[MassHistPres] Influencing Town Politics

[Diane Gilbert]

I understand the concerns of those who caution about mixing politics with
preservation advocacy and initiatives especially when one is a member of a
municipal agency such as the historical commission (appointed by the
Selectmen) challenging (in a nice way) the board, elected, who is the
appointing authority for the commission.

Jonathan shares my passion for free speech and for an open, public discourse
on these matters.  I happen to serve on the Dartmouth Select Board and also
am currently the President of the Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust.

When it comes to matters of historic preservation, I never hold back.  I use
my bully pulpit on the Select Board to advance the cause of preservation but
recuse myself from voting on any matter that concerns the Dartmouth Heritage
Preservation Trust, a 501c3, independent from the town but certainly an
advocate and partner with the town on matters of historic preservation.
After two years, I resigned from the historical commission before I was
elected to the Select Board because I didn¹t feel the commission was doing
enough to advance the preservation agenda.

It seems to me that under MGL Chapter 40, section 8d, the historical
commission has a duty to the public to ensure they do all they can under
their purview to protect and preserve a community¹s historic legacy and
heritage.  So I¹m not sure why it¹s inappropriate to survey the candidates
to find out their positions.  I would do it.  They serve the public and the
public¹s interests.

Diane Gilbert, Town of Dartmouth


On 3/27/08 11:17 AM, "jfeist at charter.net" <jfeist at charter.net> wrote:

> I'm not sure how discussing issues could be considered inappropriate. I didn't
> endorse any candidate, and my understanding is that part of the role of
> historical commissions is to raise awareness of issues related to historical
> preservation. I would be delighted to be ousted, if this is not the
> case. --Jonathan ---- Maggie Rosa <maggierosa at comcast.net> wrote: > A note
> of caution. > When the Gloucester Historical Commission attempted, last fall,
> to  > solicit answers to a questionnaire that we generated for candidates  >
> for city mayor and council we were rapidly informed that this was not  >
> appropriate as we are beholden to the same rules that city employees  > must
> abide by and not participate, as a group, in city political  > activity. > >
> Maggie Rosa > maggierosa at comcast.net > > 26 Fort Hill Ave > Gloucester, MA
> 01930 > > Home Phone # 978-281-1871 > Cell 978-290-2553 > > > > > > >
> On Mar 27, 2008, at 9:15 AM, Jonathan Feist wrote: > > > Hi all, > > > > In
> an attempt to make historical preservation more of a local campaign > > issue,
> I sent a little survey to the five candidates running for  > > selectmen, > >
> in Harvard. > > > > I posted my results (with my own commentary) on a new
> blog. It went  > > live > > yesterday. I announced it to some locals that I
> know, and it already  > > seems > > to be getting some traffic beyond that
> group, which means that there  > > is > > pretty good interest around here
> for such things. It will be  > > interesting to > > see how it actually plays
> out and whether these issues get more air  > > time as > > a result. But you
> might try something similar, if you have similar > > rabble-rousing tendencies
> to my own. I also sent ³Letters to the  > > Editor² to > > our local
> newspapers announcing it, hopefully to come out tomorrow. > > > > Here¹s the
> link: > > > >> http://harvardpreservation.wordpress.com/ > > > > --Jonathan >
> > > > > > > > > > =============================================== > > > >
> Jonathan Feist, Chair > > Harvard Historical Commission > > 978-772-4864
> (home) > > 617-747-2148 (Berklee office) > > > > Preserve Historical Harvard,
> MA: > > http://harvard.ma.us/histcomm.htm > > > > > >
> ****************************** > > For administrative questions regarding this
> list, please contact Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us > >  directly.  PLEASE DO
> NOT "REPLY" TO THE WHOLE LIST. > > MassHistPres mailing list > >
> MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu > >
> http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/listinfo/masshistpres > >
> ******************************** > ****************************** For
> administrative questions regarding this list, please contact
> Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us directly.  PLEASE DO NOT "REPLY" TO THE WHOLE
> LIST.  MassHistPres mailing
> list MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/listinfo/masshi
> stpres ********************************

--