Westford’s Town Election participation by eligible voters consisted of 24.1 percent of the eligible voters. The override and selectmen elections were decided by a little over 2000 persons of the 22,000 population and 17,000 eligible voters.
That means that one out of every four voters went to the polls and only one out of eight voters who voted “yes” for the override and for the successful candidates determined whether Westford would have a “progressive” government and higher taxes versus a responsible combination of progressive and conservative, fiscally-minded governing persons.
Is that a true representation of what all the Westford citizens wanted or needed?
While the voter percentage is consistent with previous Westford town elections, that percentage has changed its composition.
A highly successful campaign that created a legion of active teacher union members and school parent voters has given the green light to higher taxes and an “innovative” (another word for manipulated) salary process that has overridden the fiscally-responsible and representative government that Westford deserves.
Now, due to the extremely low voter participation, the remaining 88 percent of voters who voted against or ignored the polls will have to live with the results – higher taxes for “school operations” that are not necessarily actual salary increases for its teachers – they are for “school operations” in a community that already consumes 51 percent of the town budget and attract newcomers because Westford schools are currently rated high within the commonwealth.
This election also opened a door for other town employees to appeal for higher salaries and create even higher taxes that bypasses normal collective bargaining through the use of an override that is controlled by a few.
Did this 88 percent of non-voters really get what they wanted at the hands of the 12Â percent who voted?
And, is this town ready to be ruled by a small “progressive” cadre – Is this Democracy –Buzz Gillogly, Patten Lane
