Elect Real Neighborhood Activists

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Citizens for Limited Taxation

Elect real neighborhood activists Friday, April 11, 2003

Rob Haneisen Metrowest Daily News

This may come as a surprise to some, but I wish there were more neighborhood activists in town.
I know I've written columns slamming some activists for being nothing more than curmudgeons wrapped in a gauze of community awareness. I've berated those who work for their backyards and let what is best for the rest of the town take a backseat. Well, maybe these were just the bad neighborhood activists or maybe the hope should be that neighborhood activists grow up to be community activists.
Regardless, I believe that if Framingham is to stay a town with a Town Meeting form of government, it needs more neighborhood activists. And these activists should come from all parts of town, not just those with large developments planned.
The Village at Danforth Farms, similar to the failed Archstone project brought new people into the fold by lighting a fire under their feet and their backyards. While the initial credibility of these activists is weak they can build themselves up by staying involved afterward. Take Ellen LaRose, for example. LaRose was part of the anti-Archstone crowd in Nobscot but now she is a member of Town Meeting. Archstone is gone but she stuck around. Some of her neighbors did too.
FIMBY (Framingham is My Backyard) has been attempting for the past year to unite neighborhood activists under an umbrella of anti-everything. They also welcome fiscal conservatives. They began by fighting Archstone and the methadone clinic downtown. Recently they have been most active trying to get like-minded folks on key boards (Town Meeting, Board of Selectmen). FIMBY is a good idea with poor leadership. Its leaders are so biased it could never truly be a townwide advocacy group because it actively alienates at least half the people in town.
But that leaves the other half in town who nearly put Cesar Monzon in office based on a vaguely worded campaign of "Enough is Enough!" Cesar didn't have to explain what exactly his signs meant. He is politically savvy enough to know that people would vote for him based on the perception that he won't support an override. It almost worked and I'm sure FIMBY members and leaders are claiming another near victory (just like last year's override).
Back to neighborhood activists. They need to be good and have the support of at least their own neighborhood as a base before branching out on townwide issues. This is why Francis X. Reilly is becoming less and less relevant in town politics. Even his supporters will admit this.
Case in point. Reilly lost his third run for Town Meeting only to be saved again, this time by Ed Noonan instead of one of his daughters. Reilly finished fifth in his precinct but was allowed to keep his seat after the election because Noonan, another Precinct 7 member, won the moderators race and would have to give up his own seat. Last year, Reilly lost his seat again, this time to his daughter Kathleen only to regain it when Chris Ntasios resigned.
And the year before that, Reilly lost again only to regain the seat when his other daughter, Suzanne resigned.
The above facts say one thing loud and clear: Reilly can no longer call himself a neighborhood activists because he can't even properly gain support in his backyard. He is relegated to the realm of gadfly which should prove to be a comforting environment to his style of politics.
(Rob Haneisen is the editor of the Framingham Tab. He can be reached at 508-626-3882 or rhaneis@cnc.com.)

Elect real neighborhood activists	Friday, April 11, 2003
Rob Haneisen	Metrowest Daily News
This may come as a surprise to some, but I wish there were more neighborhood activists in town. I know I've written columns slamming some activists for being nothing more than curmudgeons wrapped in a gauze of community awareness. I've berated those who work for their backyards and let what is best for the rest of the town take a backseat. Well, maybe these were just the bad neighborhood activists or maybe the hope should be that neighborhood activists grow up to be community activists. Regardless, I believe that if Framingham is to stay a town with a Town Meeting form of government, it needs more neighborhood activists. And these activists should come from all parts of town, not just those with large developments planned. The Village at Danforth Farms, similar to the failed Archstone project brought new people into the fold by lighting a fire under their feet and their backyards. While the initial credibility of these activists is weak they can build themselves up by staying involved afterward. Take Ellen LaRose, for example. LaRose was part of the anti-Archstone crowd in Nobscot but now she is a member of Town Meeting. Archstone is gone but she stuck around. Some of her neighbors did too. FIMBY (Framingham is My Backyard) has been attempting for the past year to unite neighborhood activists under an umbrella of anti-everything. They also welcome fiscal conservatives. They began by fighting Archstone and the methadone clinic downtown. Recently they have been most active trying to get like-minded folks on key boards (Town Meeting, Board of Selectmen). FIMBY is a good idea with poor leadership. Its leaders are so biased it could never truly be a townwide advocacy group because it actively alienates at least half the people in town. But that leaves the other half in town who nearly put Cesar Monzon in office based on a vaguely worded campaign of "Enough is Enough!" Cesar didn't have to explain what exactly his signs meant. He is politically savvy enough to know that people would vote for him based on the perception that he won't support an override. It almost worked and I'm sure FIMBY members and leaders are claiming another near victory (just like last year's override). Back to neighborhood activists. They need to be good and have the support of at least their own neighborhood as a base before branching out on townwide issues. This is why Francis X. Reilly is becoming less and less relevant in town politics. Even his supporters will admit this. Case in point. Reilly lost his third run for Town Meeting only to be saved again, this time by Ed Noonan instead of one of his daughters. Reilly finished fifth in his precinct but was allowed to keep his seat after the election because Noonan, another Precinct 7 member, won the moderators race and would have to give up his own seat. Last year, Reilly lost his seat again, this time to his daughter Kathleen only to regain it when Chris Ntasios resigned. And the year before that, Reilly lost again only to regain the seat when his other daughter, Suzanne resigned. The above facts say one thing loud and clear: Reilly can no longer call himself a neighborhood activists because he can't even properly gain support in his backyard. He is relegated to the realm of gadfly which should prove to be a comforting environment to his style of politics. (Rob Haneisen is the editor of the Framingham Tab. He can be reached at 508-626-3882 or rhaneis@cnc.com.)

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