Letter: Elections can bring about innovation and change

Posted 9/20/18

I was perplexed to read Halsey Herreshoff’s pessimistic view on the nature and tenor of American politics from “D.C. to Bristol” (Letters to the Editor, “Town clerk is the …

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Letter: Elections can bring about innovation and change

Posted

I was perplexed to read Halsey Herreshoff’s pessimistic view on the nature and tenor of American politics from “D.C. to Bristol” (Letters to the Editor, “Town clerk is the face of local government,” Sept. 13, 2018). After all, if it were not for this “flawed” system, his beloved Republican party’s standard bearer would not hold the highest office in the land. Mr. Herreshoff claims the focus of our politics should be on character and professional potential — and on that front, we could not agree more. 

We can also agree that the office of Town Clerk is an important office. The very framework of our democracy is based on fresh ideas, innovation and change. Dare I say that the time has come for these pillars of democracy to be strengthened in our town government with a fresh new approach to a position that is not supposed to be a lifetime appointment. 

In his letter, Mr. Herreshoff extols the virtues of a Bristol Town Clerk who served for 37 years in the first half of the 1900s, and while I admire that clerk and the current clerk for their service, that is not how our system of government and politics is supposed to work – not then, and not now. It was Thomas Jefferson who said, "I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past." So, let’s move on from lifetime office holders and invest in our future and the development of the office. 

It has been said many times that public service is a privilege and not a right. Our public officials from the federal government down to our town government serve at the pleasure of those who elected them into office. I for one would like to see a fresh new approach to the office and ensure that our town government remains an incubator of new ideas and talent. So, yes, Mr. Herreshoff, “P labels” are important – just like the principles of our democracy. 

Stephen Almeida

Bristol

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