Pride of self-government

New England takes pride in and is famous for its low-key, community-oriented approach to life in general and government in particular. The town meeting form of government has survived for so long here because people are willing to work hard to make productive compromises and they are willing to take the time to participate, with their friends, neighbors, and yes, even their enemies, in the hard work of attending meetings, paying attention and expressing opinions even when it’s difficult or unpleasant and there is pushback. What makes it possible for this system, which seems as though it’s built on a gossamer-thin underpinning, to work is the strong-as-steel tradition here of respect, cooperation and a willingness to talk, listen and compromise.When these three essential elements of civilized society are in place, even imperfectly, they create a code of ethics that is stronger than anything a government agency can ever create because it is self-imposed and self-policing. Selectman Mark Lauretano doesn’t seem to believe there is malicious or destructive behavior rampant in the town of Salisbury, the kind of misdeeds that end up casting a blot on a town (as has been the case in, for example, the city of Waterbury). But he has pushed hard and often heedlessly to impose a Salisbury code of ethics nevertheless. By doing so, he has created an environment of mistrust among town workers during his year-and-a-half in elected office that has, they say, driven them to unionize. Lauretano’s vision of an ethics commission, with members appointed by the chairmen of the Republican and Democratic town committees, has been roundly criticized by a broad-based and bipartisan group of citizens who see it as at best awkward and at worst an invitation for political infighting masquerading as questions of ethics. The town meeting form of government offers the structure within which such disagreements as that over the code of ethics can be resolved, as long as those residents who care deeply about their town remain engaged and civil. It also helps if they talk to, listen to and compromise respectfully with one another in the open forum of the public meeting. Lauretano was dismissive of an alternate proposal for an ethics code from Bill Morrill and Charlie Vail. But if the goal is to get an ethics code passed, Lauretano could sit down with Morrill and Vail, and anybody else interested in helping with this process, and hammer out a code that will pass at town meeting.Lauretano could then devote his considerable energies to lobbying the other eight towns in the Northwestern Connecticut Council of Governments to get on board with creating a regional ethics commission.Let’s hope that all in Salisbury can take a step back and once again appreciate the morals and values that have been so much a part of town life since Salisbury earned its charter in 1741.