Sayre’s Law: “In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the issues at stake.”. Sayre’s more well known quote on the topic is “The politics of the university are so intense because the stakes are so low”.
In the run up to this coming special election and indeed for all future elections it would be great for all candidates and their supporters to regularly take a deep breath and a step back. These local elections are about volunteer citizens stepping up to become one of 24 City Councillors to help the local city government navigate the issues of the day in Newton. The candidates will always have their differences. The different candidate’s 1-of-24 votes on the Council will no doubt vary. Regardless of which of our Newton neighbor volunteer candidates wins any of these elections, life in Newton will go on with minor course corrections along the way. The future of life as we know it in Newton does not hinge on any single City Council election.
Because elections are competitions with winners and losers, there’s always a built-in tendency to demonize opponents and lose perspective. A healthy contest can easily start to veer toward blood-sport. In the current election there have been reported death threats against candidates and personal attacks from beyond the grave. As Councilor Norton pointed out on another thread, this isn’t new. She told a story of a developer trying to sabotage her professional life when she had the audacity to run for office on a platform that was at odds with the developer. I have no doubt that if you spoke to each of the 24 City Councillors they could each tell you stories of election induced madness and candidates or their supporters getting vicious. It doesn’t have to be that way. It’s a choice.
One election’s memory that stuck with me happened shortly after I moved to Newton. Diana Fisher Gomberg and Josh Krintzman were running against each other for School Committee. They no doubt both thought they were each the better candidate and would do a better job on the Committee. They both campaigned hard and seriously but they remained friends, kept their good humor, and never felt the need to demonize their opponent. They posed for a photo together holding signs on election day, both with big genuine smiles on their faces. Gomberg won that election. No doubt it was a disappointing day for Krintzman, but not the end of the world. Josh went on to run and get elected to CIty Council and they remain friends to this day.
In the upcoming elections we have five candidates running. They have way more in common than what divides them. All five are Newton residents that are deeply engaged in their communities in all manners of ways. All five have volunteered their time and energy to run for local office to serve our community. All five are people we should be thankful to have working for us. They certainly have their differences on issues, so do your homework, watch a debate or two, find out where they stand on the issues you care about, and vote.
If your candidate loses, its not the end of the world as we know it. Its a Newton City Council election.
DOCKET ITEM
Councilors Downs….proposing a Home Rule petition to the State Legislature to repeal Sayre’s Law
(… means co-sponsors welcome)
Thanks for the prompt action Councilor
Thanks Jerry, well said.
With all due respect @Jerry, when incendiary posts like , “RightSize Newton bristles at Barash characterization” and “ Speaking of polarizing ….” are made, and the pot is vigorously stirred… then to be followed up with this post… a call for peace and at the same time, being chided like children to, “do your homework, watch a debate or two, find out where they stand on the issues you care about, and vote”…all seems a bit contradictory if not disingenuous.
Over the years, you, Greg, Sean and others have made it clear V14 is not a “newspaper”; that you guys can post or take whatever position you want (and generate ad revenue for the blog). Don’t like that when we are on opposite ends of an issue, but like Bobby Brown sang, that is your prerogative. But I do agree that everyone should go out to vote, and hope that all 5 candidates remain active in the community for years to come.
Matt, you are welcome to your take (even on a post like this) but the blog doesn’t do anything for ad revenue. I believe it loses money, we did a small gofundme for it a while back, and none of the participants takes home a dime. Maybe you didn’t mean it the way it came out, but ad revenue has nothing to do with any post. Sometimes a community forum is just a community forum, and volunteers who maintain it should be thanked.
Plus in two weeks and 2 days, this blog will go back to the sleepy forum it usually is once elections aren’t going on…
@Matt Lai – You lost me. “How is RightSize Newton bristles at Barash characterization” in any way an incendiary post?
Bryan Barash made a statement. RightSize sent out a public statement demanding a retraction. I published that statement as a V14 post with no editorial comment at all. The only pot stirring is that I printed RightSize’s public statement at their request.
@fignewtonville is correct. Village14 does not make any ad revenue. Feel free to criticize what we post all you like but nothing we post has any connection to ads that get displayed on the site by a 3rd party. The ads are just part of the machinery of the site.
Your comment does hand me a perfect opportunity to mention that we will once again be running a GoFundMe campaign in the coming weeks to raise contributions to keep Village14 running for the coming year.
Not suggesting that V14 was created to make anyone rich, but controversy and polarization drives eye balls and clicks….which the dives ad revenue.
What do stand by is the fact that the two highest commented posts (by far) last week were the Bryan/RSN post and the SN/Ciccone ad. If a Guest Poster made the Sayre’s Law post, I would have reacted much differently.
PS Never realized @fig is one of the v14 crew. Since many use their real names, it will be fun to deduce the true identity of one Fignewtonville.
https://village14.com/contact-village-14/
@Matt Lai – @fig is the “v14 crew” in the same way you are Matt. You are both regular commenters on the site.
My last comment seems to have gotten lost in the inter webs, but Jerry made my first point.
My main point, though was that Matt’s “it will be fun to deduce the true identity…” is over the line. V14 Bloggers are required to post and comment using their real names. The rest of us are not. Veiled threats to dox people – even if that’s not how you meant it – are not ok.
I think Matt was responding to my use of “we”. But yes please don’t dox me, I just explained why I am anonymous in the thread about polarization…
I’m just a poster here. I’d happily be more but anonymous people can’t start threads. I’m fine with that.
First I’ve always enjoyed @fig’s comments and while we’re more often on different sides of various debates, the back and forth is appreciated!!
Yes, I read Fig’s “we” comments as one of the organizers/runners of v14. And I meant to include a wink emoji from my iPhone at the end of the PS but it was not well received by the blog. No “dox” intenteded whatsover. It was meant to be fun, not mean spirited. Fig remains an enigma!
My first post on v14 years ago was probably about Northland :-) and at the time, I felt that if I was going to comment, I should stand by my comments and used my real name. Question: can I choose to go anonymous going forward or will someone flag my email address and “dox” me?
@Matt
I think if you were to pick a new handle, stick to just it and don’t ever post under Matt Lai again .. or any other handle that would be fine. I suspect it may be futile since you always have such a distinctive voice in your posts, most regulars would probably hear you in a heartbeat. Should you decide to go that route please send an email letting me know so that we could bend the general rule.
Thanks @Jerry! Appreciate the offer.
I was heartened to see this email from Tarik Lucas’s campaign this evening.
As election day approaches and temperatures keep rising its good to see …
“I believe we are better off engaging in dialogue, even with those who have hurt us, and come to a place where we are talking about the things that unite us, rather than divide us. At our most basic levels, we all want the same things – to be loved, and accepted, for who we are.”