Time for Wholesale Change.
By Jim Conley • May 31st, 2007 • Email This Post to a Friend •
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Today’s TAB coverage on the Brawl at Town Hall includes this from columnist (and Town Meeting Member) Regina Frawley:
“However understandable the universal frustration at Thursday’s ZBA meeting was, few adults involved demonstrated grown-up behavior. There’s enough blame to go around. Selectmen, chief of police and even the Town Meeting Members Association should discuss civilized board and citizen behavior ASAP, to mitigate the likelihood of future fiascos.”
Frawley was not at the hearing (neither was I) so it’s hard to know how she comes to the conclusion that “few adults demonstrated grown up behavior.” I’ve heard from lots of people who were on the scene and, by all accounts, only one adult pulled a hissy fit - ZBA Member Lawrence Kaplan.
It’s important to know that when Arthur Conquest interceded he did so because he believed that Kaplan was overly condescending and excessively aggressive toward a member of the public. His intent, as he tells me, was to restore a bit of civility to the discussion.
So the solution is to discuss civilized behavior — on the part of citizens — at the Town Meeting Member’s Association? No, it’s time to free Mr. Kaplan up on Thursday evenings. It’s time to look at the behavior of the Brookline Police, who told Conquest he was barred from attending ZBA meetings on Thursday, and then called on Tuesday to tell him the ban had been lifted.
It’s long past time to expect reforms of any kind from Brookline Town Meeting (they’re past the laughingstock stage). The time has come to take a hard look at the structure of Brookline Town Government and the way in which its policy apparatus has been over-run by those with a dog in the fight.
Update: In her column, Frawley suggests that a development at Spooner Road is indicative of what’s wrong with Brookline’s Zoning Board of Appeals. Not quite. In that case, the ZBA ruled against the developers on the issue of uninhabitable space. The Brookline Building Department has refused to enforce the order while the matter is pending in the Land Court. And that’s just fine with the ZBA.
Ironically, the decision that found a second floor bedroom, though unfinished, should count as habitable space was written by Lawrence Kaplan.
Jim Conley is publisher of On Brookline.
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The ZBA public meeting/hearing Chaired by Diane Gordon had concluded. Events occurred subsequent thereto in which ZBA member Lawrence Kaplan was involved with Ruthann Sneider. The TAB’s report states: Kaplan angrily responded that he had spent many unpaid hours on the board, and that Sneider should not criticize him until she had done the same.”
Kaplan has been a member of the Massachusetts bar since 1969 and is currently a partner in the law firm of Goodwin Proctor (formerly Goodwin Proctor & Hoar). He spends “many unpaid hours” which suggests the billable hours mentality of a big firm attorney. Perhaps Ruthann Sneider also has spent many unpaid hours as a TMM and an activist. Kaplan can walk in his shoes and Ruthann can walk in hers. But why can’t Ruthann criticize? The late Eugene McCarthy in his brief presidential campaign in 1968 in criticizing the Johnson Administration’s handling of the Vietnam War responded to a complainer’s question of what was McCarthy’s solution, to which he aptly responded: “You don’t have to be a shoemaker to know the shoe hurts.” Kaplan may have expertise in zoning law, as evidenced by his Goodwin Proctor puff bio earlier referenced by Jim, but it is apparent that something is wrong with the functioning of the ZBA, the Building Department, the Planning Department, the Zoning Administrator and the Board of Selectmen. (Regina in her OpEd in today’s TAB covers several controversial ZBA issues of recent vintage.) Comments at Town Meeting by several TMMs also highlighted some of the issues involving development.
According to the TAB, Kaplan was angry at a dimunitive but apparently feisty woman excercising her first amendment rights. The meeting/hearing was over. Kaplan was not the Chair. So the statute concerning controlling speaking at a public meeting was not involved.
According to the TAB, Arthur Conquest stepped in to protect Ruthann. But Kaplan may have construed this as a threat. I wonder if Goodwin Proctor encourages its partners to behave in this fashion.
The police were not witness to the events. It was clearly a “he said/she said” situation. The police overreacted, perhaps because the contact was from someone associated with Town government. There are denials of racial issues in play. Hopefully that is true. But there have been situations in the past that have been uncomfortable for Arthur Conquest when he has exercised his first amendment rights. Ruthann was fortunate to have Conquest at her back. I would want him at my back.
So let’s get over all this silliness and address the real issues facing Brookline: high taxes, inefficient governance, even higher taxes, lack of affordable housing, traffic, the expansion of the LMA into Brookline Village, public transportation. And perhaps a little sensitivity training that might include ZBA members.
I want to convey a big THANK YOU to Ruth Ann Sneider and Arthur Wellington Conquest for saying what had to be said and doing what had to be done.
By all accounts, 1) the ZBA’s decision was egregious, 2) Lawrence Kaplan and the other ZBA members should indeed be ashamed, 3) Kaplan should consider quitting. Ms. Sneider spoke the truth.
Mr. Conquest stood up for Ms. Sneider in the face of an angry and hostile Mr. Kaplan. The police response and their treatment of Mr. Conquest was unwarranted and unacceptable.
There is a lot of wrong here that has to be made right.
Mr. Kaplan wants sympathy and says his job is hard. Indeed it must be difficult to check justice at the door so you can do the bidding of your political and business benefactors.
To Mr. Kaplan I say, do the right thing. Apologize and then resign.
To Ruth Ann Sneider and Arthur Wellington Conquest, I say, thank you for standing up and speaking out. I don’t know you personally, but you make me proud to be a Brookliner.