Tonight at 7Pm in the middle school auditorium, the Town Meeting will vote on a petition to the Great and General Court, our state legislature. The petition asks for a provision to be added to our town charter which allows recall of elected officials. If passed by Town Meeting, both houses of the legislature, and signed by the governor, the recall provision would be added to the Town Charter. Here is an email from Mr Hawes regarding ...
... our First Amendment rights in the US Constitution and recall.*From:* Brian Hawes
*To:* Friends of Michael
*Sent:* Thursday, January 08, 2009 10:45 AM
*Subject:* Town Meeting tonight --- 7:00 PM
Hello ---
Just a reminder that Town Meeting is tonight --- 7:00 PM --- Middle
School Auditorium --- please attend even if you are not a Town Meeting Member ---
Recall is one of the five basic freedoms granted by the First Amendment to the Constitution --- which reads ---
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
ratified 12/15/1791
The recall process is a common final step in the democratic process; it provides the traditional checks and balances, providing citizens with the right to remove an elected official from office.
See you all tonight ---
Brian
There are so many things that are wrong with Mr. Hawes' email, I don't know where to start.
The first words of the 1st Amendment are "Congress shall make no law". How does that apply here?
His first sentence begins, "Recall is one of the five basic freedoms" First, he is equating redress of grievances with recall of officials and they are not the same and secondly, the ability to recall is a procedural rule, not a freedom. Where is recall in the US Constitution?
And that's just a few phrases from what he said. OY!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Special Town Meeting tonight 7PM
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8 comments:
BRIAN HAWES
GET UP FROM UNDER YOUR ROCK!!
HAVE YOU BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO THE SNEAKING ACTIONS OF THE PREVIOUS , 2006 , SELECT BOARD ?
WAKE UP BRIAN !
Yes Brian, we the people could have had recall in our charter if we had wanted, but it was decided not to include it. I think it should be something that a charter commission should do in the proper manner. This is just a political tool for a few whiners. Do it right in 2010 if you want recall.
The mess that Carney had written by someone at town hall is a poor excuse and should not be part of our charter. I would be interested to hear what Mr. Hawes thinks about the contract clauses that were written and signed without public knowledge. Now Dartmouth residents can't even get the executive minutes that should have been public record a long time ago. Talk about back room deals! Putting our town at risk for lawsuits!
We all know that the town meeting is filled with town employees and special interest groups. I think we should let them look like fools when their document goes to Boston.
You are wrong anon 5:21 my only 'special interest' that I devote a lot of my own time to is the town of Dartmouth. That is why I am a TM member not a bitch and moaner like so many back seat drivers.
Survey says..... 37% of town meeting members are town employees or people directly related to town employees living at the same address. This does not take into account those with special interests who benefit from allocations/town meeting appropriations or those who were not identified due to having a different last name (married name vs. maiden) or a different address. Considering a quorum usually means 30% of town meeting members are not present and those with special interests make it a point to attend, 37% becomes a distinct majority of attending town meeting members.
Care to take the ignorant comments back about town meeting members? Or do you enjoy eating large helpings of crow? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA I feel like Mack the knife tonight!
I happen to be a town meeting member. I was proud of the common sense the voters used last night. I think most people knew this was being used as a political tool. Time to heal our town. Time is wasting. Form that charter commission now!
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