First, I want to thank Haverhill’s election officials for a well-run election on November 8. I never take our democratic republic for granted so participating as a voter in this year’s smoothly run election was inspiring. Thank you, moderator Gary Hebert, town clerk Tina Hebert, supervisors of the checklist Regis Roy, Charlene Aldrich and Carol Norcross plus the selectmen and poll workers. A bedrock of democracy is people stepping up to run the election process, and you did a great job.
I was surprised, though, to find information in the hallway promoting the SB2 form of town government, which apparently will be on the town warrant next March. This change would undermine the traditional town meeting, replacing it with a deliberative session followed by voting on all warrant articles via paper ballot on the same day we vote for town officers.
Traditional town meeting, with opportunities for discussion and amendment of warrant articles at the meeting, has worked well in Haverhill. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Doug Teschner
Pike
Congratulations to State Sen. Becca Balint and Attorney General-elect Charity Clark. The League of Women Voters of Vermont applauds you as ground-breaking women.
The League of Women Voters of Vermont congratulates Senator Becca Balint for her unprecedented victory as the first woman elected to represent the residents of Vermont in the US Congress. This is a historic moment for Vermonters as the Green Mountain State was the only state to have never sent a woman representative to Washington.
The League of Women Voters of Vermont also offers congratulations to Attorney General-elect Charity Clark, who is the first woman elected to Vermont’s highest law enforcement office. Clark has the experience to be the state’s top prosecutor, having formerly worked as assistant attorney general and chief of staff in the Attorney General’s Office.
The League of Women Voters, since 1920, has been an activist, grassroots organization whose leaders believe people should play a critical role in democracy. The League does not endorse candidates for election.
Sue Racanelli
president
League of Women Voters of Vermont
Another election cycle almost complete, the political infighting has just begun. Millions of ignorant men and woman voted straight party tickets without a clue who they were voting for. A good example of this are the two sheriffs just elected in Vermont, who are both better qualified to pick vegetables at a local farm.
This is not just an American issue, look at Israel and the UK and a slew of other types of democracies. They are all in trouble due to lack of trust and a news media that has become based on opinions rather than facts. The dictators of the world are uniting to challenge the free world, and this is going to happen more sooner than later, all due to incompetent leadership and political turmoil.
We have squandered our freedoms based on the lies of career corrupt old men and woman in our nation’s capital. What a shame!
I suggested to a friend that maybe to help fix this, we take the party affiliation off the ballots. My guess is in the short term, this would help folks look at people, but our system has failed to the point that would not work either.
America, it was good while it lasted.
On a final note, the sign in the edge of the forest says, “Do Not Feed The Animals” as they will become dependent on free food and forget how to survive without it. The $31 trillion dollar debt of this nation is the direct result of our politicians doing just that to our working class. Sad but true. Why else would they spend hundreds of millions of dollars to get elected to a job that pays $150,000 a year? It is corruption, plain and simple.
Douglas Tuthill
West Hartford