Wakefield In Favor of 5: Vote Yes on Article 28 on 11/8/18!

This is an open letter to the community written by Wakefield resident Rich Greif, whose bio is at the end of this article.

Dear Wakefield friends, neighbors and community members,

Let me get right to the point. You can help strengthen our community by voting YES on Article 28 at Town Meeting this Thursday at 7:00 p.m.. Here is some background on the issue:

What Is Article 28?

• Today, any article that passes at Town Meeting can be brought to a special town-wide election re-vote of those opposed by gathering just 200 signatures – which equates to just 1% of registered voters!
• Article 28 proposes to change the Town Charter to require 5% of registered voters to force a special election – or about 920 voters.
• The article also seeks to change the amount of time to gather the signatures from 10 business days to 12 calendar days, purely for consistency since town meeting can take place on different days of the week.
• The article was studied and recommended by the town’s Charter Review Committee.Charter Review Committee.

Why Does It Matter?

• When gathering signatures for a re-vote, you can tell residents ANYTHING to get them to sign – especially those who did not attend Town Meeting and don’t know much about the issue.
• Special elections can cost taxpayers $15,000 plus the value of all the Wakefield employees time involved in validating and running a special election.
• Special interest groups in town have used this method to kill important town projects, such as the free parking garage we could have had downtown, and most recently, much needed upgrades to our Public Safety Building were lost.

It should be harder to invalidate the results of Town Meeting and the will of voters!

What About Other Towns?

• Some towns do not even allow a re-vote.
• Of those that do, the Charter Review Committee studied towns of similar size and found that the majority have a 5% threshold or higher.
• Many of these same towns only give petitioners 5-10 days to gather the required signatures.

Who’s Against This and What Are They Saying?

• The same people who were against the parking garage and public safety building improvements.
• They claim the change is “too drastic” making it “virtually impossible to get the required signatures in time” thereby “minimizing voter participation and voter rights."

What is the Truth?

• 5% is very much in line with towns of similar sizes.
• At 12 calendar days to gather signatures, Wakefield offers the most time to gather signatures among all the towns studied except for one.
• No citizen’s participation in voting is being limited nor are their rights.
• In fact, if Article 28 passes at Town Meeting, it is still required by the Charter to be voted on at the next town-wide election in April.

So a YES vote at Town Meeting means the whole town gets to vote on it. No one’s participation is being limited!

Town Meeting is often referred to as our purest form of democracy. Any resident can attend Town Meeting and voice their opinion and it can often last multiple days. Town Meeting is a very thorough, open and deliberate process on the part of town leaders and citizens at Town Meeting. You can help ensure that the will of Town Meeting voters is upheld by voting YES on Article 28 this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at the Galvin Middle School. The vote requires a 2/3 majority vote to pass so every vote really matters!

Sincerely,
Rich Greif
25 Kingmont Street, Wakefield
Wakefield In Favor of 5
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1943951895902583/

Rich Greif's bio: I have lived in Wakefield for 18 years. I currently serve as the Vice Chair of the Wakefield Human Rights Commission. I previously served on the Board of the Wakefield Interfaith Food Pantry. I currently work for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay. View all posts by Rich Greif