How much is enough?

In the Feb. 14 issue of The Lakeville Journal, a statement from nine of the newly enrolled union employees of the town of Salisbury was published on page A3. Along with that statement ran an interview reporter Patrick Sullivan did with four of those employees to provide some context to their statement, which was in explanation of their joining the AFSCME union and in response to public comments made about them over the past months by Selectman Mark Lauretano, blogger Michael Flint and others whose comments are public yet anonymous online. Lauretano has taken issue with not having been given the opportunity to rebut the statement made by the Salisbury employees. However, that statement was a rebuttal in itself to hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of words of editorial coverage of Lauretano’s statements at public meeting, at hearings he has run on a code of ethics, and in his own words in letters to the editor of this newspaper. In point of fact, Lauretano had a letter to the editor in that same Feb. 14 issue of the paper, as well as having his statements at a board of selectmen’s meeting quoted on page A3 directly beneath the employees’ statement. It is disingenuous of him to pretend that he has not had full opportunity to communicate his views in the pages of his local community newspaper. Now, it was the turn of the Salisbury town employees. This newspaper is here to reflect the reality in the towns we cover for all our readers, not just those who hold political office and have the power to monopolize the conversation because of their constant access to the media. The goal of this newspaper, however, is not to fight with politicians or government officials, it is to cover them so their constituency knows how they are spending their time in the service of the public. It would seem that in finding a few targeted issues upon which to fixate, including a code of ethics, Lauretano is looking to keep his own opinions front and center, rather than the needs of the residents of Salisbury. This approach may help run a campaign in the autumn, but it is not helping Salisbury run efficiently or effectively now. His tenure has been one of division and confrontation, and voters should remember that tone and whether they want it to continue to define Salisbury’s public conversation when they go to the polls in November.