A vote for SB2 is a vote for democracy

www.citizen.com               

February 27, 2008


Editor, The Citizen:

In a most amazing statement by Moderator Borrin at the recent School District Public Hearing on SB2 and again during the selectman's hearing on SB2, he indicated that those who would rather vote by ballot, either within the privacy of a voting booth "hiding behind a curtain" (his words, not mine) or by absentee ballot, had less courage than those dedicated souls that are able to make it to the town and school district meetings. Can we assume that as the chief election official in the town (Town Moderator as defined by RSA) he meant that hundreds of disenfranchised voters mean less to him than having the courage to stand before a stacked audience of prejudiced voters to muster up a vote against them? I can tell you as a business owner, a parent having had kids in school and as a member of the community, it is easier to stay home. I will also tell you courage or cowardice has nothing to do with it. Because under the present forum, any one voter innocently going to "the purest form of democracy" to express their opinion is like leading the lamb to slaughter. I have seen the intimidation, the bullying, the impatience with the inexperienced participant, the arrogance of decades at the helm, and the cavalier behavior that is common from the podium all too often. No, setting yourself up for this kind of treatment in order to express one's opinion is not courage; it is stupidity.

Setting this allegation aside, SB2 is not about "cutting taxes with large groups of absentee ballots" (his contention not mine) nor is it about having to run for office to demonstrate one's dedication to his community, nor is it "how we are going to "getcha" by undermining the present process". SB2 simply is a voting innitiative that allows all registered voters to vote on the warrant articles. I know this is a simple concept for some of our town fathers to wrap their minds around, but not everyone is able to actually be present at the town and school district meetings. Should this simple fact deny those taxpaying, registered resident voters the right to have a say in how their tax dollar is spent? Their reply is that you have the opportunity to be there, discuss, and vote along with the rest of them; if that does not fit your schedule or your needs, then tough beans. Besides it is dangerous to allow you uneducated voters to vote; only those insiders that have stuck with the process all throughout the year and fully understand all concepts of every article should be allowed the vote. By this standard we ought not to be voting on people for the office of selectman unless we know ahead of time how they will represent us on all issues all the time. But they (all but one) just did a 180-degree flip flop on their supporting the multi-million dollar recreation center.

We all have priorities in life. Family, job or business, church, recreation, community obligations, etc. are some that come to mind. This writer would suggest a blend of some or all of these, and others I have missed, would be a healthy and natural prescription or blueprint with which to live life. That is not to say that if I put business higher on the list than recreation, or if my neighbor puts recreation higher than family, one of us is right and the other is wrong. There are no laws governing how we make our priority list or even that we need to have the list at all. I vote. I vote at primaries, local elections, state and national elections. I enjoy the process of taking my ballot and filling it out and either mailing it in by absentee or going behind the striped curtains (spineless as that may seem to Mr. Borrin) and handing my ballot to the Moderator. If you are not physically there at the town meeting, your right to vote is being denied. Why are we allowed to mail in our vote on all other aspects of government but not for town meetings, "that purest form of democracy"? How is this called democracy at all, let alone democracy in the purest form?

Please vote yes on SB2 whether you live in Moultonborough, Meredith, Center Harbor or Sandwich. Vote for the true purest form of Democracy.

Rick Heath

Moultonborough