Vaporized!

The voting results were a total vaporization of the previous regime on the BOS as Allin Frawley and Ben Quelle both came in at about 3-1 over sitting members of the BOS. Marsha Brunelle actually finished 4th. A very distant fourth but close to her cohort Marsha.

Being a cheap shot artist that I am I can take my stick and once again poke it into the bees nest but the bees have no sting. IMO the arrogance that Marsha displayed accompanied by an equal strain or one that even exceeded hers was demonstrated by her husband and that was what finally got the enough is enough vote out. The connection was impossible to avoid. Now if I actually had a gracious bone in my body I would do the yada, yada, yada feel good and thank you for your service lecture but why should I change now?

Marsha Brunelle has a world of experience on various towns boards and especially the BOS but an increasing number of folks who tune in on Monday have obviously become disenchanted by the way she conducts business at the local government house. Just maybe someone will dig out a worn copy of Robert's Rules and some semblance of structure will return. One cannot dismiss the impact that her ill conceived attempt at controlling the dialogue on Monday played out and that issue certainly had "legs." What happens is a cumulative effect where time on the board has a tendency to build up animosity. Folks do have a tendency to remember the negative and give it more value than remembering the positive and there seemed a whole world of negative swirling around the last several years.

Marsha also represented being the point person on the recent rent control issue and we saw meetings filled with seniors who were just plain pissed off. Old folks - of which I guess I am now classified - vote and pissed off ones make it a point to "encourage" their offspring in the town to also vote with certain reminders about wills, inheritance and any other conceivable means of arm twisting. Case in point, of course, would be Moi and his wife - The Lovely Cynthia.

I was reading an interesting and rather dated science fiction book by Eric Frank Russell called "The Space Willies." That was quite prophetic considering the outcome of the race for BOS. A significant amount of "credit" for MiMi being now classified as BOS detritus can certainly find some type of time line that flows back to candidates night and the attempt by her own Willy to do a rather poorly conceived gotcha question.

In The Herald a few days ago an article about attempts by Democrat operatives regarding Scott Brown had the following quote by Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia: “The Democrats have got to dig up some dirt because they don’t have any alternative.” That is what Willy Duphily attempted to do with his pointed question to Frawley regarding CPA and Frawley's renter status. I have no idea of what the logic was behind the question. Now one would suspect that an effort would be made by a questioner to bring forward a well thought out and relevant question and not one that seems to have been found in some rubbish bin that is rambling loose in the frontal lobe. This is now the Duphily version of "cheap seats."

So we no longer will have MiMi to watch at BOS meetings unless she is in the audience or passing out cupcakes and possibly flowers. As I have stated before a political appendix. Now MiMi may be a wonderful person and maybe even to some locals a budding Mother Theresa but the reality is being a good person does not necessarily translate into being a competent member of the BOS. MiMi appeared ill at ease and out of her element. I rarely found even the slightest hint of a cognizant comment emanating from her slot on the board. The term that comes to mind is empty pants suit. Thank you, Willy!

Allin and Ben are sure not to please me 100% and I would certainly not expect that. I've met Ben a few times and watched him on candidates night and he is no slouch. This was no coattail win by Ben as he more than carried his share of the day.

Allin has put in an exceptional effort for both the campaign and his service to the town. This will be a learning process for him as it will be for Ben but both have the patience and intellect to do the job. I know Allin will do his homework and when a issue takes place he will certainly hone up on it - no deer the headlights look.

This result clearly shows that the casino issue is no longer a Middleboro litmus test for a candidate. Long gone. See ya!