Kingston Observer

If you have ever dreamed of being a Town Moderator, here’s your chance!

The position is up for grabs, literally, by the person who secures the most write-in or sticker votes.

For those unfamiliar with our quaint tradition, a Town Moderator is the person who presides over our Annual and Special Town Meetings and makes key appointments to the town’s Finance Committee.

Fran Botelho-Hoeg, the most recent Town Moderator, succeeded Larry Winokur a number of years ago. Larry left some rather large shoes to fill, metaphorically speaking; but Fran managed to do just that, and it’s likely that the position would have been hers for as long as she chose (Moderators are elected annually). Because of a last-minute career opportunity, she withdrew her name after the deadline had passed for any challenger to submit nomination papers.

So, when you go to the polls later this month, you won’t see any name printed on the ballot. It’s an “Open Seat.” In the 31 years that I have lived here, we have had two Town Moderators: Larry and Fran. I doubt we’ll be able to talk Larry out of retirement and back “across the border” from Plymouth; so, when Town Meeting resumes in June, there will be someone new at Center Stage.

Kingston has had a number of positions that were earned via the write-in method. Years ago, there was a gentleman (Phil Tura, I believe) who won a seat on one of our boards with a handful of write-in votes. Then there was Sue Winokur, wife of former Town Moderator Larry Winokur, who ran for School Committee in the early 1980s on a sticker campaign and defeated not one but two individuals who were on the ballot. Former selectman Olly deMacedo, mentioned as a possible contender for the Moderator’s seat, mounted a write-in campaign for the Republican nomination for State Representative several years ago and won his party’s nomination.   

My crystal ball is at the repair shop this week, so I can’t predict precisely who the write-in field will include. Given that the position is at the town’s political epicenter, though, it should attract interest from a number of contenders.

With that said, allow me to offer some suggestions to our next, and presently unnamed, Town Moderator.

First, above everything else, be fair and balanced. While you as a private citizen have every right to your strongly-held viewpoints, when you take Center Stage you surrender the right to make them known publicly, or to let them influence your conduct. If there’s a rezoning article that proposes the construction of an amusement park next to your house, you had best not be leading the fight against it. As Moderator, you will have an obligation to treat proponents and opponents of each article impartially. Being a Moderator is a little like being a judge, except that you don’t get to wear cool robes and no one is going to call you “Your Honor.” No one should be able to surmise where you stand on an issue by anything that you say, or how you handle the discussion on both sides.

Since I’ve covered the “be fair” part, let me move next to the “Brevity is the soul of wit” section. This applies not only to the Moderator but to “the moderated.”  Short and sweet! Less, not more, when it comes to public speeches. Those of us who attend Town Meeting on a regular basis already know the rules; get started on time, keep the opening announcements to a minimum, get down to business quickly, and see that the town’s business gets accomplished as expeditiously as possible.

Establish a limit on the length of time someone may speak, as well as the number of times that the original speaker can rebut what someone else says in response to his/her original comments. One rebuttal is enough; after that it turns into a “he said, she said” and those of us in the audience with Blackberries are beginning to check our e-mail or the latest sports score. Five minutes is more than generous for the introduction of even a complex article; less is needed for the routine ones. No individual speaker should need more than two minutes to make a point; if he/she hasn’t made it by that time, it’s not going to happen and the person should be gaveled down on principle. There is a great temptation when the cameras are rolling and a captive audience is present to subscribe to that mistaken notion that if “ten words are good, a hundred must be great.” As an old English professor of mine might have said, “Verbose is verboten.” That may have lost something in the translation, but I believe he meant “Keep it short and simple.”

Insist on a “Politics Free” zone. The floor of Town Meeting is not the place for elected officials or candidates to audition for political office; that’s why we have Candidates’ Nights. Nor should Town Meeting be a forum for warring factions who, no matter how subtly, battle under the guise of “honest disagreement.” If people want to fight, tell them to “take it outside.” Even the most civic-minded among us have limited attention spans, and it is a sacrifice (a necessary and important one, but a sacrifice nonetheless) to attend and vote. Be respectful of the time constraints most people face; don’t let the meetings drag on and on. Nowhere is it written that everyone in the world must weigh in on every issue. Establish a start and end time to each session and enforce it.

Remember that authority is best used sparingly. Yes, you can gavel someone down. Yes, you can even have someone removed if you want to. You can even declare a ten-minute recess just because you feel like it. But you should appreciate the fact that people make an effort to attend, and sometimes get a bit carried away. You need to preserve order, certainly, but Town Meeting isn’t Basic Training or Boot Camp. Give them a little rope without letting them walk all over you. Don’t “shoot the messenger to preserve the message.”

Off-stage, you will be trusted with making some key appointments to the Finance Committee. This may well be the most important board in town. When vacancies occur, reach out to the community to find the best and brightest. Appoint people who come to the table with no pre-set agenda.

A Town Moderator needs to be a blend of drill sergeant, referee, historian, talent scout, armchair psychologist, coach and entertainer. Having the ability to remember names is key, as is a knowledge of the rules that govern Town Meeting. A sense of humor doesn’t hurt, either. And, for this unique skill-set, you can expect to reap approximately 30 cents an hour for your efforts. Who could possibly resist?

One last thought: Our next Town Moderator may face increasing pressure to change our Open Town Meeting form of government. Some communities around us have gone the Representative Town Meeting route; others on the South Shore have adopted a City Charter. Larry Winokur once characterized Open Town Meeting as “the purest form of Democracy,” and he was absolutely right. We often feel like no more than spectators when we watch our federal government at work, but that is not the case at the local level. Town Meeting is “where the rubber meets the road.” A few hundred individuals can chart the course of the town for the next year and beyond – from appropriating money to repair the Reed Building to replacing two police cruisers, or approving a 40R project. We may shake our collective heads over the irony of approving a $36 million budget without objection while debating endlessly over the best day to hold Town Elections. But everyone has a real chance to direct the outcome of the meeting and the town’s actions. Open Town Meeting is an institution to be cherished and our next Moderator must be as able a custodian and protector of this tradition as were the last two people who held the office.

Good luck, Mr. or Madame Moderator. See you in June.