Tuesday, March 9, 2010

ELECTION DAY TODAY -- -- -- GET OUT AND VOTE

In less than 2 hours the polls will open. From 8am this morning until 7pm tonight the future of our town is in your hands. You have the right to choose in which direction our town will go, to continue the trend of over spending, secrecy and ignoring the public or in a new direction of openness, honesty and for the good of all of Winchester's citizens. The choice is yours, it's that simple. Stay home and do nothing, don't exercise your right to partake in the election; or go to the polls and cast your vote for change. Too many of you have allowed a few to run Winchester into the ground, to steer us into a trend of overspending and high taxes for so long, it's become the norm. While other towns across the state have made the necessary cuts in spending and have said no to any new spending, our leaders continue to ask for more and more money every year. It's got to stop, it's that simple. We as a town, united in cause have got to say no, no more spending period. We can not afford it year after year. How many of our friends and neighbors who have lost their jobs or who have come upon hard times for health reasons, or other personal issues have to lose their homes so our Highway Dept. can get a shiny new truck that they wouldn't need, if they had simply taken care of the old one as they were required too? How many people must go without food, or medications, or shoes or clothes for their child, because the town wants to do something, add some expenditure that we can better afford in the future than now during these tough economic times?

We lack leadership in Winchester, from the Selectman, it trickles down to our Dept. Heads and to other employees who have no sense of responsibility to the public they serve. They believe they are the hierarchy of Winchester and are entitled to do as they please. They break the law, ignore rules and regulations, provide false information and hold meetings in secrecy. Some employees don't even show up for work on time, take longer than allowed breaks and leave early with no fear of being held accountable. How can we possible continue to allow this to go on and hope that things in Winchester will get better? Just what kind of a future will our children have if we continue to allow this type of behavior to continue? Just what kind of a message are we sending to our children, that it's ok to take advantage of the system, not be truthful and honest, to act in secrecy and withhold information because it's best for you and those around you? That's not acceptable by any means and I hope you all agree.

It's time for change, time to send a message to those who continue not to get it, or who refuse to get it and who will not change their ways. It's time to run Winchester like a business and not a Country Club. It's time we gave new people, people who have come forward with new ideas, a commitment to community and a resolve to turn our town around and bring it into step with the times for the betterment of all. It takes guts to want to step into the frying pan and be under the scrutiny of a whole town, to be responsible for the way people will live their lives in the coming years and to commit yourself to the task. Let's say we give these new people a chance and the people of Winchester some hope for a brighter future. Join us in sending a message today, enough is enough. Vote for change for the betterment of all.

Our suggestions for a brighter future;


Selectman

Towne
Davis
Trustee
Write-in
Thayer Library
Dianne Skawski-Pride
Shelly Walker
Budget Comm
Harvey Sieran
Francis Towne
Robert Davis
Planning Board - 3 yr
Arthur Charland / Francis Towne
Kim Gordon
Planning Board - 2 yr
Brian Moser
Cemetery
Kari Caldwell / Bob Davis

Articles
2. No
3. No
4. No
5. Yes
6. No
7. No
8. No
9. No
10. No
11. No
12. No
13. No
14. No
15. No
16. No
17. No
18. Yes
19. No
20. No
21. No
22. Yes
23. No
24. Yes
25. Yes
26. Yes
27. Yes

28. No
29. No
30. No



School Board
Moser
Treasurer
Blank
District Clerk
Jim Tetreault

Treasurer
Blank

Articles

2. Yes
3. No
4. Yes
5. No
6. No
7. No
8. Yes
9. No

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just a question mr. towne
If you or any other moderator of this sight get elected would you have to step down as moderators of this sight, It would seem a conflict of interest, and any promoting you would use for yourself or other candidates would have to be available to all candidates

Anonymous said...

re: Voting today.. Why would you suggest NO on articles # 10 & # 15?

the Winchester Informer said...

re: moderators

Mr. Towne is part of our group that we started over planning board matters. He is currently at the town hall introducing himself to people going in to vote. He has told us if he is elected he will only post his comments and no longer be part of the moderation team. As for your comments on promoting himself or any other candidate, it was made clear earlier by this team that we welcomed all candidates to submit a copy of their campaign sign and any information in regards to their running for office. No others took us up on our offer. Do not point any fingers at Mr. Towne for them not doing this.

the Winchester Informer said...

We suggested a no vote to hold down unnecessary spending;
article #10
The cemetery has a perpetual care fund already set up, why should we taxpayers be asked to supplement something already in place?
article #15
It was stated at the deliberative session by a trustee that they did not need any money from the town. If you had attended you would know that this article was originally for $10,000, amended to $2,500. It was again stated "we do not need this money, we have the money we need to do this". Again this money is not needed, not wanted and was turned down. Why would you want to vote to give money that is not needed or wanted?

Mike Towne said...

I really don't see how being part of something such as this blog would be a conflict of interest unless I were to post any unlawful information or attempt to use my position for some type of personal gain. But let's not put the cart before the horse as I am just a candidate and hold no town office at present and quite possibly won't after 7pm tonight either. However I will say this: If elected and people oppose my being an active moderator on this blog I will honor their wishes and agree to only post answers to any questions I may be asked personally on this blog or any other website providing they do not unlawfully affect my duties to any office I may hold. In other words if it does not become a conflict of interest under the law, I reserve the right to respond.

I'd also like this opportunity to say that I am a bit disappointed that after standing in the parking lot looking forward to meeting Winchester's voters since 8;15am this morning it saddens me that so very few of you have turned out and only a handful of voters were interested in meeting us new people standing at the parking lot entrance. I can only hope that things pick up after lunchtime and that more people take an interest in meeting those of us who have stepped up and wish to serve, you may be impressed in what we have to say.

Anonymous said...

Come on informer, I hope you have good news for us!! I do not live in Winchester but I am a native son of Winchester..Please tell me Margaret is gone!!!

the Winchester Informer said...

To the disappointment of many, Margaret Sharra was re-elected. It's hard to vote someone out of office and new people in when hardly anyone goes to the polls.

Jim said...

Why was Sherman Tedford opening and viewing absentee ballots during the election, isn't that illegal?

Anonymous said...

what are the final results, please do share...thanks

Mike Towne said...

I'd like to thank everyone who came out to vote and all of you voters who supported me in my efforts to serve the town and make an effort to right the ship. Unfortunately we fell short this year.

Anonymous said...

Informer - Please note that your statement above in regards to the library fund is incorrect. The warrant article was submitted by Hughie Crowell was originally for $15,000. This was in addition to the $10,000 grant the Town received to paint the building. For a grand total of $25,000 to PAINT the building.

How many of you would pay that much to have your house and barn painted?

watching said...

Oh Oh, are we going to have a hanging chad incident in Winchester? I'm sure our Selectmen will suddenly come up with the two votes they need to add more spending, anyone wanna bet?

the Winchester Informer said...

There were several discrepancies observed at yesterday's election and there are rumors that a complaint will be filed to the State's Election Commission.

Anonymous said...

you are sooooo right!
boo-hoo-hoo - nobody wants to meet the "new guy" in the parking lot.
take the hint mr butt-in-ski mike towne - if you don't like winchester - leave! we can get up collection to get your nasty ass out of here.
winchester is know for natural beauty and rural charm..
what planet do you live on?
winchester is known for unwed mothers, drop-outs, welfare, scratch tickets, cigarettes and beer.
shouldn't have bought your dream house knowing it was close to a highway and race track.
you wouldn't care about the condos if they weren't so close.
the whole town has to change to suit you. MOVE!!!

the Winchester Informer said...

After listening to Irene and Bonnie and Gus complain about how some who blog on here pick on them we thought you'd like to see what Mr Towne goes through on almost a daily basis. We usually delete these type of comments for obvious reasons; but thought we'd show just what kind of lovely people live in Winchester and how they feel about him.

To this obnoxious juvenile being, exactly which one are you, the drop out, the unwed mother or lazy don't want to work welfare recipient that Mr. Towne was willing to serve if elected?

Anonymous said...

What a disgusting little mind. Winchester is and would be a better place for all of us if vulgar people like you found another place to call home.

Anonymous said...

My bet is on a the wife of the culpret that got caught illegally going through the absentee ballots.
Or perhaps the other one that heckled the candidates that she didn't like. She even got her husband so worked up he stomped out like a "gentleman". Classy!
This is what the other one called, "cyber bullying".
Tacky isn't it? It's also pointless - because it doesn't solve anything.
People move to this town thinking it's quaint and then they get aquainted with individuals with this narrow minded thinking and it completely ruins the ambiance. That arrogance of entitlement with certain individuals in this town is very unsettling. And witnessing their actions is pure evil. Perhaps if you were paying a LOT more than $4,900 a year in taxes you could be queen.

Anonymous said...

Good Morning Blog!
I have just finished reading all of the comments. I think that if I were Mr. Towne I would capture the culprit's IPL address and report him/her to the provider. Then I would probably make certain that everyone knew including the police, who this despicable person is.

Now, that we have that under control we all need to think about how we are going to get the factual message out to the citizens in town. That should be our top priority. To be a fly on the wall at planning board meetings.

Thanks blog. Have a great day!

Robin said...

Interesting comments by Anonymous at 4:36PM yesterday.

If I understand their convaluted reasoning correctly, the author of that diatribe thinks Winchester is a pit and is endorsing no-change to keep it that way.

Obviously the author cannot be a property owner or they would want some kind of progress to change what the author perceives as their surroundings.

Obviously also, the author likes paying huge property taxes unless it escaped the author's notice that if/when those Condo's get built, that each resident will have to pay some pretty large increases just to bus the kids to schools.

And finally the author must be pretty unpatriotic. It must escape the author that in this country civic involvement should be considered a plus as well as an enviable right we have.

The conclusion obviously is that "anonymous" had a vested interest in the elections. That leaves a diminishing pool of likely candidates who could/would have posted as "anonymous" to let their feelings be known. I wonder if "anonymous" realizes that being so juvenile will only lead to more people paying attention and considering the fact that maybe the candidates running against the same old bureaucracy do indeed have something to hide.

Anonymous said...

There are plenty of us out here that do not have a personal problem with anyone in particular. That being said, some of us do have a problem with many of the actions of our elected town officials and paid town employees. This needs to be the informative website it has been throughout the year. I have learned much thru this blog. While I do tend to think the "watchdog" aspect of this blog is extrememly beneficial to all of us, I do think that we need to somehow become more mainstream. I wonder if there can be a grassroots community group to monitor BOS meetings and Planning Board meetings and post their information here. Just a thought.

Bob Davis said...

This election with all the hurdles and hoops the incumbents put in place, I am less optimistic with the low voter turn out of making more people more motivated, more confident, that anything will or ever change in Winchester. It doesn’t matter if you dislike, hate or despise or disagree with me I am one of the few people who have stood up for the common good of everyone best interest with best of my ability and to be called names and try to discredit me. To bad because when you finally get you asses off the couch and vote and find out your are now motivated and confident that these people in charge have been lying to everyone and you can no longer afford them. I am afraid there will be no one there stand up for you. With all the spending articles and a 1.2 million dollars unpaid taxes I feel sorry for the people struggling or the ones going without to pay their taxes, because I will be down on the Gulf of Mexico fishing.

I would like to thank my support! We are far from done so don't try to stick a fork in me just yet!

Anonymous said...

Can we hear from some of the people who did not go to the polls and vote. I'd like to know why you chose not to participate in decisions that will affect your livelihood over the next year.