Dear Friends and Neighbors, Nearly a decade ago, when I moved to Framingham, I too supported Town vs. City. I understand everyone's frustration these days, with many changes, with money tight, and the pressure of trying to maintain essential services and quality education amidst it all. I do not know where I'd come out on this question now, and I suggest that correcting some of our problems would be just as hard as a City as it is as a Town. What matters is who our elected and appointed officials are, what they stand for, how they think, their values, and whether they put the general interest of the Town over their own narrower self interest.
These days, opposition groups in Framingham are very vocal, often to the point of visciousness. Generally, the headers of these groups are full of influential rhetoric and lack a vision of Framinghams future. They are still in Framingham's past. This is not so much wrong as it is inadaquate. The one real change advocated is reducing the Selectmen from 5 to 3, with the obvious goal of making it easier to gain a majority control on the Board. This would be dangerous for many Framingham residents as it would reduce the representation of diverse opinions. Moving to a City form of government also presents this problem, especially in a Strong Mayor situation. However, a City form also provides opportunities for better management and control, along with plenty of plumb jobs. Framingham, I have learned, has some of the best aspects of Towns - many committed citizens willing to serve as volunteers - and some of the worst - a very insider mentality. Becoming a City won't change that either. None the less, a switch may be in order because we need more and more professional, hardnosed and experienced people in all positions, and they need to be well managed, to enable us to stand up to the corporate development onslaught. We can't sue every developer who comes here and we can't block everything. What we must do is like Judo - "The soft flexible way" - in that we need to influence where and what development happens by being part of a process, directing it, guiding it, and making sure it suits all Framingham's needs, not any particular interest groups narrower interests. Joel A. Feingold -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Nicola Cataldo Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2002 8:10 AM To: Peter C.S. Adams; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Oh my God! Are you kidding? Put me down as in support of such a move. Let me know what I can do. N. Cataldo ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter C.S. Adams" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2002 2:14 PM Subject: Re: Oh my God! Are you kidding? > Several years ago I voted to keep Framingham a "town," buying into the > townies' argument that they had just reformed town government, there was > now a Town manager, things would soon be better, etc. Since then, things > have only gotten worse. Will there be another vote to turn Framingham into > a city any time soon? > [ To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=unsubscribe > Archives available at http://www.mail-archive.com/ > For help send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Web interface at http://frambors.syslang.net] > > [ To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=unsubscribe Archives available at http://www.mail-archive.com/ For help send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web interface at http://frambors.syslang.net] [ To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=unsubscribe Archives available at http://www.mail-archive.com/ For help send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web interface at http://frambors.syslang.net]
