The Special Town Meeting, Article 2. Where to begin …

A big thank you to Connor Degan; without his expertise and guidance, John [Cardillo] and I would never have come up with a petition that met the various requirements. Likewise, we’d have been extremely hard-pressed to come up with suitable language for the article itself.

And thank you to those who took it upon themselves to request copies of the petition so they could pester their friends and neighbors for more of the needed 100 signatures required to get our article on the Special Town Meeting warrant.

We set upon this quest in the belief that Tip O’Neil’s statement, “All politics is local,” has been turned on its head, and that national party political issues have invaded local elections. The councilors of the city of Bergamo in northern Italy, circa 1200, had to swear an oath containing, “all the offices and honours of Bergamo should be chosen in the interest of the community and not by reason of party or parties.” (Government “of the people, by the people, for the people.”)

And, lastly, thank you to the 243 who joined with John and I and recognized the wisdom of the councilors of Bergamo, as expressed in their oath 800 years ago.

— Ed Harrow, Hopkinton

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