Dear Mattapoisett Voters,
Thank you to all who attended the October 4th Special Town Meeting. Town Meeting is a Mattapoisett tradition dating back to 1857 and represents true and local democracy at work.
I was excited we had 535 voters attend to consider the citizen’s petition regarding the Select Board. It was especially gratifying to see so many newcomers. Understanding that Town Meeting procedures can be confusing, I hope to clarify a few elements of the Meeting.
Town Meeting is a legislative body which follows the Massachusetts laws and procedures outlined in Town Meeting Time: A Handbook of Parliamentary Law. These procedures are similar to Robert’s Rules of Order and serve to manage the proceedings of each meeting and provide consistency from meeting to meeting.
During the October 4th meeting, a motion to postpone indefinitely was made directly after the presentation of the citizen’s petition. Such a motion suspends debate on the current motion while the motion to postpone indefinitely is debated. If a motion to postpone indefinitely passes, debate on the paused motion ends and there is no vote. A motion to postpone indefinitely is a standard motion and was most recently used at the 2025 Annual Town Meeting during debate on article 34.
I realize it was frustrating to some Town Meeting Members that we did not directly debate article one. Please understand that a Moderator is required by our bylaws to follow the procedures described in Town Meeting Time. If a motion to postpone indefinitely passes, the Moderator is required to end debate on the main motion without a vote. Please rest assured that when the motion to postpone indefinitely passed 317 to 218, proper procedure was followed when I ended debate on article one.
It was gratifying that so many Mattapoisett voters participated in the Special Town Meeting. I encourage you to get educated by reading A Citizen’s Guide to Town Meeting available on the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website and Mattapoisett Town Meeting Traditions & Procedures which is available on our town’s website and in the Town Clerk’s office. If you want in-depth information, Town Meeting Time is available on the Massachusetts Moderators Association website. You may also contact me at MattapoisettModerator@gmail.com with any questions you have. I look forward to seeing you at the Annual Town Meeting on May 11, 2026.
Respectfully,
Lizanne Capper Campbell, Mattapoisett Town Moderator
The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence. All letters must be typed and submitted directly to: news@wanderer.com.