Well said, Joel. One of the problems I see though with remaining a Township is this notion that the control is in the hands of the naiive. Theoretically the townspeople have more control under the current system but there is enough manipulation and clever packaging of issues and articles that control is only an illusion at times. This recent one for ex:: "If you want firefighters to be there when your house is burning, vote for trash pickup fees." A very odd connection and it smacks of emotional blackmail. What's next? "Vote me a pay raise or I shoot this dog?" Possibly as a city it would lose this flavor of the Pros vs. the gullible laymen.
And there is the perennial Override ploy that sounds like, If you love children and care about the future, vote for a tax hike. I've been listening to this one for twenty years. But try this on: My friend and neighbor here is in the hospital having a second heart operation at this very moment. He is a 40 year resident of Framingham and was a town employee for 28 years. He is now on a fixed income, has some hefty medical bills and is being forced out of the town he built -- not just with his tax money but literally with his own two hands -- because of the tax increases and other cost hikes. Two houses down is the widow of a former Framingham police officer. Any more cost increases and she may be forced out too. I care as much about children and education as the next parent, but I can't swallow driving people out of their homes after they spent their entire lives building this town. We need to defend their welfare too. Nicci Cataldo ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joel A Feingold" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Nicola Cataldo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Peter C.S. Adams" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2002 8:59 AM Subject: RE: Oh my God! Are you kidding? > 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]
