Last month, our town of Salem, NH had local elections. In addition to wife wife Melissa running and winning the post of Trustee of Town Trusts, a ballot item included the question of whether to form a commission to consider changing the current town charter. The question passed, and it was announced that a special election would be held in May to select 9 members to this commission.
I was a bit surprised to learn that town resident could run for a seat on this commission, including currently elected town officials. This Town Charter Commission will be asked to make recommendations that could fundamentally change the government structure of Salem (we currently are a “Town Meeting” form of government), and that could impact the roles of many current town officials. With even best efforts, I could not help but feel that it would be difficult for any elected official to remain completely objective through this process. As a result of this, I decided to do something I never really considered up until that moment.
On April 1st, I entered my name as a candidate for the Town Charter Commission. I did not take this decision or the role of the commission lightly. As a resident of Salem, NH, what could come from this commission could eventually have a profound impact on the future of our community for years to come. I also felt that I could provide value to the commission in some rather unique ways based upon past professional and personal experience. Most importantly, however, I felt strongly that it was necessary for the commission to have members who are both interested in the best for the community and are not encumbered by their current town office. While I sincerely believe in our elected officials and their ability to reach objective conclusions/decisions/recommendations, I also believe that there should be some form of “check and balance” in place for this process and that I can bring that ability to the commission.
I will be posting more on this in the coming days and weeks. Stay tuned.