If you are a good citizen like I am — one who thinks she understands the issues and votes consistently, but isn’t quite sure what the Charter Commission in Amherst is all about, then we are in luck. Why? Because the League of Women Voters — in their usual non-partisan and informative way — is sponsoring an educational forum and candidates night on Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Amherst Middle School, to enlighten us. We will listen to Michael Ward, director of Municipal Services for Public Management at UMass Boston, explain what Charter Commissions are meant to do and what possible options exist for town government.
And then the 20 residents who are running for nine Charter Commissioner positions will have the opportunity to answer questions. We hope to get acquainted with all of them to help us understand what they each could bring to the Charter Commission.
At the end of the evening we will all feel wiser and better prepared to go on with the next steps in the process: town elections March 29. (This program will also be taped by Amherst Media and broadcast several times.)
Trish Farrington
Amherst