I have a theory, that goes something like this:
When you’re unable to see an issue from the perspective of someone with an opinion different than your own, strange things start to happen.
Oddly, despite any evidence to the contrary, you begin to think that the opposing view doesn’t actually exist; that people are either "making it all up" or that the number of people with an opposing view is extremely small.
Weirdly, the inability to see the world from anywhere but your own point within it, results in delusions.
Put another way, the inability to purposefully delude yourself, results in actual delusions.
We experience this all the time when viewing events on the national stage. The inability to see across ideological lines is largely a product of not being able to comprehend how the other side sees an issue.
Here in Arlington I think we’re seeing this with regards to the leaf blower issue as well.
People opposed to the current bylaw actually think that Town Meeting is acting on its own, independant of the will of their constituents.
What our motivation is supposed to be escapes me.
I don’t know of any Town Meeting members that cast their votes based solely on how many constituents asked them to vote one way versus another. Some of the decisions, including the recent leaf blower votes, are too much part of a nuanced process of moving the issue toward resolution for each vote to be a simple poll.
That said, I get the impression that some would be dumbfounded to learn that prior to voting I was contacted by equal numbers of people on both sides of the issue.
Looking back now, it looks like I was contacted by 10 separate individuals or groups with regards to this issue. I received 5 contacts asking me to repeal the bylaw, and 5 contacts asking me to sustain it.
Those contacts consisted of 2 professional landscaper associations, 4 residents outside of my precinct, and 4 residents within my precinct.
Of the contacts within my precinct, 1 wanted the bylaw repealed, and 3 wanted it sustained.
Depending what side a person is on regarding this issue, they’ll interpret that statement as either false ("not the whole story," "just a some crazy people") or they’ll interpret it as validation ("this shows its just the special interests that are trying to derail our government.")
I don’t think it means either. I think it means that there are valid positions held on both sides of this debate, and that a prerequisite of putting this issue behind us for good is that we come to an understanding of that.
Showing posts with label Leaf Blowers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leaf Blowers. Show all posts
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Special Election on Thursday, July 19th
I've attempted to pull together some non-biased resources regarding the Special Election on Thursday, July 19th to uphold or repeal restrictions on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. Let me know if you spot any errors, and of course share this with anyone who needs the info.
Polls are open from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
That's 2 o'clock in the afternoon - you can't vote till 2 o'clock.
The League of Women Voters is offering rides to the polls for the Special Election on July 19 between 2 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. People should call Phyllis Maddox at 781-354-0907 prior to the election.
Note that they are only doing this from 2 till 5.
You can find your polling location here:
http://www.arlingtonma.gov/public_documents/ArlingtonMA_Clerk/pollinglocations
Note that some polling locations are different than normal, due to construction at the Thompson School.
Take a look at the ballot here:
http://www.arlingtonma.gov/Public_Documents/ArlingtonMA_Clerk/elections/2012/Sampleballot_07192012.pdf
The question reads:
"Shall the town vote to approve the action of the representative town meeting whereby it was voted to amend the Town Bylaws to prohibit the use of gas-powered leaf blowers on private property between May 15th and October 15th by a vote of 95 in the affirmative to 85 in the negative."
To clarify matters even more...
"Where do I go to read the biased opinions of others that I depend upon for issues like this?"
Opponents of the new bylaw: http://www.arlingtonlandscapeassociation.com
Supporters of the new bylaw: http://arlingtonleafblowers.blogspot.com
Opponents on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArlingtonLandscapeAssociation
Supporters on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/117654194928538/
Video On Demand of the Town Meeting Debate and vote, and the Board of Selectmen meeting where the topic of this election was discussed:
Town Meeting Debate #1
Town Meeting Debate #2
BOS Meeting
FAQ about the election:
(Most of this is just copied and pasted from
http://arlingtonleafblowers.blogspot.com/2012/06/leaf-blower-election-vote-repeal.html#more,
since Adam Auster got it all right. I didn't want to send you to a non-independent source for the info so I've copied it here, but the page does a good job and touches on other issues as well if you're interested)
Q: Why has the Town scheduled this vote?
A: State law provides for a special election (a town-wide referendum) on any new bylaw adopted by Town Meeting on receipt of signatures from at least 3% of all registered voters in Town requesting a repeal election.
Lawn-care companies collected some 1,400 signatures and on May 31 the Town Clerk certified 1,053 of them as valid.
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/arlington/2012/05/voters_will_get_chance_to_reve.html
That exceeded the 3% minimum and triggered the special election.
The law governing this vote is MGL Chapter 43A Section 10.
http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleVII/Chapter43A/Section10
Q: Why did the Town schedule the vote for July 19? Why not hold it on Election Day in November?
A: Under the terms of the law, the Town must schedule this vote "forthwith." Town Counsel, in consultation with the Attorney General's Office, has determined that this election may not be combined with any regular election and must be held as soon as possible.
The Selectmen may have chosen the Thursday date to minimize costs, since on Thursdays many Town employees work late and would not require extra pay to staff the election.
Q: Why don't the polls open until 2 pm?
That is another requirement of state law.
Q: Is there a minimum-turnout requirement? A "quorum" for this vote?
A: Yes. Under state law, no action of the representative town meeting shall be reversed unless at least twenty per cent of the registered voters shall so vote.
That means that to repeal the bylaw, not only must a majority of votes favor repeal, but at least 20% of all registered voters must do so.
Q: Is there a similar turn-out requirement for those who want to keep the new bylaw?
A: No. In the case of a special repeal election, where a bylaw has already been approved by Town Meeting, state law places the burden on those seeking repeal.
Votes in favor of the bylaw are not counted towards the 20% turnout requirement.
Q: What will happen if the repeal fails? What if it passes?
New bylaws must be approved by the Attorney General and then be legally advertised before going into effect. This would probably occur around October 15. Since the bylaw does not restrict leaf blowers after October 15, the practical effect of the new bylaw would not be felt until May 15 of 2013.
If the repeal passes, with at least 20% of registered voters voting "No" (for repeal), the bylaw is repealed.
Q: Is it too late to register to vote in this election?
A: The last day to register to vote for this election was June 28.
Q: So if I don't want the new bylaw to be repealed, I should just stay home and not vote?
A: Where did you read that? That idea is wrong in a number of different ways. The confusion comes up because opponents of the new bylaw do have a requirement to get at least 20% of registered voters to vote "No" on the ballot.
That is a high number of people turning out and voting in the election, but maybe not so high as you'd think.
Consider that the special override election held on June 7th of last year had 46.6% turnout
(http://www.arlingtonma.gov/Public_Documents/ArlingtonMA_Clerk/elections/2011/ElectionResults_06072011.pdf)
Voting absentee has also been heavily promoted for people that will be out of town for this election.
Regardless of what side you choose, it is in your interest to turn out and vote. If the 20% number of people voting "No" is met, the outcome will be determined by which side got more votes. In other words, it is possible for there to be more than 20% "No" votes and for the bylaw to still stand, if there are more "Yes" votes (in this scenario, turnout would be over 40%).
Even if the 20% threshold is not met, the results of this election will be looked to as an advisory vote by people trying to determine what the will of the voters in Arlington actually is with regards to this issue.
So you should most definately turn out and vote, regardless of your opinion on this issue.
That's it. Let me know if you spot any errors, and be sure and pass this information along to anyone that needs it.
Polls are open from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
That's 2 o'clock in the afternoon - you can't vote till 2 o'clock.
The League of Women Voters is offering rides to the polls for the Special Election on July 19 between 2 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. People should call Phyllis Maddox at 781-354-0907 prior to the election.
Note that they are only doing this from 2 till 5.
You can find your polling location here:
http://www.arlingtonma.gov/public_documents/ArlingtonMA_Clerk/pollinglocations
Note that some polling locations are different than normal, due to construction at the Thompson School.
Take a look at the ballot here:
http://www.arlingtonma.gov/Public_Documents/ArlingtonMA_Clerk/elections/2012/Sampleballot_07192012.pdf
The question reads:
"Shall the town vote to approve the action of the representative town meeting whereby it was voted to amend the Town Bylaws to prohibit the use of gas-powered leaf blowers on private property between May 15th and October 15th by a vote of 95 in the affirmative to 85 in the negative."
To clarify matters even more...
- Vote "Yes" to keep the bylaw, creating restrictions on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers during the Summer.
- Vote "No" to repeal the bylaw, and not create any new restrictions on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers during the Summer.
"Where do I go to read the biased opinions of others that I depend upon for issues like this?"
Opponents of the new bylaw: http://www.arlingtonlandscapeassociation.com
Supporters of the new bylaw: http://arlingtonleafblowers.blogspot.com
Opponents on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArlingtonLandscapeAssociation
Supporters on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/117654194928538/
Video On Demand of the Town Meeting Debate and vote, and the Board of Selectmen meeting where the topic of this election was discussed:
Town Meeting Debate #1
Town Meeting Debate #2
BOS Meeting
FAQ about the election:
(Most of this is just copied and pasted from
http://arlingtonleafblowers.blogspot.com/2012/06/leaf-blower-election-vote-repeal.html#more,
since Adam Auster got it all right. I didn't want to send you to a non-independent source for the info so I've copied it here, but the page does a good job and touches on other issues as well if you're interested)
Q: Why has the Town scheduled this vote?
A: State law provides for a special election (a town-wide referendum) on any new bylaw adopted by Town Meeting on receipt of signatures from at least 3% of all registered voters in Town requesting a repeal election.
Lawn-care companies collected some 1,400 signatures and on May 31 the Town Clerk certified 1,053 of them as valid.
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/arlington/2012/05/voters_will_get_chance_to_reve.html
That exceeded the 3% minimum and triggered the special election.
The law governing this vote is MGL Chapter 43A Section 10.
http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleVII/Chapter43A/Section10
Q: Why did the Town schedule the vote for July 19? Why not hold it on Election Day in November?
A: Under the terms of the law, the Town must schedule this vote "forthwith." Town Counsel, in consultation with the Attorney General's Office, has determined that this election may not be combined with any regular election and must be held as soon as possible.
The Selectmen may have chosen the Thursday date to minimize costs, since on Thursdays many Town employees work late and would not require extra pay to staff the election.
Q: Why don't the polls open until 2 pm?
That is another requirement of state law.
Q: Is there a minimum-turnout requirement? A "quorum" for this vote?
A: Yes. Under state law, no action of the representative town meeting shall be reversed unless at least twenty per cent of the registered voters shall so vote.
That means that to repeal the bylaw, not only must a majority of votes favor repeal, but at least 20% of all registered voters must do so.
Q: Is there a similar turn-out requirement for those who want to keep the new bylaw?
A: No. In the case of a special repeal election, where a bylaw has already been approved by Town Meeting, state law places the burden on those seeking repeal.
Votes in favor of the bylaw are not counted towards the 20% turnout requirement.
Q: What will happen if the repeal fails? What if it passes?
New bylaws must be approved by the Attorney General and then be legally advertised before going into effect. This would probably occur around October 15. Since the bylaw does not restrict leaf blowers after October 15, the practical effect of the new bylaw would not be felt until May 15 of 2013.
If the repeal passes, with at least 20% of registered voters voting "No" (for repeal), the bylaw is repealed.
Q: Is it too late to register to vote in this election?
A: The last day to register to vote for this election was June 28.
Q: So if I don't want the new bylaw to be repealed, I should just stay home and not vote?
A: Where did you read that? That idea is wrong in a number of different ways. The confusion comes up because opponents of the new bylaw do have a requirement to get at least 20% of registered voters to vote "No" on the ballot.
That is a high number of people turning out and voting in the election, but maybe not so high as you'd think.
Consider that the special override election held on June 7th of last year had 46.6% turnout
(http://www.arlingtonma.gov/Public_Documents/ArlingtonMA_Clerk/elections/2011/ElectionResults_06072011.pdf)
Voting absentee has also been heavily promoted for people that will be out of town for this election.
Regardless of what side you choose, it is in your interest to turn out and vote. If the 20% number of people voting "No" is met, the outcome will be determined by which side got more votes. In other words, it is possible for there to be more than 20% "No" votes and for the bylaw to still stand, if there are more "Yes" votes (in this scenario, turnout would be over 40%).
Even if the 20% threshold is not met, the results of this election will be looked to as an advisory vote by people trying to determine what the will of the voters in Arlington actually is with regards to this issue.
So you should most definately turn out and vote, regardless of your opinion on this issue.
That's it. Let me know if you spot any errors, and be sure and pass this information along to anyone that needs it.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Leaf Blower Referendum
There's a post up over at truepersons about the Leaf Blower referendum. As usual, truepersons comes through with a lot of background material, including relevant video.
I offer my disagreements with some of their analysis in the comments section, which I've reproduced here.
You can read the full post at truepersons.com: Arlington’s Leaf Blower Ban
Below is my comment to the post, which captures my feelings about the referendum at this time. Feel free to weigh in with your own opinion, if you like.
I offer my disagreements with some of their analysis in the comments section, which I've reproduced here.
You can read the full post at truepersons.com: Arlington’s Leaf Blower Ban
Below is my comment to the post, which captures my feelings about the referendum at this time. Feel free to weigh in with your own opinion, if you like.
(reposted from truepersons.com)
I’ll offer up some disagreements with parts of this analysis.
First, I’ve already explained in other places that I opposed this ban, and voted against it.
I think that calling a special town meeting would have been the right move, and that moving forward with a referendum was a political mistake.
First, the Town Meeting vote that passed this bylaw was not overwhelming. 95 - 85, and that means there were a fair number of absences that I’ll bet would not be absent for this vote if it comes up again.
Second, there’s a fair amount of blame to be had by opponents for not getting more involved until after the article was passed. As a Town Meeting Member, I only heard directly from the proponents. No one contacted me and said "don’t pass this."
Further, opponents didn’t have their act together during Town Meeting debate. The debate could crudely be characterized as proponents presenting us with studies, photographs, and other evidence, while opponents said that people that didn’t like leaf blowers ought to just leave town.
I still voted against it, but I had to remind myself that I was not sitting in a court of law, weighing evidence presented to me. Had I been doing that, the proponents certainly made a better case to Town Meeting than the opponents did. This is a legislative body, however, and I’m not restricted to just considering the arguments put before me.
I think that if opponents put a fraction of the energy into lobbying Town Meeting Members that they have put into getting this referendum put on the ballot, they’d easily succeed in getting a vote of Town Meeting to go their way.
However proponents of the leaf blower restriction have also been successful in this ordeal, and they are in a position to win some concessions also.
It may be that some easy compromises are available, perhaps insisting that the machines not be used in a way that knowingly blows material onto other peoples property, and that they not be used within so many feet of another dwelling.
Something that at least partially addresses a few of their concerns.
I suggest this because, if anyone’s paying attention, you’ll notice that the proponents are getting smarter, and stronger, over time. Opponents would be wise, I think, to reach concessions now, rather than later.
Why do I think that moving forward with a referendum a mistake? It puts opponents in a very adversarial stance with regards to not only the proponents, but the town, and especially Town Meeting.
Is the referendum going to be legally successful? Their chances are not good, to say the least.
Who are they going to need to work with should this fail?
The very group of people they are squaring off against with this referendum.
That doesn’t seem like a wise move, to me anyway...
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Fall Out Follow Up
I'm pleased with the outcome of last night's Board of Selectmen's meeting.
I had a prior commitment and was unable to attend, but I watched the first 45 minutes of the meeting on my computer.
There was an effort to put a non-binding question on the ballot, and it was defeated by a vote of 4 to 1, largely for the same reasons I felt made it an inappropriate thing to do.
Again, the Board of Selectmen could have done this; they do have the authority to do this. But we shouldn't resort to this sort of thing just because a vote doesn't go our way.
I don't recall if it was Dan Dunn or Joe Curro who said "it's not that we can't do this, its a question of whether we should."
Opponents sound like they are poised to turn in the signatures needed for a referendum on Thursday, and as they made clear last night (from what I saw) they intended to do so whether the BOS placed a non-binding question on a later ballot or not.
The part of the meeting I was able to watch ended with Steve Byrne making the point that I think opponents ought to be considering much more seriously: calling a Special Town Meeting.
It's a lot easier to get a majority of the 252 Town Meeting members to agree with you, and turn out for the meeting than it is to get 20% of voters to show up for a special-afternoon-only election in June. The failure to succeed might also lead some to conclude that the opposition to this bylaw is not as strong as opponents make out.
But that's just me gossiping.
I had a prior commitment and was unable to attend, but I watched the first 45 minutes of the meeting on my computer.
There was an effort to put a non-binding question on the ballot, and it was defeated by a vote of 4 to 1, largely for the same reasons I felt made it an inappropriate thing to do.
Again, the Board of Selectmen could have done this; they do have the authority to do this. But we shouldn't resort to this sort of thing just because a vote doesn't go our way.
I don't recall if it was Dan Dunn or Joe Curro who said "it's not that we can't do this, its a question of whether we should."
Opponents sound like they are poised to turn in the signatures needed for a referendum on Thursday, and as they made clear last night (from what I saw) they intended to do so whether the BOS placed a non-binding question on a later ballot or not.
The part of the meeting I was able to watch ended with Steve Byrne making the point that I think opponents ought to be considering much more seriously: calling a Special Town Meeting.
It's a lot easier to get a majority of the 252 Town Meeting members to agree with you, and turn out for the meeting than it is to get 20% of voters to show up for a special-afternoon-only election in June. The failure to succeed might also lead some to conclude that the opposition to this bylaw is not as strong as opponents make out.
But that's just me gossiping.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Fall Out
That partial Leaf Blower ban passed by Town Meeting has a lot of people upset.
On tonight's Board of Selectmen's agenda is the topic of "Leaf Blowers: Ballot Question."
This has spurred me to send the following letter to members of the Board.
(Also for the record, I'd still vote no on this article if given the chance, for the reasons I've discussed previously.)
Subj: BOS Agenda, Ballot Question: Leaf Blowers
Dear (member name):
As a Town Meeting Member representing precinct 4, I voted against Article 25, the leaf blower ban, as I did not feel that proponents had adequately educated the public about the intent of and reasons for this action. However my vote was in the minority, and a partial ban was passed.
On your agenda for tonight is the topic "Ballot Question: Leaf Blowers." I don't know what will be discussed under this agenda item, but as stated I would guess that someone on the Board of Selectmen is going to suggest that Article 25 be placed on the ballot.
While I voted against Article 25, proponents made their case successfully, and received a majority vote at Town Meeting to enact this bylaw.
I am opposed to any attempt by another branch of our local government to supercede, discredit, or otherwise act in a way that indicates that the decision was not made legally, honestly, and in a manner in keeping with the form of government we observe here in Arlington.
I understand that many objections to Article 25 have been raised, some of which may prove to be quite legitmate.
If a strong enough case for adjustments to this bylaw are made, there are avenues to pursue remedies prior to the law going into effect.
If I understand the process correctly and amendments were offered to Article 25 during the next regular Town Meeting scheduled for 2013, then there would not be time for those amendments to be implemented for the Summer of 2013.
However there are procedures in place to call a Special Town Meeting, during which Town Meeting could consider any amendments deemed worthy.
In short, while I did not vote in favor of Article 25, I feel that the process was fair and conducted correctly.
It is not anyone's place to second-guess our governing process, whether we agree with the outcome or not.
Let the system do its job, as it has now for so long.
Sincerely,
Wes Beal
68 Melrose Street
Town Meeting Member, Precinct 4
[edit: I was asked since posting this something along the lines of
On tonight's Board of Selectmen's agenda is the topic of "Leaf Blowers: Ballot Question."
This has spurred me to send the following letter to members of the Board.
(Also for the record, I'd still vote no on this article if given the chance, for the reasons I've discussed previously.)
Subj: BOS Agenda, Ballot Question: Leaf Blowers
Dear (member name):
As a Town Meeting Member representing precinct 4, I voted against Article 25, the leaf blower ban, as I did not feel that proponents had adequately educated the public about the intent of and reasons for this action. However my vote was in the minority, and a partial ban was passed.
On your agenda for tonight is the topic "Ballot Question: Leaf Blowers." I don't know what will be discussed under this agenda item, but as stated I would guess that someone on the Board of Selectmen is going to suggest that Article 25 be placed on the ballot.
While I voted against Article 25, proponents made their case successfully, and received a majority vote at Town Meeting to enact this bylaw.
I am opposed to any attempt by another branch of our local government to supercede, discredit, or otherwise act in a way that indicates that the decision was not made legally, honestly, and in a manner in keeping with the form of government we observe here in Arlington.
I understand that many objections to Article 25 have been raised, some of which may prove to be quite legitmate.
If a strong enough case for adjustments to this bylaw are made, there are avenues to pursue remedies prior to the law going into effect.
If I understand the process correctly and amendments were offered to Article 25 during the next regular Town Meeting scheduled for 2013, then there would not be time for those amendments to be implemented for the Summer of 2013.
However there are procedures in place to call a Special Town Meeting, during which Town Meeting could consider any amendments deemed worthy.
In short, while I did not vote in favor of Article 25, I feel that the process was fair and conducted correctly.
It is not anyone's place to second-guess our governing process, whether we agree with the outcome or not.
Let the system do its job, as it has now for so long.
Sincerely,
Wes Beal
68 Melrose Street
Town Meeting Member, Precinct 4
[edit: I was asked since posting this something along the lines of
"What about citizen's who choose to pursue a referendum? Are you saying it isn't their place to question Town Meeting?"Good point; it is not my intention to suggest that. In the narrow confines of this letter, I was speaking to actions taken by elected branches of government, in this case the potential for the Board of Selectmen to take action to alter a conclusion reached by Town Meeting to a result more to their liking (if in fact that attempt is made tonight).]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)