Contrary to my general opinion that the outcome of the election reflects fear, fresh-face Jennifer Susse was elected to the School Committee with the highest vote total. Stephen Gilligan was reelected treasurer by 139 votes, hardly an endorsement.
Still, overall, I think voters — the few (20.08 percent) who decided to delay 15 minutes of shopping and turn out — erred on the side of caution and cast votes for what they knew.
The same cautious attitude may have lurked behind Precinct 7 voters’ rejection of two outspoken incumbent Town Meeting members — Chris Loreti and Mark Kaepplein.
Loreti, a close follower of town business, was dropped from the Redevelopment Board in 2011. His often-technical arguments on the floor of Town Meeting are well known.
Kaepplein is a longtime critic of the Mass. Ave. Corridor project and is noted for his anticycling views. Unlike Loreti, his public opinions often seem scattershot.
I do not place both men in the same boat exactly, but I think Town Meeting has lost two voices of criticism. You need not agree with them, but perhaps they make the meeting richer for the issues raised.
In Town Meeting, which begins April 28, and on key positions, Arlington needs leaders who will be ready for change.
After all, the town is engaged in a lengthy master-planning process. I hope it results in a clearer road map flexible enough to embrace an innovative future for the town.
You might well argue that some of the leaders for whom Arlington voted do support change.
Dan Dunn is a VP of high-tech start-up Quantopian who has the vision to see the town’s promise.
On the School Committee, Paul Schlichtman is wise in the ways of educational minutiae — it’s his day job — but is able to gather from the details the bigger picture.
Susse, who has taught philosophy on the university level, remains, until she is tested by endless meetings an instrument of hope for change.
Bill Hayner, a seasoned committee member, is a townie who asks pointed questions.
In conclusion, though, the reelection of Gilligan says that the slim majority of voters that defines his victory preferred with staying with what they have known, for better or worse.
This opinion was published Sunday, April 6, 2014. These views do not necessarily reflect how the author voted.
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