Welcome to this special pre-Town Meeting edition of the Press, our periodic contribution to the volunteer-driven, direct democracy that powers this multifaceted town. This fall’s double-header—a second session of Annual Town Meeting followed by a Special Town Meeting—will deal with issues that affect just about everybody in this community. We’re sending a copy to every household in Harvard and Devens, hoping it will spark interest in what’s at stake and encourage more of Harvard’s registered voters to head for Cronin Auditorium at noon on Saturday, Sept. 27.
Our coverage includes a thorough analysis of consequential articles on the two warrants, including a form-based zoning bylaw and plan to purchase land for a new athletic field, plus a guide to the meeting itself and the “Glossary of Municipal Lingo.” For those in a hurry—which is most of us—we offer our signature “Warrant in Plain English,” a distillation of the facts you need to know before you vote on each of the three Annual Town Meeting and five Special Town Meeting warrant articles that attendees will be asked to approve.
As we’ve written before, the Press does its best to provide the information you need as a citizen to make informed decisions. What we can’t provide is the give-and-take of a live Town Meeting, the passionately argued pros and cons, the friendly and unfriendly amendments, the probing questions of your neighbors, and the reasoned (or spun) answers of town officials—the sounds, in short, of a direct democracy at work. For that, your presence is required.
Town Meeting is Harvard’s legislature and every participant a legislator. Those who show up are the deciders, the de facto but unelected representatives of those who don’t—or can’t.
Our self-government is a hard-fought gift of our forebears. See you Sept. 27
