“Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.” – George Jean Nathan
Lane/Tommy: We believe it is time for reasonable changes be made to the Windham Town Charter. Maine’s Constitution gives us certain rights which are suffocated by our charter. Under the Maine Constitution, Article 1 is the Declaration of Rights which states that the power is inherent in people. It clearly states that we, the people, have the unquestionable right to institute government and to alter, reform or totally change the same.
Lane: There are at least a couple of major reasons to amend our town charter. The first is to have our budget voted on by secret or absentee ballot on Election Day in June. The second reason is that we, the voters, must have the ability to immediately and totally recall our local government when deemed necessary.
Tommy: Windham is no longer a town with a small population. A town meeting is appropriate for a small town of a few hundred or even a few thousand citizens. Windham now has a population of something like 16,000. When less than 100 citizens decide on a budget of $42 million a change in our town charter is required.
Lane/Tommy: There are several significant reasons to change the town charter in order that citizens can vote on the school and municipal budgets on Election Day. First and foremost, many voters are intimidated when voting by a show of hands at a public meeting. Another huge reason to make this change is many citizens cannot make it to a town meeting. This includes those who are elderly, handicapped, those who must work and those who are busy with family activities. Remember that the members of our Armed Services stationed elsewhere around the world cannot come to the town meeting.
Tommy: I believe many individuals are working on our town meeting day whether it is a regular job, overtime or maybe even a second job that is necessary so they can pay their taxes and bills. It is a privilege to vote in our country and any hardship which causes citizens not to be able to vote must be removed.
Lane: In the past, members of the town council and school board have publicly stated that the budget was passed by a huge majority of voters. How can this be when just a tiny fraction of voters show up at our town meeting? Seventy voters certainly is not huge compared to more than 11,000 registered voters. I believe that in the past some voters were intimidated or harassed because of their votes at Town Meeting.
Lane/Tommy: The second reason for amending the town charter is to give us the ability to recall members of our town government in a timely manner when deemed necessary. Maybe it is also time that we not only be able to recall those officials but shouldn’t we be able to recall any appointed official?
Tommy: The town manager’s position is a very powerful position similar to that of any elected mayor. The town council hires our manager, rates his/her performance, decides on pay raises and has the ability to terminate the manager if necessary. This power lies in our town charter. Shouldn’t the citizens be more directly involved in a decision of such importance? One possible way for this is allowing voters the option of voting for a town manager and also having the option for removing the same.
Lane: I firmly believe that our founding fathers gave us certain unalienable rights in order to preserve our freedoms and our nation. When these rights are curtailed by a town charter then we must do what is necessary to ensure our constitutional rights. The impeachment of a president is proof that our Constitution works. That is the same power that the citizens of Windham must have in our own community.
Lane/Tommy: Other communities in Maine have already made changes to their city or town charter in order that voters can have a direct say on Election Day by secret or absentee ballots. This has resulted in more citizens voting on their budget. We are not against our town meeting but we feel it can be better utilized as an informational meeting prior to Election Day. It could be used for candidates to speak and for voters to receive information on the proposed budget. So we recommend the Town Meeting be held on the Saturday before Election Day. Again, we also feel that a recall measure that allows voters to remove our elected and appointed officials is necessary.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
