I am circulating a petition to get a positive question on the Brattleboro Town Meeting Warning for a March vote. In short, it provides a chance for Brattleboro to say we have our standards and values and we will live up to them regardless of what happens in Washington.
Please use the link below to download a copy of the petition, sign it (and maybe get a couple of signatures from folks in your household) and return in to the Brattleboro Town Clerk by Thursday, Jan. 19. Or you can stop in at Everyone’s Books on Elliot Street and sign the copy on their counter.
Thanks!
Here is a link:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/23472874/WarrantArticleShort.pdf
And I added the same as an attachment if that is easier.
full text
Here’s the text, too, for easy reading:
……
The undersigned registered voters of the Town of Brattleboro hereby petition the Selectboard to add the following article to the Town Meeting Warning to be acted upon by all the voters of the Town by Australian ballot on March 7, 2017. Shall the Town of Brattleboro adopt the following Advisory Resolution?
WHEREAS, On January 20, 2017, the 45th President of the United States took office; nevertheless be it
RESOLVED, That climate change is not a hoax, or a plot by the Chinese. In this town, on the shores of two merging rivers, science matters. And we will continue our work on CleanPower, Zero Waste, and everything else we are doing to protect future generations; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, That as the host to World Learning Inc., The Experiment in International Living and the School for International Training, we are a town made stronger by the hundreds of international visitors we welcome every year. We will remain committed to internationalism and to our friends and allies around the world — whether the administration in Washington is or not; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, That we believe in this nation’s founding principle of religious freedom. We do not ban people for their faith. And the only lists we keep are on invitations to come be together; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, That Black Lives Matter in Brattleboro, even if they may not in the White House. And guided by President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, we will continue to support our police department and strengthen trust between police and communities of color so all citizens feel safe in their neighborhoods; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, That we will never back down on women’s rights, whether in healthcare, the workplace, or any other area threatened by a man who treats women as obstacles to be demeaned or objects to be assaulted. And just as important, we will ensure our young girls grow up with role models who show them they can be or do anything; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, That there will be no conversion therapy, no withdrawal of rights in Brattleboro. To all the LGBTQ people in our area who feel scared, bullied, or alone: you matter. You are seen; you are loved; and Brattleboro will never stop fighting for you; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, That we will not be bullied by threats to revoke our federal funding, nor will we sacrifice our values or members of our community for federal dollars; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, That we condemn all hate crimes and hate speech perpetrated in this election’s wake. That although the United States now has a President who has demonstrated a lack of respect for the values we hold in the highest regard in Brattleboro, it cannot change who we are, and it will never change our values. We argue, we campaign, we debate vigorously within Brattleboro, but on these points we are 100 percent united. We will fight discrimination and recklessness in all its forms. We are one town and we will move forward together.
The muddy waters
I don’t know how many registered voters this advisory resolution really represents, but it certainly makes a lot of assumptions about “all the voters of the Town” on one hand, and the town as a whole, on the other.
It is an audacious and unsubstantiated claim that on these points of this advisory resolution that “we are 100 percent united.” Moreover, to claim that we, again as “one” town, will “fight recklessness in all its forms” is strange. Recklessness? In all its forms? I’d be curious to know what all those recklessness forms are.
This petition is addressed to the “45th President” but just about everything “resolved” has been going on through each administration. (ABCNews reported that Obama has “deported more people than any other president’s administration in history.”
Look, I know election 2016 has stirred up the muddy waters. And murky waters make it uncertain to know what’s running deep.
But this scattershot, haphazard collection of eight points is a good example of an exercise in futility. It is not 100 % representative of this fairly politically diverse town and it has no teeth.
I do hope the Selectboard on behalf of the Town of Brattleboro does not adopt this Advisory Resolution.