"Holding Their Feet to the Fire"
The Epping Residents for Principled
Government organization (ERPG) often comes under fire for those with
specialinterests, a specific agenda or simply seeking personal political
power and control. However, because of the efforts of the ERPG, more of
you get to participate in Town and School government on voting day than
under the traditional Town or School District Meeting.
However, with rights, come duties. Meaning, enough of the people may not
understand the importance of their being involved even before voting day
in order to ensure that government works as it ought for everyone.
The people need to be active participants in their government. For
example, the ERPG, as the former Epping Taxpayers Association, fought
long and hard, even to spending their own money, to pass RSA 40:13 (SB2)
which allows official ballot voting in the privacy of a voting booth,
all day, as well as absentee voting, on ALL warrant articles, not for
just the candidates and zoning articles period. Now you have the same
right that you could only exercise in a 2-3 hour Town or School District
meeting, which you lost if you were unable to attend.
Still, the present system is not perfect and would be significantly
improved if a more diverse cross-section of voters attended the
Deliberative Session, the preliminary meeting where the warrant articles
are accepted as is or amended before submission to the Official Ballot.
This is a most important of the Town Meeting process as there is a
history of warrant articles, particularly citizen petitioned articles,
being eviscerated (through amendments) at the Deliberative Session to
the extent that the original intent is destroyed. This tends to be the
rule now since the special interest voters seem to be the only regular
attendees at the Deliberative Session, with the obvious intention of
looking out for their own interests.
This must indeed change if the system is to stay working for you. Higher
attendance at this important meeting by voters who simply want to ensure
that government functions at its best and nothing more is needed. The
ERPG, as a watchdog body, is working to help correct this problem so
that a handful of self-serving residents cannot negate your voting right
to decide each article in its original submitted form.
But each of us must take an active role in our government. Otherwise,
someone else, or some other group of like minded voters will band
together to decide Epping’s leadership, the cost of Town and School
government and adopt for the rest of us, the rules we all must then live
by.
“Candidates’ Night” is another opportunity in which the people can
easily participate. It is a welcomed opportunity to have these meetings
made available on television, so that we can view them in the comfort of
our own homes. But, active participation is again needed by those who
are so able. If you watched this year’s candidates night you must have
been aghast at the type of personal attack questions directed at only
certain of the candidates. The low participation allowed the same people
to dominate the meeting with an obvious goal of using the meeting to
settle personal vendettas.
Is this what this public forum will be reduced to in the future? What is
needed to correct this situation, is again, a good cross-section of
voters asking questions pertinent to how the candidate has prepared for
the office he or she seeks. Petty and vicious neighborhood in-fighting
has no place at his forum, nor the unfounded or bias accusations which
reveal an accusers’ own ineptness and venom.
For years, Epping has had a shameful reputation for harboring a nasty
political climate. So, when candidates are attacked and blamed for legal
expenses incurred by the Town because that candidate happens to be
affiliated with a group that stands up in defense of a principle or a
law, perhaps the truth should be known. For when abusive and prejudicial
activities on the part of government go unchallenged, such actions tend
to run rampant.
Insofar as Epping is concerned, there has yet to be a judicial decision
that determined any such as “frivolous.” If there had been, all of the
related costs would have been placed on the party initiating the suit.
Check the record, this has not happened!
Fair governing practices do not generate legal action; therefore, no
legal expenses either. The ERPG strives to “hold the feet of our elected
officials to the fire.” They do so out of general interest to benefit
all.
This article submitted and endorsed by Wilfred and Mary Cloutier based
on forty years of personal experience confronting the abuse of power in
Epping politics.