yack host's blog

I know we've been dedicating way more digital ink to the town counsel situation than we do to a lot of other things. But I just have one more thing to add. 

Mr Willauer:

I would never suppose to lecture someone as experienced in the workings of government as you. But I would ask that you please consider a few things before making a decision on which legal firm to choose to do the work of the town of Nantucket.

Politics.

It’s over. The very last Nantucket Independent is out on those flimsy little wire racks right now. I hate to tell you I told you so. But I did. Way back in 2003. I said it was an insane venture. I said there were not enough ad dollars to go around. Don Costanzo was crazy, I blurted. The paper was destined to fail. And fail it did.

But the truth is, it actually succeeded in a lot of ways.

Damn. Well there's always 2016. Here's my Indy column from two years ago. Reprinted with my own permission.

YACK on: Sheriff.

I hate math. Math is not my strong suit. I'm a word guy. But even given my inability to do really long division or tell the difference between a sine and a cosine or even figure out the proper tip after I've had a couple of beers, I do know one thing: If Michael Day wins the primary tomorrow, it's going to make it a heck of a lot easier for Richard Bretschneider to win in the general election. Because of math. 

This just gets screwier and screwier, people.

You will recall back before the Land Bank met in August, Dreamland Executive Director (Who is also the Selectman Chair), Patty Roggeveen announced days earlier that she would be making a proposal to the Land Bank, in which the Land Bank would pay $2.5 million in exchange for a seat on the Dreamland Board and a fraction of an acre of the Dreamland Lot facing the Easy Street Basin so that they could create a pocket park.

I seemed to have forgotten about another conflict, real or perceived, that our current BOS chair has been involved in. 

Perhaps it's luck. Perhaps it's gender. Perhaps the people of Nantucket just don't care any more about the mounting conflicts (with an "S") both real and perceived that our current BOS chair has gotten herself into. But for some reason the sheer preponderance of eyebrow-raising moves have failed to raise any kind of public outcry. 

You know, I'll be the first to admit that Carol Dunton was not a viable candidate for the Board of Selectmen when she ran this past Spring. She was wildly inexperienced. She was terribly unprepared for the race. She did not have enough supporters and she was completely clueless about the issues that face the Board of Selectmen. 

But I'll say one thing for her. She sure does want the town to control spending.