Here’s a Surprise.
By Jim Conley • October 31st, 2006 • Email This Post to a Friend •
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Town Counsel Jennifer Dopazo says that the campaign finance proposal before Brookline Town Meeting is not legal because, among other things, it pre-empts State Law.
Now where was that prophesied? Oh yeah, here.
Update: According to the Advisory Committee’s recommendation against the campaign finance measure we read that: “One member of the (Committee) believed that the best way to deal with the problems expressed by the Moderator’s Committee was to have a strong grass roots campaign organization to offset the effects of the influence of campaign contributions.”
Huh? I thought that was the benefit of a 240-member town meeting. Even they can’t keep up the canard that the Town Meeting form of government best represents Brookline at the grass roots.
Jim Conley is publisher of On Brookline.
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Consider the time and energy spent on this proposal, which I understand goes back at least 3 years. Now, it looks like it will go down the proverbial drain because of legalities. Where were all the watchful legal beagles in our town governance over this time period? This is where a cost/benefit analysis is appropriate for a better look at the inefficiencies of Representative Town Meeting governance in Brookline. It is time for modernity with a city form of governance rather than the insider social club of 5 Selectmen and 240 TMMs, all part-timers, playing politics in their spare time. You get what you pay for. We are not paying these insiders very much so perhaps we should expect what we get: NO ACCOUNTABILITY.