Stoneham town government gets once-over
Published on December 6th, 2000
STONEHAM , MA - Young people often find old folks annoying, and old folks think most young whipper snappers are pretty stupid. Struggling to bridge this immemorial divide, the collective mind of Stoneham wonders if changing town government is a battle for the ages or between the ages.
Two old guys wearing hats walk into a diner...This is not a joke. It happened: they sit down to shoot the breeze and discuss their health, the price of Fenway tickets — you could get in for 50 cents in the good ol’ Great Depression — and the new Town Common.
"It looks good. If they add a gazebo in there sometime it could really be something," one says. (There are no plans for a gazebo, but benches and fancy street lights are in the works.)
"But how are they going to pay for it?" the other fella asks.
"Ahhhh, let the young people worry about that," his pal responds. (The $4.1 million park and parking lot project is paid for except for the park benches worth $25,000, which the Common Committee plans to buy with private donations. See related story.)
At the Nov. 28 town government forum — advertised on the front page of this humble publication and open to all — Selectman Darin Leahy joked that "if we don’t start getting some young people to come out to Town Meeting, it’s just going to be me..." He paused to scan the room. "...Craig Celli and Marc Grimaldi."
Leahy’s got about 10 years on those guys, but that’s another story.
An idea floated by the middle-age to elderly meeting regulars Nov. 28 was to draw more young people into town government by holding Town Meetings on Saturday. This plan is reminiscent of New Coke.
But the loyal townies are on the right track in thinking about bringing together different generations. The national news media has run stories on lowering the voting age to energize younger voters and give the whole apathetic system a shot in the arm. Recently most muscle flexing at the polls has been done from the aging bones of the senior community, to their credit. But nothing lasts forever, not people nor ideas.
For Stoneham’s centuries old town government to continue things must change.
Selectmen Chairman Pat Jordan has laid down an implicit ultimatum: either attitudes or the system must change. He has pushed for the town to examine possible changes in Stoneham’s Open Town Meeting, Town Administrator and Selectmen format, but he always qualifies his argument by saying that he thinks the Open Town Meeting format is the best government if people show up.
Citizen Paul O’Brien and School Committee member Mary Pecoraro asked the Board what is wrong with town government?
No answer.
Cynics and a few wild-eyed pragmatists have called the Board of Selectmen’s evaluation of government a veiled attempt to oust Town Administrator Jeff Nutting over personnel scwabbles, but even if this hypothesis is accepted, there’s a lot more going on.
Some like Bike Path Committee Chair Cameron Bain and former Selectman John Biggio say low turnout means that citizens are content. Others like Town Clerk John Hanright say that citizens think a point of order has to do with when they say, "Yes, fries with that." (Not John’s words.)
Hanright is putting action behind his words. He has ordered booklets from the state explaining everything you never wanted to know about town meeting but knew you should. The town only has to pay for postage.
Hanright also said he plans to beef up advertising for Town Meetings on the local access government channel.
Hanright thinks his plan will be effective in grabbing a new generation of Stonehamites because many of the young families settling in Stoneham come from the city — 80 percent of last year’s new voter registrations were erstwhile city slickers.
Selectman Al Conti wants Stoneham to move into the 21st century with flair, phasing into an electronic voting system with which citizens can vote from the auditorium or from home.
"Let’s face it. If we do get everyone to show up, we won’t have anywhere to put ‘em," Conti. His solution thus protects Stoneham against the best as well as the worst case scenario.
Talk of a Charter Commission is dying down, although a petition is still floating around somewhere. On Nov. 28 most of the comments from the audience were critical of alternatives to the Open Town Meeting clearly laid out by Marilyn Contreas, a pleasant and well-informed policy expert from the Department of Housing and Community Development.
"A representative (in the representative town meeting model) wouldn’t have time to find out what the neighbors really want," said citizen Linda Corapi.
"I don’t want to give up that right," added citizen Edi Previdi.
So as the end of the century approaches — the nerdy technical end, as opposed to last year’s wild, commercial finale — Stoneham faces a decision: Will the people change town government?
A thorough evaluation of Stoneham government could prove an education even if no changes are made. But if nothing is done, the town is not necessarily doomed because at the end of the day those who care most will still be in charge. And eventually something big and messy, e.g. Bush and Gore, gets everybody together to right the leaky old ship of state.
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