From trees to tourism, greenways to recreation, economic development to Lexington Center, and more, there’s a Town of Lexington committee where we can apply to serve and give back to our community.
And now is the time to apply! Applications are due Monday, August 31, to be considered for current and upcoming openings.
I’d like to draw your attention to a new committee being launched this year: the Local Election Voter Turnout Task Force. Formed by the Select Board in response to the recommendations of a Vision for Lexington subcommittee, the job of the task force is to (1) provide guidance to the Select Board on implementing the subcommittee’s additional recommendations, and (2) increase voter turnout by transforming voting in Lexington’s municipal elections into a central social and cultural value and expectation in our town. Details here.
Despite our high rate of voter registration, only 10 to 20 percent of voters typically turn out to elect our town government in March each year. This, in a town that just celebrated 250 years of insisting on its right to self-governance!
Click here to learn how to apply to serve on the Local Election Voter Turnout Task Force, or another board or committee. Serving this way can be a truly rewarding experience.
Jeri Zeder
Jeri:
The solution to our Select Board members running (most often) unopposed, and being “elected” by just 10%-20% of registered voters is super-simple, and requires no new Committee.
The solution is to move our Town election from March when voters don’t pay attention to the second Tuesday in November, when most people expect elections to be held.
I have said this for 25 years now, in Town Meeting and elsewhere, but the Select Board has done nothing, I suppose because it’s easier to get “elected” and “reelected” and “reelected” again and again without opposition, and just by the “usual suspects” — the 10%-20% of registered voters who tune in in March.
The Select Board will say it takes Beacon Hill to approve a home rule petition for Lexington to move its Town election from March to November, implying that that’s a high hurdle. Are our State Reps and Senators so powerless as to not be able to get so pedestrian a bill passed?
You aren’t at the select board’s mercy when it comes to home rule petitions. All you need are 10 signatures to add a town meeting warrant article, where the select board holds no veto power. It’s even possible that, if forced to confront the issue, select board members would support such a petition–after all, moving the town election to November is recommendation #2 in the report Jeri cited. (The town just implemented the lower-hanging fruit of that recommendation, moving the annual election day from a Monday to a Tuesday.)
Funny how the home rule petition is a difficult hurdle when it’s something the town *doesn’t* want to do, but trivially easy for something the town *does* want to do.
Recently, we were repeatedly told the home rule petition for the Article 97 land swap was routine. And indeed, it turned out to be. And years ago, when the town’s comptroller messed up setting the tax rate, it took only a few days to get the home rule petition to fix it. And yet it’s difficult to get it to move our Annual Town Election to the fall?
Ballot questions increase voter turnout the most in local elections. Even non-binding questions such as trash options increase turnout. Voters want to tell decision makers what they want and certainly have opinions on trash collection, schools etc.. What leaders don’t like is having undeniable numbers on what residents want, so don’t use them despite being easy to place on local ballots.