So far, I’ve avoided any type of election analysis or opinion - that is not the place of this particular blog, after all - but I do feel compelled to make a note of one that could significantly impact the College.
Residents of the Town of Amherst may be aware of a competitive race for a seat on the Town Select Board. Four contenders are vying for the spot - a brief description of each can be found at the Amherst Bulletin.
Two particularly noteworthy candidates for the election are Aaron Hayden and Dave Keenen.
Hayden is a capital projects manager and campus utilities engineer employed by Amherst College. He is clearly serious about this election - his website is well-maintained and lists endorsements from Congressman John Olver as well as faculty members such as Catherine Sanderson and Jan Dizard. His letter to the Bulletin is well-written and thoughtful. Unsurprisingly, he’s also earned the endorsement of the Bulletin.
Keenan offers a far different vision of the future of the Town. He’d like to see a “private-public partnership” with UMass and our College. The Bulletin’s summary:
He suggests that rental properties should be taxed as businesses so that the impacts of college students living in these homes can be better mitigated. He also envisions replacing War Memorial Pool with a gathering place, paid for with money from the higher education institutions, for everyone in the community from children to senior citizens.
Most disturbingly, Keenan says he has a plan to:
Leverage Amherst College’s $4 million gift establishing the Center for Community Engagement for the benefit of Amherst residents, all the more important as the town faces cuts in community and social services.
I’m not exactly sure how Keenan would “leverage” our CCE for the benefit of Amherst residents, but it scares the heck out of me.
Without being as presumptuous to “endorse” a particular candidate, it seems to me that the choice in this election is fairly clear. Most students at the College are not registered in the town of Amherst. However, my message is to those that are as well as to the random faculty or staff employee that reads this blog.
There is a stark contrast between these candidates, both in terms of ability and in terms of vision. Make sure to vote and make sure to do so with a clear understanding of the candidates and what they stand for.
1 response so far ↓
1 Gregory J. Campeau (gcampeau11) // Oct 27, 2008 at 12:37 am
Dave, I have to agree: this business about “leveraging” the resources of the College is terrifying. I am a voter in Amherst, and I intend to vote against Mr. Keenan.
As much as I can sympathize with those who would argue that the solution to “town and gown” voting rights problems is to side with actual residents of a town as opposed to out-of-town, and possibly out-of-state, students, when town government threatens a college as has Mr. Keenan, luckily only a candidate for office and not yet an official, I begin to see why it may be of the utmost importance that students vote in their college town elections.
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