I’m reminded of a political satire (The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and Her Dog) after watching Selectmen Moffet’s address of Town Meeting, where she denounced her fellow Selectmen and their September 16th decision to operate the town’s wind turbines 16 hours a day.
“Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard,
To give constituency a bone;
When she came there,
The cupboard was bare,
And so the “Friends” had none.”
I had thought that a single town board member’s opinion is suppose to give way to the cohesive power of unity affirmed by a board decision.
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After all, didn’t Selectman Jones state at the September 16 selectmen’s meeting, that despite the split vote (3 to 2) implementing the modified operating protocol, the board would act as though the vote had been 5 to 0? This tradition of solidarity, as applied to the Board of Selectmen, had always been the custom to which the board had operated, said Selectman Mary Pat Flynn during that same meeting.
Ms. Moffet somehow believes the enemy is now the other board members and their want for a balanced approach to this wind turbine debacle. The truer enemy on public display unfortunately, may very well have been Moffet’s indifference to, and desertion of the board’s trust.
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I can’t help but equate this betrayal to the ‘break of ranks’ exercised by Energy Chairman Megan Amsler when she used her committee chair position to campaign against the BoS’s wind turbine policy.
Solidarity on a board, committee or commission, is expected to be the mutual agreement and support of policy decisions shared by all members. If Ms. Moffet doesn’t want to “Play on the Team” she is obliged pack-up her blather and go home.
The looming question... will the “code of conduct” for town representatives (many of which are found in the newly drafted “Committee Handbook -http://www.falmouthmass.us/selectmen/committee%20handbook%20-%20draft%209-30-13.pdf) be applied to Selectmen Moffet?
Citizens of Falmouth can’t help but sense the irony if her colleagues coalesce and take no action.
