The writer represents District 9 as a member of Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting.
BRATTLEBORO-I’ve been confused by the push to switch Brattleboro to voting only by Australian ballot. I think that is a terrible idea for our town and for democracy in general.
Getting rid of Town Meeting would put much more power in the hands of Selectboard. The people who are very actively advocating for purely Australian ballot are local conservative activists who have spoken up loudly in recent years for a smaller, less progressive town government, especially around funding for social services. Whatever your politics, having so much power concentrated in the hands of just five people is a terrible idea for moving policies forward that are good for a whole community.
You only need to look at what is happening at the federal level to see the danger in power concentrated in the executive branch and the representative branch failing to balance it out. Town Meeting plays an important role of checks and balances with the Selectboard. We can discuss and adjust the budget, ask for clarity and transparency on how decisions were made, put forward articles or amendments, and so much more.
If there was ever a time for more people to become involved with more decision-making power, this is it. Voting against Town Meeting is voting against people having the ability to make important decisions about things that impact us in our town. Why on earth would we vote away such an important right, especially as broader democratic rights are being threatened all over the country?
Could we and should we make Town Meeting more accessible? Yes, for sure! I spent a year on a committee coming up with many recommendations to do just that — almost none of which have come to pass.
Could and should more of us attend Selectboard meetings and make our voice heard that way? Yes, for sure! However, I’ve also been at Selectboard meetings where members of the public make comments for over an hour that collectively support one point of view before board members voted the other way.
Selectboard members have the right to make their own voting decisions — members of the public can only do their best to sway their opinions, and that is the limit of our power in that space. Town Meeting is the only room where so many people can really debate issues, and then their votes can have a real impact.
Join me in voting to keep Town Meeting and expand participation in it. To ensure our democracy, I’ll be voting no on Article 2, no on Article 3, and yes on Article 4.
Sonia Silbert
Brattleboro
The writer represents District 9 as a member of Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting.
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