Town Meeting Outcome Manipulated by Craigie, Wilson

A Letter to the Editor from Patricia Covelle:

I attended town meeting and could not disagree more with Ms. Keeler’s hostile observations in the Stoneham Patch. Town Meeting was manipulated in a blatant attempt by a group of self-serving tax and spend politicians to deny Stoneham residents the ability to get a little of their money back. The moderator played a huge role in the manipulation and so did Selectman Anthony Wilson. Wilson was given numerous attempts to speak on the trash fee because he opposed eliminating it. I saw Selectwoman Caroline Colarusso with her hand up, an I heard Moderator Jean Craigie telling her you already spoke while Selectman Wilson spoke again and again as did Wilson’s wife and the Moderator's former allies on the School Committee all of whom spoke against the Trash Fee holiday.

Selectwoman Colarusso was denied the Moderator when she asks for an official count of the people standing requesting a secret ballot because she believed there were 25 people standing to support a secret ballot. She was told by the Moderator NO count and go home and watch the tape. Well, it's too late once the Moderator denied the request for a secret ballot, and guess what we found out there is no tape of the balcony or floor at town meeting. With that single act from Moderator Craigie we were denied a secret ballot. Even the marijuana proponents got to see democracy in action when Craigie easily granted those folks a secret ballot vote, and she publicly counted them - not so with the trash fee in which she arrogantly told people go home and watch the tape.

Most politicians play it safe especially a couple months before an election but not Caroline Colarusso. She didn’t put her toe in to test the political waters. She didn’t put her political ambition first. She did what she always does putting people ahead of politics. The elimination of the trash fee originated from 2 members of the Board of Selectmen Tom Boussy and Caroline Colarusso. Colarusso despite the repeated 4-1 defeats on the board shows no signs of folding in the face of unrelenting opposition from the political establishment, That’s what we love about her. She has been right back out rolling her sleeves up advocating for Oak Street residents, holding office hours and showing the fearlessness and resilience of a woman determined to keep her word. Stoneham has seen its share of cheap suit politicians. Colarusso broke that mold, and she does it all with the intensity and determination that shakes up the business as usual Stoneham political establishment types. I enthusiastically support Caroline Colarusso and hope she brings more unconventional common sense ideas to our town.

Patricia Covelle, Richardson Road