The Nothing

The Nothing was the monster in the fantasy novel The Neverending Story. It represented the total lack of imagination that was destroying the land of Fantasia. I couldn't help thinking of this when I read the "Meet the Candidates" piece on Pat Goodman in Friday's Easton Journal. Now everyone knows Pat as a right wing ideologue from his ECAT appearances so it was surprising when he suggested he had "no inner compass or guide." He'd be guided, he said,  by "common sense which there seems to be none of on the current board." He decided to run because the present board "has done nothing." However, despite doing nothing all their decisions have been "poor." Pat helpfully listed all the organizations he has served on over the years, but the article somehow failed to mention his service on the Finance Committee, when it was "the Just Say No to Everything" Board.

Now Pat is technically right when he says the Selectmen have done "nothing." The term Selectmen comes from the fact that Town Meeting once upon a time selected some of its members to execute its decisions when not in session. The Selectmen can recommend policies, but only the Town Meeting, open to all the citizens of Easton, can decide whether they should be carried out. What Pat is telling you is that we, the people of Easton, did nothing over the last few years during which we saved the historic Ames Shovel Works, approved long overdue sewage treatment for North Easton Village, created a brand new recreational facility, improved our planning department, and added many other solid projects in the midst of the Great Recession while retaining strong public safety and education programs. We've done pretty well for ourselves, but Pat thinks we have done nothing. And if we had followed Pat's recommendations that's exactly what we would have today-nothing. For those of us who can imagine Easton continuing to thrive as a vibrant community, the past few years have been challenging, but with the recommendations of the Selectmen and other town boards, and the wisdom of Town Meeting we have succeeded while other towns have failed. We didn't do "nothing."

Please watch the Selectmen's candidate debate live tonight on ECAT  at 7 pm or pick it up on the Patch tomorrow.

Disclosure: I have a Colleen Corona sign on my lawn, and I am also supporting Dan Murphy. I hope that our newest candidate continues to seek public office as he learns more about the town. None of them have insulted our intelligence by suggesting we have done nothing over the last few years.