Congratulations to the winners. It was a hard-fought battle, and the voters made the call, choosing Leo Blair and Stu Sklar as their selectmen and Jim Breslauer and Kara Minar for the Planning Board. Of course, it would have been better if the nearly 60 percent of registered voters who chose not to participate had voted. If voters continue staying home in such large numbers, how will our leaders know what the town wants or win the approval of Town Meeting for the difficult decisions that lie ahead?
This is an observation we made following town elections a year ago and poses a problem for both the Selectmen and the Planning Board. In addition to their executive duties in overseeing the temporary relocation of town government and the renovation of Town Hall, Selectmen must recommend how far to go in funding the town’s newly created OPEB trust fund and set a course for the future disposition of Harvard land at Devens. With the help of a recently approved professional planner, the Planning Board must finish updating the town’s Master Plan and decide how far to go in promoting development of the Ayer Road commercial district.
None of these tasks can be brought to a conclusion without the active involvement and concurrence of voters, a job that will tax the persuasive and consensus-building skills of both boards.
The election is over. It’s time to get back to work.
