To the Editor;
On October 5, Mattapoisett held a Special Town Meeting to consider a certified citizen petition – signed by 335 residents, nearly 10% of all registered voters – calling for a vote to rescind the May 12 action expanding the Select Board from three members to five.
Unfortunately, the meeting never voted on the substance of that question. Instead, a motion to postpone indefinitely was approved — a parliamentary move that ended debate and prevented a Yes-or-No vote on the issue.
In other words, the meeting voted not to vote.
The Moderator and Town Council acted within their understanding of procedure, but the effect was to silence discussion and deny citizens the vote they requested – an outcome that may follow the letter of the law but not the spirit of Home Rule.
Our petition was not improper and did not challenge the legality of the May vote. It simply asked voters to reconsider a major change – a right guaranteed under Massachusetts law.
A former State Representative claimed the speed of the earlier bill’s passage was “normal.” But the record shows the original Home Rule petition sat in committee for months before suddenly advancing and being signed into law on August 22 – just days after our petition was certified. That sequence was highly unusual and effectively preempted a local vote.
Some say they “had the votes” anyway. But democracy isn’t about predicting outcomes – it’s about allowing citizens to decide. If opponents were confident, they should have welcomed a public vote, not blocked it.
To those who signed but couldn’t attend, this shows why participation matters. When we don’t show up, others decide for us.
No vote was taken on rescinding Article 34. The law expanding the board to five stands. But the question – whether Mattapoisett should remain with three, a model that has served us well – remains unanswered.
Paul Criscuolo
21 Beacon Street, Mattapoisett
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.
