Seekonk Battles Over "Weapon of Mass Confusion"

Seekonk's Weapon of Mass Confusion

by Bill Gouveia for the Sun Chronicle

In the topsy-turvy, crazy political environment that exists at virtually every level of government today, almost nothing is unusual. No one is quite sure just what the new “normal” is, but if this is it — good luck to us all.

And don’t think it is completely the fault of our elected officials, be they national, state or local. We voters and citizens have to take equal responsibility (or blame, depending on your point of view) for what is an absolutely impossible to predict world.

All of which leads to the topic of today’s discussion: Seekonk and the big green gun.

Back in July, Seekonk selectmen accepted a vintage howitzer from the Massachusetts National Guard. For those unfamiliar, that is an artillery gun used in wars long ago.

Naturally, it is non-functioning and intended to serve as a memorial and reminder of the sacrifice made by those who fought valiantly for our country all over the globe.

Having such obsolete weapons as monuments in a community is not unusual.

In my hometown of Norton, we have one such retired weapon. It is located along East Main Street on a small plot of land designated to honor our veterans. It sits between Wheaton College and the Trinitarian Congregational Church. To the best of my knowledge, it has never generated any type of controversy.

But in Seekonk, their “Weapon of Mass Confusion” has been a source of contention, irritation and argument almost since it arrived. The reasons for this are varied, but the controversy has now pretty much reached a level of absurdity usually reserved for overrides and leash laws.

It all started when the Guard “loaned” the howitzer to the town, and selectmen placed it on the Veterans Park Land. This spot is located next to the town library, and the library’s board of trustees serves as custodians of the park.

Believing there would be no problem, selectmen were somewhat surprised when the library board objected and claimed “established town regulations” had been ignored. They questioned their liability should someone climb on it, fall off and be injured.

Additionally, some residents complained about the “gift”. One selectman reported he was told some neighbors were frightened by the inactive weapon. A concerned resident called it “a symbol of death and destruction and violence” and another said it interfered with the Veterans Memorial being “a peaceful place.” Other residents saw no problem with it, and wanted it left at the memorial.

So for the last few months, the selectmen and others have been treating the gun like it was made of uranium. There has been talk of finding the “right place” to put it – like somehow a spot that honors veterans is innately inappropriate. It has come up at multiple meetings and there is still no final decision.

But in what is somehow a fitting next step, the beleaguered board of selectmen has decided to defer the question. They voted 4-1 last week to place a referendum on the April town ballot asking voters if the howitzer should stay at the park or be moved elsewhere.

So to review briefly – the school budget is not voted upon at the ballot box. Neither are the police or fire budgets. Decisions to buy or sell land are not decided at the polls, nor are major zoning changes or bylaw alterations.

But whether or not to move the big green gun will be on the ballot.

This is not meant in any way to denigrate or disrespect the legitimate concerns of any individual, or tell people how they should honor their veterans. Each community does it their own way.

But Selectman Chairman David Andrade was right when he said “We (selectmen) were elected for a reason and it’s to make choices and to make decisions.” And frankly, if they can’t make this one, how are they going to decide on the really difficult issues? Talk about passing the buck.

If it helps, I’ve never heard of anyone falling off the big gun in Norton. Coincidentally, it is right across the street from the town library. Almost every Veterans Day parade stops at it. And the “weapon” has never been voted off the island.

It’s now official. We are running out of things to worry about.

Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and longtime local official. He can be reached at billsinsidelook@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.

Columnist Loves Thanksgiving Holiday

Thanksgiving is my Favorite Holiday

by Bill Gouveia for the Sun Chronicle

This Thursday is Thanksgiving, and it is my favorite holiday. I’m sure that is in part because I wind up with a four-day weekend, but it goes well beyond that.

Thanksgiving is one of the few truly American holidays, a moment when most of the country pauses and comes together to celebrate. There are virtually no controversial Thanksgivings. No one questions what day it should fall on, or who is marching in the parades, or whether or not we are observing it the “right way”. It’s just a time for family, food and football.

Sure, there are the valid points concerning the treatment of Native Americans, both now and centuries before. You can always find those willing and eager to tell you the original Thanksgiving was not a joyous coming together of two cultures trying to respect and love one another.

But in general, Thanksgiving in this day and age is America’s national day off, the one time of the year we tend to stop arguing with both friends and foes and concentrate on what brings us together. It is not a solemn time, or really even a reflective one. It’s just a chance to be with family and appreciate having that tremendous opportunity.

On Thanksgiving we tend to be more tolerant of crazy old Uncle Louie. His Facebook rants that border on racist and sexist are temporarily set aside, and he plays with the grandchildren and tells stories of the old days. We also back off of militant college student Mary, who takes a break from railing against the establishment and the unfairness of everything long enough to have some turkey (with no antibiotics and not raised in cages) and share some laughs.

With all due respect to religion, Thanksgiving doesn’t involve going to church or having to perform those types of rituals and ceremonies. Not that there is anything wrong with rituals and ceremonies. It’s just nice to be celebrating and giving thanks for little more than each other, at least for one day.

To be sure, Thanksgiving does indeed have rituals. High school football games on Thanksgiving are a long-standing tradition in many local communities. Getting up and going to the contests, usually to play your local arch-rival for some mythical championship, is something everyone should experience.

In my house, woe to the poor soul who scoops the Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce out of the can rather than removing it completely from one end and slicing it into wafers. My daughter-in-law MJ discovered that on her first Thanksgiving with us, and the poor thing has never completely recovered from the wrath rained down upon her. But since she controls three of the grandchildren – and we love her – all was forgiven.

My late mother had many duties during family Thanksgiving celebrations years ago. Chief among them was making the gravy. Everyone loved it.

Then one year she burned the gravy. It tasted terrible. She was upset, and we took full advantage.

For the rest of her years with us, we joked at Thanksgiving about my mother burning the gravy. “Grandma, we think your gravy is on fire!” my sons would tease her. “Hey Mom, I think the smoke detector is going off. Are you making the gravy?” I would ask in front of everyone. We did it for every single Thanksgiving, and now that she is gone – we still joke about it and how she pretended to be irritated, but actually loved it.

This Thanksgiving my sister-in-law Valerie will probably make her Swedish bread, my sister-in-law Darleen will make her world famous deviled eggs and my wife will make her amazing apple twists for dessert.

Often we have had special guests on Thanksgiving. Church friends with no place else to go, members of special group homes my late sister befriended when she worked there and friends of our kids who were away from home for school or other reasons.

These are the things that make this holiday special. They are the memories that will live beyond me and into future family Thanksgiving gatherings. Decades from now I may be gone, but the smell of my mom’s burnt gravy will no doubt still be discussed at Turkey Day dinners.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and longtime local official. He can be reached at billinsidelook@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.

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Now Is The Time For Gun Control

Now Is The Time To Talk Gun Control

by Bill Gouveia for the Sun Chronicle

Yep — it’s another column about gun control, or the national lack of same. I’m warning those who don’t want to read any more about the need to stop people from possessing military-style weapons that kill hundreds in just seconds – stop now. Because I’m not going to stop until we start to actually do something.

There’s been another mass shooting. In a church. By a former Air Force member who was dishonorably discharged after spending time in military jail for domestic violence against his wife and children. Who, after that, was still able to “legally” buy several dangerous guns because the current flawed system failed us all once again.

You know, that system that we don’t need to improve. The one that is a waste of time. We can’t work on making it better, making it stronger, because “it’s not time to talk about gun control right now.”

Such pure, unadulterated crap. Such absolute cowardice in the face of real danger. Such negligent disregard for the lives of all of us. And so very, very wrong.

Now. Now is the time to talk about common sense gun control. Right now. Not tomorrow, not after the mid-term elections, not at the beginning of the next Congress. Now – as quickly and seriously as we can, before more innocent lives are lost simply because of politics and the “tough guy/girl image” we like to put forth.

We have more guns in this country than any other nation. Yet we act like it is some kind of coincidence we also have one of the highest gun-related murder rates on the planet. We register almost every car in this country, and require people to pass tests before allowing them to drive. Yet for some unthinkably stupid reason, we fail to keep as close an eye on weapons that have made us the “Mass Murder By Gun” capital of the world.

If we can’t talk about gun control now, when the hell can we talk about it? We didn’t get any major improvements in the law after school children were shot down in Sandy Hook. If the shooting of small children in Connecticut and Texas, in schools and churches, isn’t enough to have that discussion — what will be?

If the shooting of some 500 people at a Las Vegas concert, near a natural gas facility, wasn’t enough to start the debate on gun control, I guess it is easy to understand why this also would not be. But it still doesn’t answer the question – when will it be time?

Our President was outraged when football players quietly knelt during the national anthem. He called them names, he wanted them fired, he threatened the league that employs them.

But after yet another mass shooting, on the heels of the Las Vegas murders, he insists once again it is “too early” to discuss gun control. He points out — quite correctly — that a lawful gun owner helped stop the Texas killings from being an even bigger tragedy.

But the heroic actions of that individual do not change the obvious need to better regulate dangerous weapons, and provide better nationwide screening of those buying guns. The killer in Texas had a criminal record in the military, and a history of mental illness. Yet the military failed to report it. He was apparently prevented from buying a gun in one state, but merely had to go to another and use one of the loopholes our lawmakers refuse to close.

Why in the world would we not want to stop him and others from gaining access to these weapons? What is wrong with us as a people? Is our country seriously more upset about football players and the national anthem than it is about keeping guns away from those who are unstable?

President Trump can’t talk credibly about “extreme vetting” until he applies it to those buying guns. Every legislator who avoids this topic is a disgrace and a coward.

Stop saying this isn’t about guns. We can work on mental health issues, we can strengthen law enforcement. But all that will fail unless and until we also stand up to the NRA and others, and do all we can to keep guns out of the hands of the irresponsible.

Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and a longtime local official. He can be emailed at billsinsidelook@aol.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.

Attleboro's Mayor-Elect Doesn't Need This Controversy

New Mayor-Elect Not Off to Transparent Start

By Bill Gouveia for the Sun Chronicle

Congratulations are in order to Attleboro’s new Mayor-elect Paul Heroux. His convincing and solid victory over seven-term incumbent Kevin Dumas was set up by his intense campaigning, a solid record as state representative, and his earning the trust of the voters.

But less than 24 hours after being elected, Heroux found himself in a political controversy of his own making. While he claims to be surprised it has made headlines, it is obvious he knew or should have known this issue deserved public comment during the campaign.

Just hours after his victory, Heroux casually let it drop — arguably for the first time in public — that he intended to keep his state representative seat even after taking office as mayor. He did not initially put it that way, preferring to simply state he intended to stay long enough “to try and finish my projects” on Beacon Hill. To add to the confusion, he later said he might be able to wrap those up by the end of the year and resign just before he’s inaugurated.

But if Heroux indeed remains a member of the Legislature after being sworn in as mayor, several issues are raised. First and foremost is this simple one:

How can this self-proclaimed “full-time legislator” possibly give full effort to that job while simultaneously running the area’s largest city on a full-time basis?

Heroux has an unquestioned work ethic. He has been a tireless advocate for his district, and while doing that still managed to run one of the most vigorous campaigns in city history. He cites this as evidence he could more than adequately perform both tasks, particularly in the short-term.

He points out if he resigned upon becoming mayor, the district would be without representation for many months. There would most likely have to be a special election to fill his seat, which he says would cost taxpayers about $50,000.

He also claimed that having a special election in the next few months would be “unfair” to possible Democratic candidates. Heroux (a Democrat) says city councilor and Republican Julie Hall has been planning a run for his seat for a long time, and thus an accelerated election schedule would provide Republicans with an advantage over potential opponents.

Saving the city money is admirable, as is finishing important projects going on at the state level. The point about leaving Attleboro without a state rep for a period of months is concerning. But despite all that, Heroux should have talked about this sooner publicly, and he should resign from the Legislature as soon as he assumes the mayor’s office.

A claim by the mayor-elect that he didn’t talk publicly about staying in his current position because “no one asked me” is pretty lame. He says he was asked the question dozens of times while knocking on doors, and was always honest and upfront about his intentions. If he was asked it that often during campaigning, he had to realize it was an important point to clarify publicly.

Rep. Betty Poirier, R-North Attleboro, was correct in criticizing Heroux for not making a public announcement during the campaign about intending to hold both offices, however briefly. She called him “disingenuous” on this issue, and that may be kind. Heroux is a savvy politician and campaigner. The idea he is now surprised by this reaction is just not credible.

As for being fair to Democrats in any upcoming election — that is simply not Heroux’s job. He is the representative for all the people of his district, not just the Democrats. He should be protecting the district, not his party.

“I do not know of any Attleboro Dem who can beat Julie in a special election,” Heroux said. That may or may not be true, but it is a bad and partisan reason to delay the election and selection of a new representative.

Forget the fact Heroux would be collecting two public salaries for two full-time jobs at the same time. The real point is he chose to run for mayor, and city voters have the right to demand and expect his full attention and devotion to that job. His motives may be pure, but this would be a serious mistake.

It certainly is not how a new mayor should start a new, transparent, open and full-time administration.

Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and longtime local official. He can be reached at billsinsidelook@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook

Stefanelli Violated Law And Trust Of Voters

Norton Official Abused Trust Of Citizens

by Bill Gouveia

If you are going to demand honesty, openness, and respect from your fellow citizens and local government, you first have to display those qualities yourself.

That is a lesson apparently not yet learned by Ralph Stefanelli, a Norton political activist and town official. Stefanelli was recently cited by the state Office of Campaign & Political Finance (OCPF) for violating state campaign finance laws, misleading investigators, and attempting to obstruct a review of his activities surrounding the last Proposition 2 1/2 override in town.

But through his actions, Stefanelli did something arguably far worse than violating state campaign laws.

He abused the trust of a significant portion of the voters of Norton while cheapening and disrespecting the electoral process that is the heart of every local municipality.

Stefanelli has long been a vociferous voice against overrides in Norton. This past spring he campaigned vigorously and ably against the proposed tax increase, appearing on cable television and at multiple meetings and forums to aggressively criticize both the plan and its proponents.

However, he also engaged in purchasing campaign materials urging a “No” vote without either forming a ballot question committee or reporting his spending, as required by state law.

Questioned about it after the fact, Stefanelli gave conflicting stories. First he claimed he and others got together at a local coffee shop to discuss their joint opposition, stating they all “pitched in” money for the cause. Then when OCPF told him that required filing campaign finance forms, he changed the story to say they only “pitched in” to pay for coffee and meals. He refused to identify the other people.

He then claimed he personally spent only $230 on campaign flyers. When challenged on this by the OCPF, Stefanelli said the organization was wasting its time and that he was proud to have spent his own money to “beat the bastards”. He also stated if OCPF decided to issue a subpoena, he would “wipe my a— with it”.

However, Stefanelli’s tune and tone changed when OCPF discovered receipts proving he had actually spent $1,583 at Minuteman Press in Raynham for 6,500 postcards and 2,000 flyers seeking “No” votes. Confronted with the evidence proving his original story was false, he finally agreed to submit the financial disclosure documents.

One form filed by Stefanelli was 108 days late, the other 70 days. Michael J. Sullivan, director of the OCPF, wrote that existing law did not allow him to fine Stefanelli, but added “If I could, I would impose the $25 per day fine upon you for a total of $4,425.”

Director Sullivan’s letter to Stefanelli also said, “It is clear that your intent was to influence the election and not provide the voting public with any information as to who financed the opposition to the ballot question.”

Ralph Stefanelli went on TV in Norton this past spring and said that during overrides, the public “must demand accountability”. He said he wanted to bring the truth out, and “shine the light” on the darkness. He told the people of Norton they should demand the truth, because in his words, “Knowledge is power”. He told them “I am the spokesperson for voting No” on the override, and defended the work of the “people on my committee.”

But at the same time, Stefanelli hid the truth. He violated campaign laws, then attempted to cover up what he had done. He denied the existence of the committee he earlier claimed to lead. He appears, in many instances, to have had a tenuous and distant relationship with the truth.

Many concerned parents and citizens who he called “bastards” worked within the rules to try and pass the override. They did not hide. It is doubtful Stefanelli’s illegal actions affected the ultimate result of the election, but what he did was certainly wrong and unfair to everyone, including his supporters.

He owes the entire town an apology. Perhaps his original failure to follow the law was simply out of ignorance, but there can be no excusing his disgraceful attempts to cover them up and mislead investigators.

Stefanelli should serve as an example to all local political activists and officials that if you are going to “talk the talk”, you first need to “walk the walk”.

Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and longtime local official. He can be reached at billsinsidelook@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook