for the viewers to see and hear, allow the Town Manager to do his job and move the Town of Framingham, away from Town Meeting to a city form of government, very similar to Franklin mass. I would have voted to stop any unfunded program that would not cause the Town to be sued. I would also find and develop small parcels of Town owned land that would be used for community gardens. Lastly, I would support the Police recommendations for fines and penalties for businesses violating their alcohol licence, support confiscation of vehicles of repeat drunk drivers, de prioritizing marijuana investigations and get the cops off the work sites and into real crime prevention.
I'm to old and realistic to think anyone like me could defeat any one of them in the past when times were good and the money was just flowing in, but 2010 and 2011 are going to shake our core services and the less likely to vote in local elections, may, take notice of how bad decisions made by locals pols effect their own lives.
I say run. You have my vote.
As long as you understand it will probably be a loss for you then I would say run. But remember that if you accumulate a bunch of losses when running, people start to think of you as someone who can not win an election and for that reason alone they will not vote for you. I guess what I am saying is if you are still considering running for state rep, and you know you are going to lose the selectman race, then I would think that would hurt you. But you bring a different insite to the mix and that could be a good thing. I do agree with the writer who said you need to get out there in front of more people, be more visible at meetings, maybe write more op eds for the paper. All those things give you more name recognition and let people know who you really are. That talk show you use to do would be a great format if you are again considering a run for office. Your new show is good and I watch, but it does not give the same picture of you that the old show did. And if you are going to run cut that hair! There are people out there who will not vote for you simply because your hair is long and you know that. Good luck whatever you decide but I really think you have to choose where you can make the most difference and where you have the best chance of winning.
Fred.. you make valid points about appearances... in losing. An engineer I worked with a year ago stated, after I pulled off this time sensitive, make it or else, hugely expensive task "Pillsbury is not afraid of losing".
All bravado aside, the worse thing they can write as a headline is, Defeated Challenger? I've seen worse in the Rick Holmes Daily News.
I just wish.. someone else... honest hard working guy or gal... step up and challenge them....
Two decent candidates might draw better numbers and more interest in our future.
There are 4 spots on for TMM, up this April, perhaps I should stick to a race I could win.
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