To The Editor:
I am writing in response to Mr. Dan Lynch of Moretown who skewered the
Moretown Town Clerk for not expediting a Vote at Home/Absentee Ballot
on the Saturday prior to the election. It is sad that you seek to
incite a coup against an individual who has decided to work in public
service for you and your fellow residents. She would not take time out
of her weekend to accommodate your last-minute request for an absentee
ballot.
It is truly sad you could not undertake your civic duty on Tuesday,
however that duty is your responsibility to guard. That must have been
frustrating, but you've got to talk to the man in the mirror about this
one. If you work in a job that can require you to be called away in
short order, then I imagine you plan for those circumstances (e.g.,
food for your pet/livestock, a child/house sitter, fuel oil/gas, cash).
How does the old saying go, "Does lack of planning on your part
constitute an emergency on my part?"
Retail business people and professionals everywhere live with this
agony every day at closing time. Invariably the poorly prepared patron
shows up at closing time expecting us to smile and hand over whatever
widget they decided (at 4:59 on a Sunday afternoon) they could not live
without. Harder still, a call to your home, after a long stressful
week, "Could you come down and open the shop, we forgot XYZ"? Sorry,
Mr. Lynch, someone's got to draw the line.
If I may recommend for the next election cycle, call the town office a
few weeks in advance, ask them to mail you a Vote at Home Ballot.
You'll love the convenience of perusing the candidates at your leisure
and then mail it back to your faithful clerk. You can even take the
ballot to the polling place to say hi to all your friends, including
the town clerk. By the way, I'm not a friend of the town clerk, but
anyone who serves the public full or part time has my respect and
deserves yours. Be kind to people; it really makes everyone's day
better. As they say, you'll catch more flies with honey than with
vinegar. Hope your guy won anyway.
Thomas McDonald
Waitsfield
P.S. Are you volunteering to run for town clerk in March?
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