A STUNNING TURNOUT in the 2013 Westborough Town Election!

Written by Webmaster
Wednesday, 06 March 2013 07:38
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Never before has there been such a clear mandate from the people! 

The people that STAYED AT HOME IN DROVES, that is.

Yessir, nearly 90% of our local electorate shouted unequivocally with their silence, expressing their full  acceptance and embrace of our town's management and direction presently undertaken by our elected bodies.

Hail to the 1,229 out of 11,140 registered voters who bothered to visit their local precincts -- on a beatiful weather day, no less! -- to re-elect selectmen regulars Tim Dodd and Leigh Emery.

Taxes?  Shmaxes!  CLEARLY, Westborough is doing just fine.  High tax rates?  P'shaw.  Did you know that if you voted, you're in the minority?!  That's because 90% of your fellow citizens concluded the process is just fine, on track, super-dee-duper, no reason to get out and make a few little marks on a piece of paper.

Friends, let the record show, we have no budget issues, waste or overrun. Well, certainly nothing of issue that isn't already well-in-hand by "current management".

Make no mistake, what other conclusion could one make, when NINETY PERCENT of the voting public, when faced with the prospect of going to the polls,  just say "meh".

I guess it really is true, that adage expressed by French political philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville, who wrote that in a democracy, we get the government we deserve.

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Webmaster  - In reply to "Resident"   |64.102.249.xxx |2013-03-06 07:58:15
com·plain (km-pln)
intr.v. com·plained, com·plain·ing, com·plains
1. To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.

Actually, this post is beyond a "complaint". It's really more an expression of astonishment.

Think about it. Nearly 90% of people did not participate.

I admit, it could be for a variety for reasons, such as:

1) they truly were unaware of the election?

2) they were aware, but not in town at the time (and unaware of absentee ballot options.)

3) they chose not to participate, feeling that whatever outcome occurs, they'd be okay with it. An "it doesn't matter, it's all good" sort of reaction, so to speak.

4) they chose not to participate, out of resignation. This is the "what good will it do to vote? Nothing's going to change for the better" sort of reaction.

5) or, some emergency or urgency occurred that prevented someone from voting.

You write:

(quote=Resident) While I can agree with your anger over low voter turn out, perhaps it would have been a better use of your time to remind people of the importance of voting and inform voters how they could have learned that the election was even happening.(endquote)

I'm very curious how it is that you did not know of the election. Consider:

The dominant local news media, Patch and DailyVoice, not to mention our print friends, have been posting about this.

The print media has been publishing information and letters to the editor about candidate endorsements.

Signs on the lawns this past month, along with sign-holders at the rotary on Saturdays for the past several weekends.

Message board at the town rotary.

Posts from the Library on Facebook.

Emails from the School superintendent to parents.

Listing in the calendar on the front page of the official town web site.

Slides in rotation on the Government Bulletin stream on WestboroughTV community access cable.

"Meet the Candidates" night at the Willows -- also recorded by WestboroughTV and available as "video on demand" playback.

Candidate personal statement recordings on WestboroughTV

Candidate personal statements posted to local web sites.

---
Please help me understand -- how is it that not one of these avenues of communication did not sufficiently publicize the election yesterday?

Or better, what form of information distribution would serve your needs? Do you have a smart phone? Or a phone with text capability?

Perhaps a formal government calendar "app" that pushes information to your phone -- would that be something you'd want to subscribe to?

You also wrote:

(quote=Resident)
I live in town, and know several people who do as well, and this is the first time I'm hearing of it. There is something wrong with that.

Simple complaining about the problem without offering any actual advice just makes people tune you out.
(endquote)

I complete agree. As was famously expressed by a character in the movie "Jerry Maguire", would you please "Help ME help YOU"?

questionly youres,
Webmaster

P.S. And if you're reading this, please note that YOU ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE in the Annual Town Meeting, Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 1:00 PM, in the High School Auditorium. Participation at THIS event, some might claim, is even more important that voting in the polls.

P.P.S. And, I feel that I must inquire, if only rhetorically: and where does personal responsibility come into play? Don't we, as responsible citizens, have the duty to seek out and understand the community in which we live, and how it operates and runs? Do we not all have some responsibility toward our collective self-government? Are we merely transient 'consumers' of school and town services with expectations of various entitlements solely because we've written a check for our real-estate taxes? Does our duty end at 'sending in a payment'?

Thoughts and discussion welcome.
Resident   |72.246.185.xxx |2013-03-06 05:57:34
While I can agree with your anger over low voter turn out, perhaps it would have been a better use of your time to remind people of the importance of voting and inform voters how they could have learned that the election was even happening.

I live in town, and know several people who do as well, and this is the first time I'm hearing of it. There is something wrong with that.

Simple complaining about the problem without offering any actual advice just makes people tune you out.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 06 March 2013 07:57
 

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