As I continue to inform myself about Plymouth government and politics, I sense that much drama is going on behind the scenes. Members of our boards and committees have given in to a fractiousness that mirrors our national disorder. Lately, trying to find information feels like wading through dueling conspiracies.
Take two recent [letters] in the Independent about the Community Preservation Committee chair and the Select Board. The authors of these pieces do not state clearly what they believe is occurring. Instead, they proceed by way of innuendo and vague, ominous statements. Richard Serkey says, “…it has been clear that for some time [that Bill Keohan] has operated with a bullseye on his back. He has become the target of the Select Board for political reasons.” What these reasons are he does not say – he leaves it to the reader to imagine any number of possibilities.
Meanwhile, Joan Bartlett describes a meeting during which new members were appointed to the CPC: “Others were not allowed to speak…The issue seemed more to be about getting Keohan to move along than about me.” In what appears to be a non-sequitur, she then describes leaving El Salvador “when things were getting bad”. Is she implying that Plymouth now resembles El Salvador at the height of its political chaos?
Plymouth residents ought to be informed about the goings-on of their boards and committees, and much would be gained if the critics of these boards and committees simply stated the facts. Instead, they are making serious accusations without much supporting evidence, stirring up more drama and muddying the waters for the ordinary citizens who are trying to figure out what is going on.
Jeff Millman