40B and election blunders

I like the "Dummies" books. They're well written and are a good introduction to whatever the subject may be. Sometimes I wish there was a "Dummies" book - like this spoof to the right - on how to run for selectman. I've never run for office before, and my willingness to be up front and open about the issues that concern the people of Falmouth has apparently raised a few eyebrows.

Take, for example, my recent Falmouth Enterprise ad which asked, "Tired of 40B?" I posed that question because this is one of the big issues that the people of Falmouth are concerned about. Moreover, it's not necessarily opposition to 40B; it's opposition to development that bypasses local control and alters the character of our community. As one woman mentioned to me, we're turning Falmouth into a city.

Some of the candidates have already had opportunities to take meaningful steps to fix this, but haven't. Even now, I seem to be among the few - if not the only one - making concrete suggestions that will help us get control of 40B and its root cause, the lack of affordable housing. I've previously detailed those ideas here.

Still, some folks think I'm either entirely opposed to 40B or insincere about getting control of it. It is, as I've come to learn, a side-effect of running for office. Sometimes people take something out of context or blow it all out of proportion.

I've had a few people tell me that if I want to be elected, I need to "play the game" and say as little as possible. The idea is to avoid having things taken out of context, upsetting people, and losing votes. It's a typical political strategy, but it's not mine. If I were writing the "Selectmen for Dummies" book, you can bet that there would not be a chapter about keeping silent.

Some folks would consider this an election blunder, but if the people don't know where you stand, how can you expect them to vote for you?

By the way, the Cape Cod Times had an excellent editorial recently about affordable housing entitled, "Under one roof."

We CAN do better!