We asked our visitors to tell us why they did not attend Town or School Meetings. We received 9 replies so far. Please keep sending us your firsthand stories of voter intimidation. These stories speak to why we need to have a private ballot, accessible to all.
1. Bow Citizen Coalition thanks for caring. I am very concerned about how much my taxes have risen over the last 10 years. I work second shift and when the school meeting starts I am half way through my shift. People say that town meeting is the purest form of democracy but I disagree. Because of work I can’t go to the meeting and can’t vote. I pay my taxes but I can’t vote, that is taxation without representation and is un-American. Thanks Sarah
2. I am a recent widow and am just learning to use a computer. I can no longer walk without a walker and it is very difficult for me to get around. Because of my disability I vote by absentee ballot for president. The school takes up 71% of my property taxes and I can’t vote on anything because of my immobility and that just plain is wrong. Why can’t I vote by absentee ballot? Don’t tell me that I don’t know what I am voting for because I know. This took me 20 minutes to type so please put it up on your wonderful website. Mrs. RS
3. I Hate going to the meetings. Every time I vote people are looking around to see how I voted. The last meeting I went to, the school moderator gave this wonderful speech at the beginning of the meeting asking others to respect everyone who wishes to speak by not booing or clapping. As soon as the meeting started a woman gave an emotional speech supporting a spending warrant when she was done there was a round of applause. The moderator did absolutely nothing to stop the applause. The next person to speak was against the spending warrant and I think he had an amendment to lower the warrant. He was booed and heckled throughout his speech. The moderator did nothing to stop this rudeness. I was so frustrated I got up and left and didn’t even vote. Anonymous PS nice website, does this mean someone might do something about our taxes?
4. Thank-you for posting the myth folder and that excellent article on school enrollment. The flier in the myth folder brought bad memories about school meetings and the huge push to build a school. A school most people knew we didn’t need but a minority really really wanted.
I know a lot of people have short memories but I remember this school meeting like it was yesterday. A large group of people went to this meeting to vote for or against the school. After the vote was announced that the new school had failed there was a lot of groaning in the audience the voters who won the vote were good winners. I went home after the vote thinking I was on the winning side. When I woke up the next day and read in the paper that small group of people decided to disenfranchise my vote I was besides my self. Luckily their attempt to steal votes from the the citizens of Bow eventually failed but the fact that they were able to to this makes me dislike the town meeting very much. We can do much better. We should get rid of the town meeting where people’s votes are taken away. I know they can’t take a ballot vote away from us.
PS Keep up the good work on the website.
5. It’s good to know other citizens have had enough of the tax and spend that’s been going on in town. Having been part of the Bow Taxpayers for Responsible Spending group formed about five years ago to fight the school district on building an unneeded, unnecessary K-2 school, it’s high time we took our town back. Unfortunately, that is much simpler said than done. One of the biggest reasons that I know of and can personally attest to as to why people do not attend the annual town and school district meetings are that no one wants to be targeted as the one who stands up and actually says “No” when things come to a vote. You have the fear of retaliation, whether it be directly to yourself or perhaps to your children in the community…it’s very sad when you can’t speak your mind without being criticized and/or ostracized.
Some people cannot afford the bells and whistles that we already have here, let alone more – adding up to yet another tax increase. I find myself wondering why our school district budget sits at approximately $25 million, while the City of Concord’s is approximately $60 million. Are we really about a third their size? It would be nice to see our school board (you know, those people we voted in to watch out for our interests) hold spending to zero percent, or, at least as minimal an increase as possible. There are things in any budget, town or school, that are discretionary. Those are the WANTS. In as precarious an economic time as we are in right now, we should be putting any and all “wants” on the back burner, and turning our attention and dollars specifically toward the NEEDS.
In case someone has been under a rock, our economy has gone soft. Home prices have dropped dramatically, so even if I wanted to leave, I would take a bath on my property. People have been laid off. The mortgage industry itself is in crisis. The war drags on overseas, and our governor has not only spread the word to be cautious, he’s called for a total spending freeze within state government. Raising taxes in the midst of all of this is not only disturbing, it makes me wonder who I elected. I feel like I might have hired to fox to watch the hen house. Let’s bring responsible spending back to Bow.
6. Town Meeting is much more enjoyable to go to than that the School Meeting for a couple of reasons: First is the weather in March is horrible and you don’t know what to expect weather wise. I would be more likely to go to the meeting if you changed the date to April or May when there is more light and better driving conditions. The next reason is the moderator the town moderator is fair patient and doesn’t seem to have much bias in his decisions. The school moderator is just the opposite he seems very biased in almost every decision that he makes. It seems like you start off with two strikes against you if you don’t agree with the school board. I would be more likely to attend the school meeting if I knew everyone would get a fair shake at school meeting. If you look at the attendance of the school meeting I think a lot of people would agree with me.
7. I agree with commenter #3. My vote is my business and no one needs to how I voted. I think the major turn off about the meetings is the intimidation factor. Also when there is a voice vote I felt like on several occasions the moderator called the results of the vote wrong. I remember at one meeting a voter asked for a secret ballot but I don’t know the rules. That is another thing; town meeting is too confusing, all the rules is a major turn off. I am more likely to go to a meeting if I can vote by secret ballot. What are the rules to get a ballot vote? See the Q and A section for the answer.
8. I do not attend school district meeting since I work Friday nights. Also my husband cannot go and bring 2 young children. I have to wonder why this meeting is on a Friday night to start with since many people do not like to go out on Friday nights except to relax. The same goes for town meeting. I am fine with town meetings for town government. However meeting at 7pm-11pm at night in the middle of the week and having to bring again young children makes it difficult for us to attend. Why can’t both of these meetings be on Saturdays in the spring i.e MAY. Also why haven’t the girl scouts or some other group been brought in to help with watching young children using the see through small gym so parents can peek in on their kids in full view.
9. Thank-you very much for having this website. This website, e-mails, and the flyer you put out, were motivating factors for me and my husband to come out to the school meeting. A gentleman from Tilton once stated how everyone is considered equal by NH state law when the town meeting starts. Well that certainly didn’t happen last night. The school moderator is a dictator, he couldn’t even follow the rules published in the Bow town report. When there was a voice vote he declared the side with less voters the victor, he wouldn’t even allow a standing vote because he knew he would be proven wrong by a large margin.
I would write a letter to the editor but it too afraid of retribution. Mr. Mosher mentioned he had kids in the Bow school system, please let the people of Bow know if Mr. Mosher or his children are subjected to any retribution. Such unconscionable acts will outrage the community.
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on Tuesday, February 24th, 2009 at 11:58 pm and is filed under Your Comments.
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Your Responses to Our Questions
We asked our visitors to tell us why they did not attend Town or School Meetings. We received 9 replies so far. Please keep sending us your firsthand stories of voter intimidation. These stories speak to why we need to have a private ballot, accessible to all.
1. Bow Citizen Coalition thanks for caring. I am very concerned about how much my taxes have risen over the last 10 years. I work second shift and when the school meeting starts I am half way through my shift. People say that town meeting is the purest form of democracy but I disagree. Because of work I can’t go to the meeting and can’t vote. I pay my taxes but I can’t vote, that is taxation without representation and is un-American. Thanks Sarah
2. I am a recent widow and am just learning to use a computer. I can no longer walk without a walker and it is very difficult for me to get around. Because of my disability I vote by absentee ballot for president. The school takes up 71% of my property taxes and I can’t vote on anything because of my immobility and that just plain is wrong. Why can’t I vote by absentee ballot? Don’t tell me that I don’t know what I am voting for because I know. This took me 20 minutes to type so please put it up on your wonderful website. Mrs. RS
3. I Hate going to the meetings. Every time I vote people are looking around to see how I voted. The last meeting I went to, the school moderator gave this wonderful speech at the beginning of the meeting asking others to respect everyone who wishes to speak by not booing or clapping. As soon as the meeting started a woman gave an emotional speech supporting a spending warrant when she was done there was a round of applause. The moderator did absolutely nothing to stop the applause. The next person to speak was against the spending warrant and I think he had an amendment to lower the warrant. He was booed and heckled throughout his speech. The moderator did nothing to stop this rudeness. I was so frustrated I got up and left and didn’t even vote. Anonymous PS nice website, does this mean someone might do something about our taxes?
4. Thank-you for posting the myth folder and that excellent article on school enrollment. The flier in the myth folder brought bad memories about school meetings and the huge push to build a school. A school most people knew we didn’t need but a minority really really wanted.
I know a lot of people have short memories but I remember this school meeting like it was yesterday. A large group of people went to this meeting to vote for or against the school. After the vote was announced that the new school had failed there was a lot of groaning in the audience the voters who won the vote were good winners. I went home after the vote thinking I was on the winning side. When I woke up the next day and read in the paper that small group of people decided to disenfranchise my vote I was besides my self. Luckily their attempt to steal votes from the the citizens of Bow eventually failed but the fact that they were able to to this makes me dislike the town meeting very much. We can do much better. We should get rid of the town meeting where people’s votes are taken away. I know they can’t take a ballot vote away from us.
PS Keep up the good work on the website.
5. It’s good to know other citizens have had enough of the tax and spend that’s been going on in town. Having been part of the Bow Taxpayers for Responsible Spending group formed about five years ago to fight the school district on building an unneeded, unnecessary K-2 school, it’s high time we took our town back. Unfortunately, that is much simpler said than done. One of the biggest reasons that I know of and can personally attest to as to why people do not attend the annual town and school district meetings are that no one wants to be targeted as the one who stands up and actually says “No” when things come to a vote. You have the fear of retaliation, whether it be directly to yourself or perhaps to your children in the community…it’s very sad when you can’t speak your mind without being criticized and/or ostracized.
Some people cannot afford the bells and whistles that we already have here, let alone more – adding up to yet another tax increase. I find myself wondering why our school district budget sits at approximately $25 million, while the City of Concord’s is approximately $60 million. Are we really about a third their size? It would be nice to see our school board (you know, those people we voted in to watch out for our interests) hold spending to zero percent, or, at least as minimal an increase as possible. There are things in any budget, town or school, that are discretionary. Those are the WANTS. In as precarious an economic time as we are in right now, we should be putting any and all “wants” on the back burner, and turning our attention and dollars specifically toward the NEEDS.
In case someone has been under a rock, our economy has gone soft. Home prices have dropped dramatically, so even if I wanted to leave, I would take a bath on my property. People have been laid off. The mortgage industry itself is in crisis. The war drags on overseas, and our governor has not only spread the word to be cautious, he’s called for a total spending freeze within state government. Raising taxes in the midst of all of this is not only disturbing, it makes me wonder who I elected. I feel like I might have hired to fox to watch the hen house. Let’s bring responsible spending back to Bow.
6. Town Meeting is much more enjoyable to go to than that the School Meeting for a couple of reasons: First is the weather in March is horrible and you don’t know what to expect weather wise. I would be more likely to go to the meeting if you changed the date to April or May when there is more light and better driving conditions. The next reason is the moderator the town moderator is fair patient and doesn’t seem to have much bias in his decisions. The school moderator is just the opposite he seems very biased in almost every decision that he makes. It seems like you start off with two strikes against you if you don’t agree with the school board. I would be more likely to attend the school meeting if I knew everyone would get a fair shake at school meeting. If you look at the attendance of the school meeting I think a lot of people would agree with me.
7. I agree with commenter #3. My vote is my business and no one needs to how I voted. I think the major turn off about the meetings is the intimidation factor. Also when there is a voice vote I felt like on several occasions the moderator called the results of the vote wrong. I remember at one meeting a voter asked for a secret ballot but I don’t know the rules. That is another thing; town meeting is too confusing, all the rules is a major turn off. I am more likely to go to a meeting if I can vote by secret ballot. What are the rules to get a ballot vote? See the Q and A section for the answer.
8. I do not attend school district meeting since I work Friday nights. Also my husband cannot go and bring 2 young children. I have to wonder why this meeting is on a Friday night to start with since many people do not like to go out on Friday nights except to relax. The same goes for town meeting. I am fine with town meetings for town government. However meeting at 7pm-11pm at night in the middle of the week and having to bring again young children makes it difficult for us to attend. Why can’t both of these meetings be on Saturdays in the spring i.e MAY. Also why haven’t the girl scouts or some other group been brought in to help with watching young children using the see through small gym so parents can peek in on their kids in full view.
9. Thank-you very much for having this website. This website, e-mails, and the flyer you put out, were motivating factors for me and my husband to come out to the school meeting. A gentleman from Tilton once stated how everyone is considered equal by NH state law when the town meeting starts. Well that certainly didn’t happen last night. The school moderator is a dictator, he couldn’t even follow the rules published in the Bow town report. When there was a voice vote he declared the side with less voters the victor, he wouldn’t even allow a standing vote because he knew he would be proven wrong by a large margin.
I would write a letter to the editor but it too afraid of retribution. Mr. Mosher mentioned he had kids in the Bow school system, please let the people of Bow know if Mr. Mosher or his children are subjected to any retribution. Such unconscionable acts will outrage the community.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 24th, 2009 at 11:58 pm and is filed under Your Comments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.