"Editorial" Comment: Town Meeting did NOT prevail in every precinct (results http://www.amherstma.gov/electionresults2.asp) and a lot of feelings were deeply hurt during this campaign; we all have a lot of work to do to be able to work effectively together. avb ................................................................................................................................................................................................

The Republican, Thursday, March 31, 2005

Charter foes set to work together By DIANE LEDERMAN dlederman@repub.com

The after-election parties for the Town Meeting proponents and the charter supporters were on the corners of University Drive about a half-mile apart.

And now that the charter proposal has failed - for the second time since 2003 - both sides realize they need to come together for the sake of the town.

As Bryan C. Harvey, former chairman of the Charter Commission, said both sides want what's best for the town.

"It's entirely about means," Harvey said. "We're not fighting about what we want."

Those who supported replacing the 240-member Town Meeting and five-member Select Board with a nine-member town council and a mayor, believe the proposal lost in part because of fear.

The proposal was defeated by 253 votes - 2,950 against to 2,697 in favor of the change. Two years ago, there was only a 14-vote margin. Voters in 1996 also voted against a charter change - by a 1,509-1,272 margin - to reduce the size of Town Meeting from 240 to 150 members and replace the Board of Selectmen with a town council and a mayor.

Elisa K. Campbell, a former Select Board and Town Meeting member, said that some of the information put out by the Town Meeting proponents "was plain untrue" and played into people's fears about the future, including the fear of the town opening to big box retail.

"Changing something is always risky," Harvey said. "There was so much anxiety."

"Real and manufactured," is what former Select Board member Eva Schiffer called it.

Town Meeting member Alan W. Powell was one of the leaders in the "Town Meeting works" campaign. He said he thinks the people supported Town Meeting because "I don't think a lot of people saw a crisis." He said they didn't think it needed to be changed, unlike in other area communities in which charter changes were approved within the last 17 years.

Charter foes set to work together Page 2 of 2

Palmer, a town of about 13,000, approved a charter change last April and replaced Town Meeting and the Board of Selectmen with a town manager and nine-member Town Council. In fact, Palmer just selected its first town manager this week.

In 2002, Greenfield replaced its five-member Board of Selectmen, 27-member Town Council and town manager with a strong mayor and 13-member council. West Springfield approved a charter change to become a city in 2000. Agawam adopted a city form of government in 1988, as did Easthampton in 1996.

Powell said he thought proponents of the charter wanted a government they could blame if things didn't go well, because there was much talk about accountability of Town Meeting. Some believed since residents often did not know how Town Meeting members voted on issues, there was no accountability.

"We're just citizens, we're accountable to ourselves," Powell said. No centralized government is needed, he added.

"We can govern ourselves," Town Meeting member Mary Streeter said.

Campbell is disappointed that the proposal lost and that the issues of the town, namely the budget problems, were not addressed. The budget is more than $1 million short of what the department needs. And she thinks "it'll be a real effort (to work together.)"

But Powell thinks with this outcome it will be easier for both sides to work together. He thinks it's easier than "if it went the other way." Everyone from the charter side is still welcome in government.

While it wasn't a huge margin of victory - it was seen as more decisive than the early vote. School Committee member Alisa V. Brewer, who beat out challenger Frank M. Gatti 2,926 to 1,246, said it was large enough. This way, "we're done with that (the charter vote)."

She is relieved to return to school concerns and away from the charter, which became the focus of the School Committee race, even though both she and Gatti supported Town Meeting.

Stanley Durnakowski, who started collecting the signatures that started this process back in 2000 and again collected signatures to have the issue reconsidered, said "it was a very good election. They both (sides) worked hard." He said he always wanted "the people to decide what kind of government they want." And he said they have.

Daily Hampshire Gazette, Wednesday March 30, 2005

Greeney leads voters' picks for town boards

BY STAFF WRITERS

AMHERST - Hwei-Ling Greeney, coordinator of the Not Bread Alone Soup Kitchen, was the highest vote getter in contested races Tuesday, pulling in 3,430 votes in winning a seat on the Select Board.

The other open seat on the board went to University of Massachusetts mathematics professor Robert Kusner, who received 2,538 votes. Not elected was computer systems consultant Douglas Slaughter, with 1,415 votes.

In the School Committee race, incumbent Alisa Brewer won another term, easily defeating Frank Gatti by 1,680 votes, 2,926 to 1,246. Larry Kelley, who pulled out of the race last week and put his support behind Brewer, received 733 votes.

Incumbent Anita Page easily won a second three-year term on the Jones Library Board of Trustees, along with Patricia Holland, a 19-year Town Meeting veteran who won her first townwide election.

Turnout for the election was 35.4 percent of the town's registered voters, according to the city clerk's office.

Greeney, 47, a native of Taiwan, had visited more than 700 houses campaigning for the Select Board - and for retaining the Town Meeting form of government. She celebrated the successful outcomes of both efforts with Town Meeting supporters at the China Dynasty restaurant on Route 9.

Mostly, my eyes are on the charter vote, and I'm very happy to see the result, Greeney said.

The whole team motivates each other, she said of fellow Town Meeting supporters. We keep each other working hard.

Although Greeney was expecting company for dinner this evening, she was ready to start her work as Select Board member after that, reeling off a number of issues she plans to address. Affordable housing is at the top of the list.

People are coming to me saying, they agree with me 100 percent that we need affordable housing, Greeney said. I feel really grateful for the trust the voters gave me. I feel I offer them a glimpse of hope.

Kusner, 45, said he planned to ask Town Manager Barry Del Castilho today why residents of apartments near the Bangs Community Center were ordered by town employees to remove campaign signs.

The residents were told the signs were within 150 feet of polling places, an election law violation, but Kusner said he believes the signs were actually farther from the polling places than that. He said he had witnessed a bit of a commotion in the vicinity of the Bangs Center over the signs early Tuesday morning.

After he gets answers from Del Castilho about that, Kusner said he would rest a bit before getting ready for his first Select Board meeting on Monday.

I don't think there is any breather, he said. We have a Town Meeting warrant to consider.

Kusner reflected on his second-place finish. It's always good to be second, he said. We try harder.

Slaughter, who had not spent as much time campaigning as Kusner and Greeney, said he wasn't unhappy with the result.

I was glad with the total, but I would have liked to have a couple of thousand votes, so I could be on the Select Board, he said.

I'm not surprised. The other candidates had done the right kind of things to get those vote totals.

School Committee

Brewer celebrated her victory by visiting both the pro-charter and the anti-charter parties, and said she was glad that the charter issue had been clearly decided so that she could bring a focus back to School Committee issues, such as the budget.

I'm grateful that people of all political spectrums had the confidence to return me, she said. We've got work to do, a lot of hard work.

Challenger Frank Gatti was gracious in defeat, saying he was happy that town meetings would continue in Amherst.

The thing I most cared about, we won, said Gatti.

Gatti, who noted with a laugh that he had spent the day preparing a lecture called Depression, Despair and Dark Night for a class he is teaching at Andover-Newton Seminary, said he did not regret any part of the race for the School Committee seat.

I'm glad I ran, I'm glad I went through the experience of running, he said.

While in the future he might consider running again, for now has no clear political plans. Gatti, a child psychiatrist who is studying for a master's degree at Hartford (Conn.) Seminary, will be dividing his time between his family and his thesis, he said.

Other School Committee members welcomed Brewer back to the position.

I knew Alisa (Brewer) would win, said Andy Churchill. She's got experience and has got relationships with people across town. It's inconceivable that people would turn her out given that she is obviously qualified for the job.

School Committee Chairwoman Elaine Brighty agreed.

I'm very pleased that Alisa is back on the committee to work as hard as she did last time, said Brighty, adding that losing an experienced member would have been tough.

I expected that Alisa would win because Alisa is a terrific School Committee member and there is really no reason to replace her, said Tom Flittie, adding, I think that Frank (Gatti) would be a good School Committee member and I hope that he runs again.

Library trustees

While Page won a second three-year term on the Jones Library Board of Trustees, Holland replaces trustee Maureen O'Leary, who declined to run again.

Political newcomer Christopher Hoffmann came in last in the three-way race for the two seats. The official vote totals, according to the town clerk's office: Page, 2,810; Holland, 1,988; Hoffmann, 1,197.

I think I won because I have had experience, Page said. I'm glad I can serve again. The truth is I think it takes a few years to be a trustee. The Jones is a little different than other libraries. It has a private endowment. It take some time to know all the regulations. Page currently is the board's president.

I'm really delighted to become a trustee, Holland said.

She attributed her victory in part to her North Amherst address and her support for the North Amherst Library.

I will probably run again, said Hoffmann, who was making his debut as a candidate. I enjoyed going out and talking to people.

His campaign focus, however, was on supporting Town Meeting.

I told people if they voted for me that was OK, but if they voted against the charter that would be great, he said.

This story was reported and written by Mary Carey, Phyllis Lehrer and Rachael Hanley of the Gazette staff.

Daily Hampshire Gazette, Wednesday March 30, 2005

Amherst rejects charter proposal

BY MARY CAREY STAFF WRITER

AMHERST - Supporters of Town Meeting prevailed again Tuesday, turning back a proposed charter that would have changed Amherst's form of government.

Some 35.4 percent of voters turned out, casting 2,697 votes for the charter and 2,950 against it. Two years ago, 31 percent of voters turned out and rejected the same proposal, which would have replaced the Select Board and Town Meeting with a mayor and nine-member council, by 14 votes.

The second defeat means that the same proposal cannot be brought back for another vote.

I think 100 years from now, people will say, 'Thank you for saving Town Meeting,' Select Board Chairwoman Anne Awad said at a party at the China Dynasty restaurant on Route 9. Town Meeting supporters met there to wait for campaign workers to phone in election results.

It had been a labor of love for many people who had worked hundreds of hours each, Select Board member Gerald Weiss said.

Most of it was the improvements that Town Meeting has made to itself, said Alan Powell, an organizer with the Town Meeting Works campaign. I think Town Meeting got the message that something was wrong. It was primarily an image problem, he said. It wasn't something Town Meeting couldn't fix for itself.

Among the criticisms of Town Meeting have been that it has taken too much time debating minor issues, and that not enough people ran for election. Town Meeting supporters said they've made changes in those areas.

Charter supporters said the fairly close results show that Amherst is still divided on whether its current form of government works well.

We had a vision of what we wanted for Amherst, and we did everything different this time, said Gerry Jolly, owner of Rafters Sports Bar on Amity Street, where pro-charter supporters gathered Tuesday night.

Jolly, an organizer with the pro-charter campaign, said charter supporters had gone door-to-door, done direct mailings and pulled out other stops that they hadn't in 2003. But it goes back to the courage to change, which Jolly said Amherst lacked.

TM supporters hail vote

Batya Bauman, a Town Meeting member and animal rights activist, called the traditional New England form of government the most incredible political institution in the country.

People are smart. People came through, she said of the election results.

We also have to make sure that some of the criticisms of Town Meeting are addressed, said Mary Streeter, an organizer of the successful campaign. Some of them are valid. Some are not. For one thing, we have to make Town Meeting more accountable.

She said a proposal to use electronic counters that would show how Town Meeting members voted on specific issues is a positive step.

Supporters and opponents of the proposed charter agreed that the opponents had been better organized and had more people working longer hours to advance their message.

Morris Singer, a University of Massachusetts student who ran successfully for Town Meeting member, said he drove a truck with a sound system, playing patriotic music and telling students to vote against the charter, for four hours Tuesday. Town Meeting supporters also drove vanloads of Hampshire College students to the polls.

Issues 'on table'

Bryan Harvey, chairman of the Charter Commission, which held more than 50 public meetings before drafting the charter that voters rejected twice, said this year's campaign had at least put on the table issues that have not otherwise received a lot of attention.

Examples include the need to develop a more sustainable spending pattern - some $1.3 million in spending still needs to be cut to balance next year's budget. Charter supporters had argued that a mayor and council would better be able to articulate the issues facing the town and provide more direction than Town Meeting and the Select Board.

All of a sudden, the system we have decided to keep is going to have to kick into high gear, and that isn't going to be easy, Harvey said.

Stanley Durnakowski, who first started collecting signatures on a petition to create a new charter, said he was happy that there had been a good turnout and that the people of Amherst had made their choice.

There was a lot of nice communication with both sides, Durnakowski said. A lot of the older people in town I spoke to thanked me. They said, 'Even if you don't win, we've learned a lot from this.'

Charter supporter David Keenan said he wasn't surprised by the results, because his camp had not been well organized.

Keenan said charter backers hadn't put a face to the job of mayor, for which they in fact did have a strong candidate - John Burruto, a former Amherst Regional Middle School principal.

Now, it's time to start balancing the budget, said Eva Schiffer, a three-term Select Board member, who did not run for re-election this year, but will be a Town Meeting member.

I hope people will put this issue behind them and stop politicizing every issue we discuss, stop politicizing committee appointments and focus on dealing with the problems of the town in a non-political and serious manner, Schiffer said.

The Republican, Wednesday March 30, 2005

Amherst rejects charter change By DIANE LEDERMAN dlederman@repub.com

Amherst voters again said no to a proposal to end Town Meeting, this time by a more decisive vote of 2,950-2,697.

Two years ago, voters turned down the same charter proposal by just 14 votes.

The rejected proposal called for replacing the five member Select Board and 240-member Representative Town Meeting with a mayor and nine-member town council.

The mayor would have been an ex officio member of the School Committee and Jones Library Board of Trustees.

About 30 percent of the town's 16,301 voters turned out, a similar turnout to two years ago. Both sides had expressed cautious optimism that their side would prevail.

Those voters who opposed the charter change did so for a variety of reasons.

Wilbur B. Pearson of Precinct 10 said he opposed a central government and favored keeping a broader based town meeting.

Peter Woodsum of Precinct 10 said he thought charter proponents were people with money who wanted someone else to do their thinking for them

I was very happy the vote was not close. It's very difficult to change town government (without a mandate,) said Town Meeting member Alice C. Swift.

In the race for Select Board, Hwei-Ling Greeney and Robert B. Kusner won the two seats beating out Douglas W. Slaughter. Greeney was the top vote-getter with 3,174.

All three are Town Meeting members. Greeney made a bid for a seat on the board in 1998 and ran again in part because of the proposed charter.

Incumbent Eva Schiffer did not seek re-election and member Carl W. Seppala resigned in November when he moved from town.

Incumbent School Committee member Alisa V. Brewer resoundingly won re-election defeating Frank M. Gatti by a margin of 2,926 to 1,246. Larry J. Kelley, who withdrew from the race last week, was still on the ballot and received 733 votes.

For Library Trustee, Anita Page easily won re-election, while Patricia G. Holland beat Christopher J. Hoffmann for the second seat being vacated by Maureen O'Leary, who did not seek re-election.

The town's form of government has changed just twice in the last century. The first time was in 1938 when the town went from an open town meeting to a representative town meeting, and then again in the 1950s when voters decided the town needed a town manager. The current act was modified slightly and adopted by Town Meeting in 2001.

Voters also agreed to uniform polling hours for all elections from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. by a margin of 3,926 in favor to 922 against.

The Republican, Monday, March 28, 2005

Amherst set to vote on charter

By DIANE LEDERMAN dlederman@repub.com

AMHERST - Two years ago, nearly 31 percent of the town's voters turned out when the proposed charter change was first brought before voters.

Town Clerk Anna M. Maciaszek is expecting a similar turnout tomorrow when voters again are asked to consider the charter change.

And while there are races for Select Board, School Committee and the Jones Library Board of Trustees, she thinks it's the return of the charter question that will again draw voters.

Voters are being asked whether to change the current charter from the 240-member representative Town Meeting and five-member Select Board to a nine-member Town Council and mayor. Both forms keep the town manager.

Last time, the proposed charter change was defeated by 14 votes. But because more than 35 percent of the voters favored the change, the same proposal can be brought back to voters within two years by petition.

In another ballot question, voters are being asked whether to support uniform polling hours for all elections, 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Currently the Select Board can set the hours of local elections and some years, polls have opened at noon. This issue is one of cost, the longer hours cost the town more money, versus access. Some believe the longer hours make it easier for voters to get to the polls.

Hwei-Ling Greeney, Robert B. Kusner and Douglas W. Slaughter are competing for two seats on the Select Board. Incumbent Eva Schiffer is not seeking re-election, and Carl W. Seppala resigned from the board in November when he moved out of town.

For the School Committee, Frank M. Gatti is challenging incumbent Alisa V. Brewer. Larry J. Kelley was a candidate and his name will appear on the ballot, but he decided to withdraw from the race last week and support Brewer.

Three are vying for two seats on the Jones Library Board of Trustees. They are incumbent Anita Page, Christopher J. Hoffman and Patricia G. Holland. Board member Maureen O'Leary is not seeking re-election. All other townwide races are uncontested.

There are Town Meeting member races in eight of the 10 precincts. Twenty-four candidates must be elected in each precinct.

If the charter passes, Town Meeting will still meet this spring as the new government would not begin until January. Elections for mayor and council would be held in November.

The Republican, Saturday March 26, 2005

School race cut to 2 candidates

By HOLLY ANGELO hangelo@repub.com

AMHERST - Larry J. Kelley has withdrawn as a candidate from the Tuesday School Committee race and endorsed incumbent Alisa V. Brewer.

I'm endorsing her, Kelley said. She's what I call the sensible center. She's to the left of me.

He made the announcement during a charter forum this week, surprising the other candidate, Frank M. Gatti, who was present.

Kelley said he decided to withdraw from the race for the only available committee seat because he didn't think he could win and didn't want to take votes away from Brewer. She is seeking her second, three-year term on the board.

Brewer said she appreciated Kelley's generous gesture. I think it sets a better tone, she said. The race is about the School Committee, not the charter.

Residents will vote in Tuesday's election on a proposed charter change. It calls for replacing the 240-member representative town meeting and a five-member Select Board with a mayor and nine-member town council. The town manager position would stay. The mayor would become a non-voting member of the School Committee.

Brewer and Gatti, both town meeting members, oppose the charter change, while Kelley favors it. Both Gatti and Kelley said they initially joined the committee race because of the charter issue.

The work of the School Committee is to focus on what's best for kids within whatever government structure we have, not to take sides on whose view of democracy is most pure, Brewer said.

No matter what the outcome of Tuesday's charter vote, I know we can all work together to maintain our support for one of our community's most cherished values - an excellent public education for each and every child.

Gatti said he was surprised when Kelley made his announcement. Kelley's withdrawal will probably affect the race, he said, but he didn't know how. He also said he felt the race had always been between him and Brewer.

Kelley said he hopes the charter will pass and that he will finish second in the voting for School Committee.

It would send a message that they really need to reign in their spending, he said. Someone's got to draw attention to this. We really need to look at the finances here.

Kelley campaigned as a fiscal conservative, accusing the committee of spending too liberally.

While Kelley said Brewer has done a good job for the past three years, he considers her a blank check candidate. He also said, however, that he considers Gatti a blank check, unlimited credit card candidate.

Both Brewer and Gatti said the committee's job is to show the schools' needs, which happens in the development of the school budget.

I don't feel it's the School Committee's place to present the minimal budget Gatti said. I feel it's the School Committee's place to present what the kids really need.

Brewer said, We always want more than we can afford because we want the best for the students.

Daily Hampshire Gazette, Saturday March 26, 2005

Candidates share views at League forum in Amherst

By MARY CAREY Staff Writer

AMHERST - Largely ignoring the oversized gorilla in the packed room - the charter - candidates at an Amherst League of Women Voters forum on Wednesday tackled the $1.2 million budget deficit, Potwine Lane soccer fields and increasing class sizes instead.

After all, as the League's moderator Joan Temkin reminded the candidates, the forum was about the races and not what is by far the more contentious question to be decided on the Tuesday election ballot. That would be whether the Town Meeting and the Select Board should be replaced with a mayor and nine-member council.

If change comes, some of the posts candidates are seeking would not exist.

About 75 residents attended the forum at Town Hall.

Town Meeting Moderator Harrison Gregg, who is running for re-election unopposed, said he was looking forward to a time when Amherst could immerse itself in the issues facing it, instead of talking about its structure of government. Gregg quoted Robert Frost on the matter, saying there should be Less criticism of the field and court and more preoccupation with the sport.

School Committee candidate Larry Kelley - who dropped out of the race on Friday - argued that the school budget has to be trimmed. Spiraling upward due to increased health insurance and fuel costs, among other factors, it accounts for some $43 million of the town's annual $60 million budget.

I'm sorry some of the (cutting) is going to have to come from here, Kelley said, pointing to a copy of the school budget. Heresy, I know. Sorry, he added.

Pressed by Temkin to say how they would trim the budget, fellow School Committee candidates Alisa Brewer, the incumbent, and Frank Gatti said increasing class size may be the least odious of possible options.

I would not be willing to cut programs, Brewer said.

Gatti said he would oppose cutting paraprofessionals at the schools, if that were ever on the table, saying, Perhaps I would rather see class size go up.

With Kelley's departure, Brewer and Gatti are vying for one seat. (A brief in Friday's Gazette stated incorrectly the number of seats available.)

Asked what she would cut in Amherst's budget, Select Board candidate Hwei-Ling Greeney said the lights at elementary schools should be turned off at night and the temperature turned way down. In my house, I keep the heat at 62 (degrees). I'm not ashamed of that. I'm proud of that, she said.

Select Board candidate Douglas Slaughter said the town might have to reduce hours in some offices.

Select Board candidate Robert Kusner said the town police and University of Massachusetts police could do more to combine forces and save some money. I don't see (schools) as a place to cut, he said.

All three candidates for the two seats on the Select Board said they would proceed with caution in endorsing the town's plan to improve the soccer fields on Potwine Lane. The $700,000 project, which has earned the approval of several town boards and has been years in the making, promises to be a high-profile issue at Town Meeting, which begins April 27.

Library trustee candidates Anita Page, Christopher J. Hoffmann and Patricia G. Holland are running for two positions on the Jones Library board of trustees.

They agreed they would like to see hours restored at the two branch libraries in North and South Amherst and more outreach to bring in people who don't use the libraries now. Page said library trustees should be thinking about how to balance money spent on software with money spent on books.

Daily Hampshire Gazette, Saturday March 26, 2005

Letter to the Editor

Amherst's Alisa Brewer for School Committee

To the editor:

I'm writing to encourage people to vote for Alisa Brewer for the Amherst School Committee on March 29. I firmly believe she is the best candidate and perhaps the only one of the two running who could do an effective job.

As a sitting member of School Committee, a leading voice of the Amherst Parents' Coalition and a current Town Meeting member, she has shown her commitment and dedication to our schools, our families and our town.

Alisa Brewer is honest, hardworking and clear. She has a proven track record of working well with others, and she is an asset to both the School Committee and the community as a whole.

Alisa Brewer has proven that she can work effectively with folks on all sides of an issue. What we really need is someone who can get the job done. Alisa Brewer is that person. Please join me in reelecting her.

Carol Sharick

Amherst

The Republican, Monday, March 21, 2005

Candidates in Amherst share issues By HOLLY ANGELO hangelo@repub.com

AMHERST - While the two men challenging School Committee incumbent Alisa V. Brewer have their own educational platforms and want to play a role in improving the town's schools, both admit the charter initiative is a driving force behind their decision to run for office this year.

Larry J. Kelley, a former Town Meeting member, supports the proposed charter change. Frank M. Gatti and Brewer, both current Town Meeting members, do not. The charter calls for replacing the 240-member representative Town Meeting and a five-member Select Board with a mayor and nine-member town council. The town manager position stays. The mayor would become a non-voting member of the School Committee.

I'm a big supporter of the charter, so I wanted to have one candidate that was pro-charter, Kelley said. Amherst is just too big a town for a part-time body that essentially meets twice a year.

But Kelley, who is known for speaking his mind about town and school happenings, said he is also running for the three-year seat because he has a 3½-year-old daughter, Kira, at Crocker Farm Elementary School. He also said he can bring fiscal responsibility to the board, and he wants to address what he said are pretty pathetic offerings in physical education, art and music.

The schools are great, but I'm not going to be a blank-check person, Kelley said. I bring fiscal responsibility.

Gatti and Brewer both say the charter would diminish the School Committee's role for several reasons. Brewer and Gatti said they believe the mayor would set the tone for the committee. Kelley said he doesn't believe that would happen.

I feel strongly about Town Meeting, Gatti said. It's one of the few places where ordinary citizens can be heard.

Brewer said fewer people would have a connection with the town under a town council and mayoral form of government.

Without Town Meeting, I feel it's more difficult for people to access their local government, Brewer said. The more people who know how things work in town, the better off we are.

With that said, Brewer said she needs three more years on the committee to continue the work she began when she was elected unopposed in 2002, especially promoting community participation in education.

I want more time to learn more, contribute more and support the new superintendent, Brewer said. I think the experience I've had is valuable.

Diversity is a big issue for Brewer. She wants to focus on relationships between families and school during early childhood, find out why minority students aren't testing as well, find out why minority students are being reported more for disciplinary problems and hire more minority teachers.

She also wants to focus on offering teachers more professional development; reducing class sizes, especially at the high school; and addressing long-term space needs in the schools, as well as physical plant improvements.

Gatti said becoming a member of the committee would be a natural extension of his work as a child psychiatrist.

Schools are the second most important thing to happen to kids, next to family, Gatti said.

Gatti said the Amherst schools are amazing, but the schools need to listen to the needs of parents and students more. He also wants to look at the idea of clustering, or teams, at the high school to help reduce students getting lost in such a large student population; cutting class sizes; needed renovations at the elementary schools; supporting a dual language program at the elementary schools; cutting out soft drink and junk food vending machines in schools; and addressing the increasing use of fees to deal with budget cuts.

I see myself more as an advocate and being where children and parents are, Gatti said.

Both Brewer and Gatti are actively campaigning by using lawn signs. Brewer is mailing out information about her candidacy. Gatti has a Web site and is going door to door. Kelley is the only one not spending money on a campaign.

People know me pretty well. They either like me or they don't like me. I could spend a ton of money and the people who don't like me still won't vote for me, Kelley said.

Daily Hampshire Gazette, Friday March 18, 2005 (also the Amherst Bulletin front page, March 18 edition)

Three pursue Amherst School Committee seat

By RACHAEL HANLEY Staff Writer

AMHERST - Three candidates are seeking a single, three-year seat on the School Committee on election day this year. Profiles of the three candidates follow.

Alisa Brewer

The election for the School Committee should not be about the charter, said incumbent candidate Alisa Brewer.

Planning for the long term and creating a base of support for the administration are higher priorities, she said.

I'm convinced that this race is about people's views on the charter, rather than their views on the School Committee, she said.

Brewer has served on the committee for one term. She has two children in fifth and first grades. She always expected to run for a second term.

Brewer said she works well with the other members of the committee and believes it is important to continue to support the new superintendent.

We are actually quite united in our support of Jere (Hochman), she said. I think that sense of continuity is important for support of the system, rather than having to start over again from scratch.

A unified School Committee will be able to provide a base of support if there is any fallout from the town charter vote, she said.

Things have gotten so ugly over the past few years that I think the School Committee's better off to stay with the same composition we've had, the people we've worked with, at least until that's all resolved, said Brewer.

Although Brewer is in favor of keeping Town Meeting as the form of government in Amherst, she said she has been able to work successfully on other committees with people from both sides of the debate.

Rather than focusing on the charter, Brewer said, School Committee candidates should concentrate on the schools and potential problems in next year's budget.

People who criticize the budget from the outside don't often realize how complicated it is, she said. It's much easier to stand outside the budget and say 'I don't see what Ms. Smith does that's so essential.' Except if Ms. Smith isn't there to write the reports, the state stops sending us money.

Long-range planning is a priority, she said, as the schools try to figure out what will happen 10 years from now.

In future, Brewer would like to make the system more transparent so families can participate in decisions about the schools more easily.

Her priorities are to get more people of color working in the schools and to see significant improvements in the achievement gap between kids of different ethnic backgrounds.

I want to continue to be proud of our schools, she said. I don't want to say, I did my bit, I can just go home.

Frank Gatti

As a child psychologist, Frank Gatti believes he understands children and their needs. For that reason, he is running for a position on the School Committee.

I think I have this special perspective of working clinically with children all these years, he said. I'm certainly knowledgeable about kids' emotional needs and learning needs.

A member of the Council on Youth, the Human Rights Commission and the Town Meeting Research Committee, Gatti said he also understands how the needs of children and those of Amherst intersect.

I see the role of the School Committee to advocate for schools and kids, he said. The School Committee has to really promote, advocate, go to the people, try to insist that our schools have to be left intact.

While he doesn't think that there are immediate changes the School Committee needs to make, Gatti said three specific issues concern him.

The ECHO bus program in science should not have been removed from the budget two years ago, he said, because of the importance of promoting science in schools.

For dietary reasons, he believes there should not be snack vending machines in schools. And he also supports a pilot program where elementary school classes would be taught in two languages, either Spanish and English, or Chinese and English. The program is currently in the planning stages.

Gatti has been a resident of Amherst since 1991. He has five children and two stepchildren, all adults.

He said he became interested in the School Committee this year when the town charter question reignited and he began to look at the Amherst form of government.

The town meeting format is better for schools, said Gatti, who was wearing an anti-charter pin on his shirt.

I love Town Meeting, he said. It's so nice to be in a place where people themselves can participate in their town government directly. It's beyond me why we would want a charter.

As a longtime opponent of the charter, Gatti said he would have a difficult time working for the School Committee if Amherst changed to a city government structure, but said he would eventually adapt.

The role of the School Committee, he said, is to reflect on larger issues and help the superintendent do his job better.

All of this centers around the fact that I work around kids, he said.

Larry Kelley

Larry Kelley will say there are two reasons he is running for a position on the School Committee: for the sake his 3-year-old daughter and to represent the pro-charter position.

But the local businessman said he is also running because he believes that he can help reform School Committee budgets in the future.

At his desk at the Amherst Health Club, surrounded by weights and his daughter's toys, Kelley flipped through his copy of the proposed Amherst school budget, noting with dismay the increase of almost 8 percent.

The budget is just mind-boggling and that's not meant as a criticism. That means I have respect for the school board because they have to look at this with a fine-tooth comb, he said.

With already high property taxes in Amherst, Kelley said, such a large spending increase would put too much pressure on the middle class and small businessmen like himself. Noting that most of the current budget is dedicated to salaries, he said he would like to cut managerial positions and use the savings to hire more entry-level teachers.

I would like to reduce the cost of education without sacrificing the quality, he said. How you do that, I don't know. You question a lot of things.

For example, Kelley questions the education system's priorities, where he said teacher-student ratios for art, music and physical education are too high. At the same time, he said, schools don't give students enough time to exercise.

Kelley acknowledged that he advocates spending more on physical education at the same time as he is calling for overall spending cuts, but said it is simply a matter of shifting priorities.

I'm not saying 'Let's have this Rolls Royce of a physical education program,' but let's have something at least equitable with what the standards now are for people to exercise, he said.

Reducing costs is not a dirty theme, as far as I'm concerned, because what you do with that reduced cost is that you free up some money that you can put into other things.

In addition to being a parent and attending committee meetings, Kelley said he has always reviewed Amherst budgets to figure out their impact on the town. An outspoken local businessman, Kelley said he had earned a reputation as a watchdog.

People know who I am, they know where I'm coming from, he said. People that like me and don't like me equally would say, well, at least Larry is a straight shooter. I remain true to myself.

Rachael Hanley can be reached at rhanley@gazettenet.com.

Daily Hampshire Gazette, Thursday March 10, 2005 (also Bulletin March 11)

School panelists differ on charter

By NICK GRABBE Staff Writer

AMHERST - Although he doesn't agree with Alisa Brewer's position on the proposed charter, Andrew Churchill thinks she should continue to hold a position on the School Committee.

At a forum held this week at which the two School Committee members presented the pros and cons of the change, Churchill put on a campaign button endorsing Brewer's re-election during his opening statement, and said she would make an excellent mayor.

Voters will decide March 29 whether to accept or reject the proposal, which would replace the Select Board and Town Meeting with a mayor and nine-member council.

Brewer, speaking against the charter, said it would be awkward for the School Committee to have the mayor attend meetings as a nonvoting member. It would be difficult to have some discussions on school policy while members knew the mayor held power over the budget, she said.

Nothing is wrong with what we have, Brewer said. We don't have any reason to give it up.

Churchill said the mayor's presence would not represent a threat to him. Any mayor elected in Amherst would support education, and it would be useful to have a person coordinating the budget who has a perspective on what the schools need, he said.

The schools are good here because we want them to be, Churchill said. It's a town value, not a Town Meeting value. No matter what form of government we have, it will continue to be a town value.

Town Meeting may not be a common form of government, but Amherst doesn't share the social values of the majority of towns, Brewer said. Town Meeting provides an example to children about how individual citizens can make a difference, she said.

Churchill said finding the money to pay for government is becoming harder, and Amherst needs to do better planning to support the schools.

There's a lot of hard work to do, and people can't do it in their spare time, he said.

Brewer also said that the charter would cost the town $122,000 annually for salaries for the mayor and councilors. Bryan Harvey, who chaired the Charter Commission, provided a different view on Churchill's behalf.

He said the charter might save the town money. Town Meeting costs a lot in mailings and staff time, and the slowness of the current system causes Amherst to lose out on grants and favorable borrowing rates, Harvey said.

Brewer and Churchill addressed about 20 people at Mark's Meadow School Monday. Future forums on the charter will take place at Crocker Farm School on Wednesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m.; at Fort River School on March 17, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.; and at Wildwood School on March 23, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.