Be Heard - Templeton, MA

Tomorrow is Special Election Day. A group of people signed a petition to have the town hold a special election to fill the BOS seat vacated by former selectmen Wilder after she chose to resign towards the end of her term. The names on this petition make it very clear that this election is being held because the School Committee (not officially) wanted it to happen. It is absolutely within the citizen’s of Templeton right to call for this election. It will cost the town $5,000 to hold this election for someone who will hold a 4 month term. Selectman Robinson at a past BOS meeting supported the election by saying that this person might have a plan to bring in $50,000. Having read all public material available by both candidates, it is clear that there is no plan to bring in any money to the town, certainly not within the four month time frame. So, is this just a waste of time and money brought to us by the citizens of Templeton…probably. But it is going to happen, no getting around that expense at this time. So who to vote for? Both candidates have a following in town. Both candidates claim to be for the betterment of Templeton as a whole.


You may remember that Bob Mitchell was a selectman at one time and was recalled by the voters during his term in office. Do you know why he was recalled? Just a couple of years ago the make up of the BOS was such that things started to change in town. The BOS led by Mr. Skelton had been voted out of office. The members of the BOS started to implement changes to the structure of the town in hopes of getting the town on an even keel. They wanted to implement the 2009 DOR report which would have started the town on the right financial track, instead of following the shell game that the Skelton BOS did for years. Our town coordinator Carol Skelton was not performing her job to the satisfaction of the BOS and was dismissed. This action was completely within the right of the BOS as Mrs. Skelton was an employee at will and did not have a contract. This dismissal was not taken well by some in town and obviously they felt threaten in some way. So threatened, that they choose to lie to the townspeople in getting the recall petition signed and eventually passed. So why was Mr. Mitchell recalled? Because he continued to point out that the town was running itself into a financial pit. This has proven itself true as time went on under the BOS guidance of Mr. Columbus, Ms. Wilder and Mr. Mullins. Try as he might through letters to the editor to blame others, Mr. Columbus squarely holds a large chunk of the responsibility of the town’s financial mess. Okay so now you know that Mr. Mitchell was recalled because others did not want to show the true problems with the town finances that they created.

The other candidate for selectman is Diane Haley Brooks, a local realtor. Ms. Brooks is one of the creators of Gansett Greatness, a community group that supports the school system. Her efforts led to the 4 override attempts which eventually passed at the recent Joint Town meeting with Phillipston. This past school budget struggle has caused much disruption to the fabric of Templeton. Four No votes by the town of Templeton was turned into a Yes vote when another town was able to vote on how to spend Templeton’s money. Some have said that this School District Budget process is unfair because the control of one’s wallet can be decided by others. It has also been said that they is no other way to get this town to pay for what it needs. This debate will continue, but it seems obvious that this process did not build the unity in community that some were hoping or saying that it would.

So why even vote? What difference is it going to make? Probably not much, the current BOS as it stands have not come to a point where another vote would have changed the direction of the town. So far all current 4 selectmen have agrees on almost all actions the BOS has taken. Perhaps the difference will come in the debate of the new budgets being worked upon for next year. Perhaps, Ms. Brooks will prove to be more than just a yes vote for whatever the school district asks for, or perhaps Mr. Mitchell will find $50,000 for the town to use. Who knows, but the only way to find out is to vote for whom you think will do the best they can for the betterment of the entire town.