On February 23, the Wareham Board of Selectmen approved a ballot referendum submitted by the Charter Review Committee for the April 6 election.  The referendum is meaningless in two ways.  First, the Charter Review Committee decided its course of action long ago.  On May 14, 2009, it voted to abandon open town meeting and to use the least democratic means available to effect that change.  In addition, it is meaningless because of the way the referendum is worded.

"The current form of government consists of five part time selectmen, an appointed town administrator, an open town meeting.  Do you feel the current form of government is working in the best interests of the town?  Yes or No"

I believe the real intent of the referendum is to bolster support for the Charter Review Committee's decision to abandon Open Town Meeting.  April 6th voters, however, are likely to take the referendum at face value and try to answer the question as written.

The referendum does not ask the voter if the current form of government is best for the town, but rather how that form is working.  Voters might interpret the question in a number of ways.  They might view the questions as being primarily about the best form of government, how well the present government is working, or the competence of town officials.

Because of this ambiguity, we will not know what a "yes" or "no" vote on the referendum means.  Does a "no" mean that you don't like an open town meeting or does it mean that you think there should be three selectmen instead of five?  Does a "yes" vote mean you like the current form of government, or does it mean that you prefer a different form of government but believe the current form is working in the best interests of the town?  How should you vote if you like Open Town Meeting but don't like the way the meetings are run?  How should you vote if you think the Board of Selectmen would function better if they didn't appoint themselves Road and Sewer Commissioners? 

With ambiguity caused by the way the referendum is worded, the tally of "yes" and "no" will be meaningless.  We are fortunate that the actual consequence of the resulting vote also will be meaningless.  The referendum is non-binding.