Troiano Closing Lavendergate Facebook Page

The Lavendergate Facebook page was created last year by Sudbury resident Michael Troiano after a scandal involving the Board of Selectmen and other town representatives

He wanted a forum where residents could speak freely without ridicule or censorship. Those opportunities were not always available at numerous board and committee meetings in town, making other residents fume.

After two elections approving the increase of the selectmen by two seats, and the Board approving a special election on June 25 to fill those seats, Troiano has decided to shut down the popular Facebook page, which had more than 900 members. The closing will happen a week from today, April 17.

The following is a letter written by Troiano explaining his thoughts:

Friends and Fellow Citizens -

It's been nearly a year since the BOS meeting that angered a group of us so much, we decided to get involved. That year had its highs and lows, but in the end, we came together and achieved our goal. When 5 Selectmen are seated after the June 25 election, we believe Sudbury will have taken a giant step forward in terms of improving the transparency and accountability of our town government, and that over the months and years that follow, more representatives will mean more representation of our sometimes different points of view about how - exactly - to keep Sudbury the best place to live in Massachusetts.

This came about because we were able to leverage the power of social media to build a coalition of people across the political spectrum. In getting to know each other over the past year, a few things became clear. First, there are an awfully large number of people who care about the town, but who aren't quite sure how to get involved. Sudbury is a land of big families, big jobs, and big mortgages, and keeping up with the often complex workings of the legislative process takes precious time and focus. Second, there's die-hard extremism on both ends of town politics, and letting it dominate the conversation gets us all exactly nowhere. Engaging the folks in the middle is the key, and the good news is that the vast majority just wants to do what's right for the town. 

Most people just want a community of great schools, happy kids, winning teams, natural beauty, neighborly spirit, vibrant senior life, and easy access to the finer things in life... bike trails or cocktails, quiet vistas or bustling restaurants. Either way, we want it all run with one eye toward everyday fiscal responsibility, and another toward the long-term, historic legacy with which we've been entrusted.

Now the time has come to choose the individual candidates who will help us take the next step in that direction. In the same way the change from 3-5 united us, though, I know that the different points of view in our broad coalition will now divide the group, and render it impossible to proceed with the unified front that has made it so effective. 

Add to that the lingering baggage and negativity associated with our founding catalyst, and the need for me to step aside as the lone ringleader of this rough-and-tumble circus, and the right thing to do becomes clear. I have decided to shut down the "Lavendergate" group, effective one week from today.

Going forward I have every intention of remaining involved in the politics of the town, and of continuing to leverage digital media to advance Sudbury's interests. To do this I've created a new "One Sudbury" group right here on Facebook, and I'd ask those of you who are ready to get behind a specific slate of candidates focused on effecting change in the way this town is run to join those of us who are already there right now.

Regardless of where you stand on the new status quo, though, I want to take a moment to sincerely thank you for all you've done to support me, the group, and the town of Sudbury over this past year. What the outside-insiders and "flash mobbers" never understood was that this group was never about Facebook. Facebook was just a way for neighbors to come together, get informed, get organized, and get moving to effect the change we wanted in the town we love. Familiar profiles became coffee-shop conversations, "likes" turned to handshakes, and a group of you too large to thank individually stepped up to back their posts with action in the real world. That's what made the difference, and the good we did was all because of you.

So thank you, thank you, thank you. I look forward to evolving this campaign at OneSudbury.org with those of you who are interested in more change, and to running into all of you in this one-of-a-kind town.

Mike Troiano