This is the last weekend before the town election. I've been astonished watching the whole thing unfold. Two years ago, Alisa was one of the leaders of the pro-town meeting movement -- she wrote, or extensively edited, most of the copy on their website. (And I personally set up, registered the domain name, and hosted the website.) This time around, in spite of her continuing to support town meeting, the rabid leadership of the pro-town meeting forces decided she wasn't pro-town meeting enough. So they decided to put up a candidate against her who staked out his position based on opposing the charter. Many of the people whom Alisa had thought had appreciated her work, signed her opponent's fund-raising letter and signature ad, based purely on her unwillingness to demonize the charter's proponents. "Campaigning is brutal," one of them told her. Some of the people involved are ruthless enough that I'm not surprised, but others, I would never have expected to betray her like that.
It's been astonishing to me watch them try to drive her out of their camp. As people across town have learned about their perfidious actions, the issue has come around to galvanize people against town meeting and the thug politics of the pro-town meeting circle. It's got to be one of the stupidest political actions I've ever seen. As the town has become increasingly polarized, Alisa is one of the few people in town who has been able to cultivate broad support across both camps. The actions of the rabid leadership has not only united the pro-charter group behind Alisa, but has driven a wedge into their own group. This was solidified when, last night, the pro-charter candidate withdrew from the race and endorsed Alisa.
I suspect the charter is going to pass this time around. I wish I could still be sorry about it. I've always supported the idea of town meeting, but I have to admit that I can no-longer support the pro-town meeting fanatics. Their arrogance, pettiness, and short-sightedness have pushed me to the point where I can no-longer tell people to oppose the charter. Alisa remains committed to her principles and being able to work effectively with people across the political spectrum. She's a bigger person than I am.
It's been a revelation for me, over the course of the election, to come to see Alisa through the eyes of the people across the town who have worked with her. Alisa has the universal respect of everyone she comes into contact with. She knows everything, from the broad principles to the nitty-gritty details of every group she works for, from school committee to comprehensive planning to joint capital planning. A colleague, who saw her televised on the school committee, was deeply impressed that she, alone among the members, had taken the time to carefully check the documents and she had caught fundamental inconsistencies, such as when two parts of a budget claimed different figures for the same item. No-one who has worked with her has failed to be impressed by her dedication and committment.
Still, I'm looking forward to the election being over, whatever the outcome, so I can finally get to spend some time with my beautiful wife again. I can wait until then. You go get 'em, Alisa!
StevenBrewer