On April 6, 2010 a majority of Wareham voters expressed their opinion that the current form of Wareham's government, consisting of five part-time selectmen, an appointed town administrator, and open town meeting, is not working in the best interest of the town. Wareham's voters expressed that opinion via a nonbinding question that was placed on the ballot.

The Charter Review Committee has worked tirelessly to put together a document that ultimately reflects their majority opinion that a change from the current open town meeting form of government to a mayoral form of government would better serve the people of Wareham. Whether each of us agree on this issue or not, we should all at least agree that every Wareham voter deserves the right to vote on this very important issue.

The Charter Review Committee has chosen a path that places this matter on Town Meeting floor where, if recent trends continue, 500 or less of Wareham's 15,000 or so registered voters will be allowed to determine if the larger voter population will be given the opportunity to vote on this issue. The non-binding referendum on April 6 clearly indicated a majority of Wareham Voters felt the government, as it stands now, is not working.

Many people supported the "Vote April 6" concept of getting as many people out to vote as possible. Asking 4,000 - 15,000 registered voters to show-up for three to four hours a night over the course of a week to vote on town business is nothing but impossible. Even if every registered voter in the town did show up, there would be no way to accommodate all of them in the high school auditorium!

As we head into Town Meeting, we should all consider that Article 25 seeks only to put the question of changing from an open town meeting form of government to a mayoral form of government in front of a larger segment of the community. If Wareham Town Meeting voters vote to restrict the rights of the larger voting public to vote on the proposed change in form of government by defeating Article 25, it will prove once and for all that Town Meeting is fatally flawed. For this reason, I urge you all to vote "Yes" on Article 25 so the question may be decided at the voting booths once and for all.

Sheila Schneider
First Ave
Wareham, MA