Simply stated, the Wareham Board of Selectmen has a plan to grab power through their handpicked Charter Review Committee.  The plan starts with a proposed charter change that will be presented at town meeting in April, and it should send a chill down the spine of every Wareham resident.  If successful, this consolidation of power will take from you, the Wareham voter, the power to enact legislation and the power to control your tax dollars.

The warrant article to effect this change will be put before Wareham's Annual Town Meeting that starts on Monday, April 26.  You will be asked to accept a new charter featuring a mayor and elected representatives.  The purported reason for the change will be to save Wareham from its dysfunctional town meetings.  If the article passes by a majority vote, it will be sent to the state legislature for consideration.  Measures like this usually require passage by voters at a town election, although technically this is not required by law.  Passage of the new charter would mean that all the powers currently entrusted to you directly at town meeting will be taken away and given to elected representatives.

In Massachusetts, there are six possible forms of local government, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.  Even a choice that might seem simple, between a direct vote by citizens at town meeting and a representative council, is complex.  I believe the choice should not be made in haste, and the process should involve considerable thought, discussion, and public debate.  At this particular time, my own view is that eliminating town meeting in favor of a representative legislature (councilors) would take the town in a dangerous direction.  Most troubling is the fact that the town's primary political machine, at least in the past, has provided critical election support to some officials whom we now know to have been involved with open-meeting violations, public-record violations, and costly court settlements.

To get a better sense of why the charter proposed by the Charter Review Committee is ill-conceived, we need look no further than the actions taken by the Committee itself.  The best time to gather information is before any decision is made.  Instead, the Charter Review Committee sought absolutely no external input before it had voted to take power away from town meeting voters.  They did not solicit public opinion.  They did not provide a forum for public debate about charter reform.  The committee also has provided limited information about the review process itself.  Members have chosen charter change procedures that limit decision making to the fewest number of individuals.  In other words, at a time when we most needed the kind of intelligent debate we often see at town meetings, the Charter Review Committee acted like the oligarchy (rule by the few) found in the charter they are proposing.

Peter Baum is a Wareham resident who participated in our first issue's forum on the Charter Review.   Mr. Baum will be publishing additional articles on this subject at Warehamvillagesoup.com.

For part II of this series, click here.