"When, in some obscure country town, the farmers come together to a special town-meeting, to express their opinion on some subject which is vexing the land, that, I think, is the true Congress, and the most respectable one that is ever assembled in the United States."Henry David Thoreau, 1854
The Town Meeting form of government has been around since three-cornered hats and knee britches were in fashion and many still see it as the purest form of democracy. While it might not work too well in resolving complex national, or international issues, it can be very effective in making decisions about how a community deals with funding its schools and providing other essential town services.
Writing in the Globe South section of today's Boston Globe, Correspondent, Michelle Bolton, surveys 42 southern Mass communities that currently use the town meeting format. The article's title, Town Meeting No Longer a Big Draw, provides a not-so-subtle hint at its conclusions. Thirty five communities use an open town meeting format which allows all citizens to participate, while the other seven use a representative form in which elected representatives carry on the business of town meeting.
The big problem seems to afflict the open format and it involves getting enough citizens to attend so as to satisfy local quorum requirements. Frantic last minute efforts are sometimes needed to gather the minimum number of voters. Are voters just too busy, or is our old nemesis, apathy, rearing its ugly head? The knee jerk reaction is a call for a different format, perhaps where a mayor and a city council to make all the decisions. While a case might be made for such a change possibly providing increased efficiency, the loss of direct voter participation is unlikely to ever be regained.
Plymouth is one of the towns with a Representative Town meeting, where a body of elected representatives serves as the Town's legislative branch. In order to accommodate population growth, to a current total of 37,692 registered voters, the voting precincts were recently re-drawn and an additional precinct added, bringing the total to fifteen. With nine Town Meeting Members representing each precinct, there are now 135 eligible voters at town meeting. It should be noted that any registered voter may also speak at TM.
While we would have liked to have had a more robust voter turnout, the May 12th election was spirited as it included, in addition to the Town Meeting Reps, two hotly-contested races for Selectman and Planning Board. In our precinct, there were fourteen candidates for nine seats. All nine of those elected are available to precinct voters through phone calls, emails and casual interaction. Experience has shown that many voters avail themselves of this access. In addition, informational caucuses are held prior to town meeting to provide in-depth analysis of warrant articles. It may not be a perfect system, but it provides direct contact and accountability between voters and the Town Meeting Reps with ample opportunity for two way discussion.
This November, we will be electing, among others, a new U.S. Congressman to represent our newly-re-cast district. It is generally estimated that congressional candidates must raise well over a 1$ million for this campaign. Moreover, once elected it will be extremely difficult to pick up the phone and engage the new congressman in a meaningful dialogue, and we doubt that you will run into him at the local market.
Is the Town meeting perfect? By no means. But before we throw in the towel, we need think long and hard about the alternatives and what we might be giving up in terms of direct accountability with our elected officials.
