Monday, November 19, 2007

Why Linda Hutchenrider Is Right

Linda Hutchenrider has made the correct decision. Tonight, when she refused to swear Greg Milne in as a Charter Commissioner, she made the right decision and followed the law.

Section 3-2 of the Barnstable Charter states:


Any voter shall be eligible to hold any elective town office provided that, no person shall simultaneously hold more than one elective town office.

Now, I don't know what could be more clear than that. This Section is an excellent example of checks-and-balances. It prohibits people from double-dipping. It prevents any one person from holding too much power.

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There is a contingent out there (including Milne) who insist that this clause is unconstitutional because it conflicts with the Massachusetts State Constitution. However, this is wrong.

The first line of the amendment to the constitution that lays out the procedure for Charter change says this:

It is the intention of this article to reaffirm the customary and traditional liberties of the people with respect to the conduct of their local government, and to grant and confirm to the people of every city and town the right of self-government in local matters...

It is clearly the intention of the constitution that every city be granted freedom to govern their town as they see fit (within certain guidelines). They WANT us to govern ourselves and make our own rules.

Furthermore, our current Town Charter had to receive approval from the Massachusetts State Legislature before it became official. They deemed the document worthy and legal. They did not say that any part was unconstitutional. By approving the document, they declared it legal and binding for the citizens of Barnstable.

There is also some dispute as to whether or not Charter Commissioners are town "officers". Well, the fact of the matter is that Charter Commissioners were elected to serve in a town-wide position (or office). They are elected town officers!

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Did I mention that Section 3-2 is a genius article?

It serves so many purposes to protect Barnstable citizens:

  • It stops any one person from serving in two elected positions at once. Therefore, you can't have power on the Town Council AND School Committee. You can't double-dip anywhere.
  • It decentralizes power. It keeps a small group of people from running the town and/or multiple boards. Town Councilors can't run for School Committee too and control both boards with only 7 or so people.
  • It also helps prohibit any conflict of interest. Because no one can serve in two elected positions at once, they can't use their power in one position to influence a decision in another. In other words, Greg Milne can't use his power on the Charter Commission to keep or remove his own Council seat.

Greg Milne needs to stop wasting taxpayer money. He should have read up on his current charter before rushing in to write a new one.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Read the latest post on Barnstable Beat

It's a real good one

barnstablebeat.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

This kid is costing the town so much money in staff and fees.
What a self absorbed jerk.

Anonymous said...

Greg is doing just what he wants, performing for cameras and on the radio. He is getting all kinds of attention but ignoring us in his precint!!!!

HEELLLOOOO!!!! GREG!!!!!! what about the park on main street, what about the roads, the docks, Hyline, the business that are failing and forcing us to move, what about the sewer and lack there-of, the water, where were you when we needed you last weekend????

What do you look like? Oh, yeah, All I have to do is look in the paper for your mug shot!!
What about US!!?????

It is all about you, Greg. You want to do this charter thing and you don't care about being a councilor. Let someone else do it without threatening them with you thug friends!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Happy Thanksgiving to all who keep the CogBloggers honest!!!

Anonymous said...

Taryn's Mirror is going out of business! I guess selling rocks isin't that profitable after all. Good luck on the internet...

November 24, 2007 11:55 AM

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...
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Dedicated Precinct3 Voter said...

This blog is not the place to discuss neighborhood spats. I am sick and tired of the Thoman-Howell dispute. I don't want to know every detail about the situation.

I will continue to delete posts on this topic as I see fit. Please refrain from further discussion here.

However, if you would like, I will be willing to post one link from each side of the spat so you can voice your opinions on your own blog.

Anonymous said...

The rules of your blog say: My blog is for CLEAN, open discussion. To keep it that way, I ask that users follow these simple rules:

* NO attempting to figure out who people are.
* NO name calling.
* NO cheap shots.

I have been selling rocks for 21 years, and I am not going out of business. I plan to develop a rock and gem club locally, continue to sell wholesale, via the internet, at expos, and possibly promote new mining tours. Retiring from retail is not going out of business, and several local advertisements and newspaper stories about the closing clearly stated that I am not going out of business. The post of 11:55 is a cheap shot. Further, I do not now, nor have I ever had any interest in publishing any information about neighbor litigation, which was completely dismissed six months ago. The hostilities are one - sided. My family has moved on. Taryn A. Thoman, President Taryn`s Mirror, Inc.