Building community, the New England town model.

[pinto]

I first became politically active in New England. Every March, as winter slogs on to spring, towns across the region hold annual Town Meetings. These are open meetings, irregardless of any party affiliation, religious affiliation, gender, race or age - save speakers have to be of voting age.

Any citizen has an opportunity to propose and put forth an item for consideration. They are presented to locally elected representatives, in New England called Town Selectmen. An immediate vote is held on a proposal. Some have to be referred for legal or fiscal input, yet generally it's an open process.

Direct democracy. And, a caveat, not everyone wins or loses.

Obviously not a model that's replicable in most of today's larger communities and cities. Yet it's a model worth emulating as much as possible.

[Chan790]

1. Sadly, living here today...

it no longer works that way.

Town meetings, at least here in CT, in towns still under the selectperson model, have been largely abolished because the residents kept blowing up the pet-enrichment projects of the corrupt fuckwits that run for town office. Also, they have a bad habit of having their own ideas that do not conform to the shady backroom deals our elected officials enter into.

Last month, the townpeople voted down a referrendum to spend $3M on athletic fields. The 1^stSel. had already cut a sweetheart deal though to give the construction contract to a friend so the town council voted to overrule the referendum and undertake the construction anyways out of the general fund.

[Raven]

2. Town Meeting are alive and well here in NH

They are a little crazy, boisterous, unpredictable and time consuming but they get the job done and let everyone have a voice.