I ran for Town Meeting Precinct 1 in Amherst. The morning after the election, I had no idea if I won a seat or not.
A day before the election, I was surprised to find a leaflet in my door endorsing several candidates, myself included.
The document started, “On behalf of a neighborhood …” but does not provide the names of who or what organization had written it. The only indication of where this document came from is a link to the townmeetingworks.org website.
This document that suggests voters elect me to Town Meeting also suggested which school committee members to endorse and most importantly urged a no vote on the charter commission question.
I am very upset as I imagine voters would assume that I agreed with the candidate recommendations and voting no on the charter question, which, whether true or not, is beside the point. The issue is that no one asked me where I stand on these issues, no one told me they would print my name in connection with certain opinions, and it is careless and inappropriate to distribute a document like this without information on where it comes from.
I find it very disconcerting that my neighbors would make assumptions on where I stand on certain issues without discussing them with me first and have the gall to print my name without my permission.
Nicola Usher
Amherst