Opinion: How’s Your Amherst Doing?

How’s your Amherst doing? Mine is having problems. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a wonderful place to live. I’ve been here for 39 years, and I have no intention of leaving. This is where I completed my education, where I established my career, where I raised my children, and where I intend to live the rest of my life. I have lived and worked all around the country and all around the world, and there is nowhere else I would rather live.

BUT… there’s a lot to be worried about. Maybe the most visible aspect of the town’s failure to adequately fund municipal services is the condition of our streets. We’ve all seen that driving down certain streets would be safer in a military grade all terrain vehicle. What we don’t see is the condition of our water and sewer systems. If the roads are this bad, water and sewer can’t be much better. The Department of Public Works just can’t keep up.

Then there’s the other type of water problem in some of our public buildings, by which I mean leaky roofs. A friend recently told me that her child was asking what all the brown spots in the middle school ceilings come from. The DPW building is practically uninhabitable.

Speaking of schools, ours, which used to be among the best in the state, are less and less excellent every year.

Our taxes are among the highest in the state, and are the highest by far when taken as a percentage of per capita income. What do we get for all that money? I wouldn’t call it a good deal.

None of this should be taken as a criticism of the town’s employees. The people the town hires to keep the town functioning and providing services are dedicated civil servants, especially operating as they do under such severe financial stress.

There are plenty of reasons for the town’s problems. Many, perhaps most of them, are factors beyond the control of the town. For instance, the rising cost of health insurance for the town employees is something we can’t do anything about. Still, we have to ask whether our elected representatives are doing a good job of running our town government, whether our town government is well structured to serve us.

Six years ago we adopted a new town charter which created our town council form of government. A number of people who were frustrated with town meeting had formed an organization called Amherst for All, since renamed Amherst Forward. They ran an effective campaign in favor of the new charter and have a slate of candidates they favored elected to a majority on the council, which they have maintained up to now. Amherst Forward calls itself a political action committee and is organized as such, but it can best be described as a political machine with an authoritarian bent. With its majority on the town council it controls every aspect of the town government. The charter that they put in place gives the majority on the council extraordinary powers and the town manager even more. They appoint committees at will, including the Charter Review Committee, and are free to ignore any committee’s recommendations.

Amherst Forward has been in charge for six years, and our town is suffering. When Cathy Schoen decided not to run again I put my name forward for the office of town councilor for district one, hoping that along with other progressive councilors we might be able to steer the town government in a more inclusive, transparent, and fiscally responsible direction. Now Cathy, who I strongly support as an independent minded councilor not beholden to Amherst Forward, has decided to run again. Therefore I have dropped out. I believe that my candidacy would most likely result in the election of a candidate who seems to be in the pocket of Amherst Forward. For district one I strongly support Cathy Schoen and Jill Brevik. It’s time to hold Amherst Forward to account for the state of our Amherst. In the November election I urge you to find out which candidates Amherst Forward endorses, and vote for someone else.

Lou Conover is a resident of Amherst’s District 1