Thursday morning, 9-24-09, a citizen went into the town office to ask what would be on the local ballot along with the state referendum Nov. 3. The response was that there would be no questions at all on the ballot.
No questions at all, because everyone missed the deadline. Seems everyone ignored the 45-day rule.
Really. Really?
Or did someone drop...hide... the ball? For a referendum vote, information must be submitted and approved, and on track, hearings scheduled, t's crossed and i's dotted, 45 days before the date in question. In this case, that would have been September 19 for a November 3 referendum vote.
This scheduling and planning ahead and arranging of details falls under the job description of the registrar of voters, i.e., the town clerk, overseen by the town manager. Various well-informed individuals are also likely to be privy to that kind of scheduling information.
It is difficult to imagine that, in a town like Paris, key people involved in municipal government matters and items of critical interest to the voters would not have educated themselves on such deadlines and criteria. Although being privy to that information and doing something with it are two separate items....
Consider an individual, who not only sits on a special committee to rework sections of Paris' subdivision ordinance, and on the board of selectmen, but who has been party to privileged, exclusive conversations with Interim Manager Thorne and Town Atty. Hole. One finds it hard to believe this individual could be unaware of these deadlines and requirements.
So, there are inevitable questions.
How does it happen that, mysteriously, there is not even one of the following 3 items on any ballot for Paris voters to consider on the November 3 State Referendum day?
(1) "Ordinance for Recall Election for the Town of Paris", requested by Paris Board of Selectmen 2/19/ 09 , voted to be put on the Nov. 3 ballot [Minutes 7-27-09, item 7], a public hearing to be held 8-24-09 (which indeed did happen);
(2) "Shall the Town Vote to Enact an Ordinance for a Recall Election in the Town of Paris Maine?" , a petition filed by 354 Paris voters when the above ordinance was tabled the first time it came before the board of selectmen. The petition was certified by the town clerk prior to being presented to, and accepted by, all 5 selectmen [Minutes 7-27-09, item 6]. The petition was drawn on 30-A M.R.S.A. 2528(5);
(3) "Shall an Ordinance Entitled 'Subdivision Ordinance for the Town of Paris, Maine' be Amended?" , committee work submitted 9-16-09. Charged with rewriting certain portions of the 2009 subdivision ordinance, 6 individuals who made up an independent "Subdivision Panel" met regularly over at least 3 months to rework some of the flaws in the newly passed ordinance.
One could ponder the question:
Was there anything on the short list above that someone(s) might have preferred to not have on a ballot before the voters?
