For roughly a month every year, as trees blossom and bees hustle from flower to flower, Town Meeting and town elections challenge residents to carve out time for civic engagement.
Anyone who thinks local town elections and Town Meeting don’t offer something for everyone hasn’t delved into a ballot or dug into a Town Meeting warrant.
Lynnfield’s April 12 election saw voters return three incumbents to office, but Swampscott’s election today is a battle between three women seeking two Select Board seats and an unusually-heated battle for a Housing Authority seat.
Marblehead’s May 2 Town Meeting gives members the chance to debate whether the town should take a “summer break” from gas-powered leaf blowers.
With a warrant totaling 48 articles, the night is likely to be a long one, but not as long as Saugus’ May 2 Town Meeting doubleheader featuring a special Town Meeting and Town Meeting with more that 50 articles, including a four-pager on marijuana regulation.
Nahant’s April 30 election is likely to mirror Lynnfield’s election with incumbents winning new terms. But its May 21 Town Meeting includes climate-preparedness articles that are good examples of local thinking mirroring global urgency.
Town Meeting is the forum for people who think town government matters or — more often than not — think their view on reshaping town government matters. Participation means getting one’s viewpoint aired, debated, argued, debunked, and voted up or down.
Participating in Town Meeting takes patience, an appetite for sometimes-arcane rules, and an abiding belief that government matters. We may not agree with everyone who will walk into town auditoriums over the next few weeks to take part in Town Meeting, but we appreciate their participation and commitment to making democracy work.
