The Perfect Storm

I am writing this article as a member of the Stoneham Board of Selectmen, however, the opinions expressed are solely my own and do not represent the opinions of other members of the board. This is a simple, yet powerful statement that makes it clear that I own what you are about to read. While it may be simple, I feel it’s an important disclosure when members of any board are publicly expressing an opinion on an item that has not come before the board for vote. Requiring such a statement was one of the many policy items discussed at the Board of Selectmen's meeting held on January 16, 2018. I have been asking for several months to have this discussion and I thank the members of the Board who participated either by attending or by submitting comments.

Despite social media posts that would have you believe otherwise, this meeting was not an attempt to circumvent or exclude any members. The Secretary had been trying to coordinate dates for at least four weeks prior to the Board being notified of this meeting date on January 2, 2018. The two members who could not attend alerted the Secretary via a joint email that they were unable to make it at 10:32 am before the close of town hall at noon the Friday before a long weekend. I was notified by our Secretary and I requested that she please seek their input via email. The board received comments from one member, which were read into the record and largely incorporated into the final draft.

I voluntarily drafted a policy based off of North Reading's policy and included many policy items that had already been voted on unanimously by the board at the March 7, 2017 meeting. This includes the Chair being able to have a member removed after a verbal warning if their conduct is disruptive or as I termed it “unbecoming” of a Selectman. I used this term because as elected officials I do believe it is our responsibility when sitting in front of the camera to act in a professional and courteous way to both the residents in the audience as well as to each other. I have been on the receiving end of being spoken over and interrupted by another member. I have watched as side bar conversations happen between members and the TA while other members are speaking. Foul language, angry shuffling of papers, and slamming of one’s things takes away from the credibility of our board as a whole. Debate should happen. We will not all agree and I think that has been evident on this current board. The votes are not always easily determined and we all vote on the issues at hand and not based on relationships or alliances. This draft policy was reviewed by town counsel and sent to members on January 6th.

We all have busy lives, but we have also made a commitment to our town. As involved citizens many of us have other meetings during the course of the month that we such as the Coalition, Capital Committee, and STAC meetings. I had signed up to take a beginners Italian Class through the Appian Club and chose to leave a class I paid for half an hour early to be at the policy meeting. I don't need a pat on the back for this. I know what I signed up for and I take my responsibility seriously. However, I point this out because if I have to miss a meeting, that's on me. I'm not going to blame the chairman or other members for not working around my schedule. We all have to make our choices.

Social media posts meant to divide and spark unwarranted outrage do more harm than good. These posts on social media are not seeking the truth nor are they the neighborhood watch as they might like you to believe. Like a tornado they create panic and chaos leaving nothing but a path of destruction in their wake and after they have blown through on an issue we are all left to examine the damage and to try to rebuild. As the fifth generation to call Stoneham home, there is one thing I know for certain, we always live up to our Spartan name. We will weather these unnecessary storms and come out stronger for it.