Spin

If you've not already noticed, this blog hosts Falmouth-related news items from other sources. We don't chose these items, rather they are randomly selected by Google for us.

So, it was a bit of a surprise to see a press release by the Campaign to Improve Assisted Living/SEIU which stated that "Representatives of the Campaign to Improve Assisted Living and SEIU Healthcare joined Falmouth Town Meeting members who opposed the expansion."

I did?

In fact, town meeting never got to vote on the article specific to Atria (#5) which was effectively withdrawn because Article 4, which would have increased the density in Senior Care Retirement Districts, failed. More importantly, Article 4 failed only because it didn't get the necessary 2/3rd majority needed for zoning articles. In fact, a clear majority of town meeting members voted in favor of it, just not 2/3rd.

What the SEIU has done is to spin the truth, and frankly, if they want my support, this is not the way to go about it.

Even more appalling was the quote, “We know we need senior housing,” said Town Meeting member Peter Waasdorp. “But we need housing that our town residents can afford. With Atria charging up to $90,000 a year, their services are out of reach for all but the wealthiest members of our town. At the same time, Atria pay its workers wages that make it really hard to live in Falmouth. We voted this down because we need our zoning to match the needs of our town, not the needs of Atria.”

Mr. Waasdorp never asked me about how I voted and why, so I'd like to know...How can he presume to speak for me?


(Note that I did post how I voted, but that was after the SEIU press release was released.)