Meredith Dems sent out 2 e-mails, made no calls, for 2011 vote

Published Date

To the editor,
Peter Miller is right: in Meredith, people of all political persuasions work together toward common goals on a regular basis. During political campaigns, of course, our political stripes come out and some of us get indelibly tagged with those colors. That is unfortunate because then, no matter the context in which we state something, an innuendo is made about the political subtext.
The Selectboard and School Board elections are not political events, even though attempts have been made to paint particular candidates with particular political colors. We are lucky in Meredith that individuals are willing to step forward and run for public office. Sometimes, however, the candidates are not so lucky as they become the object of unpleasant and personal pot shots.
I do find it perplexing, however, that Mr. Miller makes note that Democrats were actively involved in the prior School Board election, as there were obviously countless others of all political persuasions involved; Republicans, Libertarians, Independents, and Tea Party members. As chair of the Meredith-Center Harbor Democratic Committee, I willingly acknowledge that we do endorse candidates who we feel are in line with our values and goals. If we do so, we alert our very small distribution list of self-identified members; individuals who have asked to be alerted to issues of mutual interest. As a committee, we sent two e-mails to our distribution list and that was the extent of our involvement; no phone calls. Certainly individuals who are known as Democrats may have acted on their own behalf just as individuals who are known to be members of the other parties did. I expect we all agree that every individual is free to support the candidates of their choice and the same standard should apply to all.
What should concern the voters in Meredith (and Center Harbor and Sandwich depending on the election) is the particular candidate's qualification for the position sought, not the candidate's political persuasion. It is my hope that voters will take the time to learn about all the candidates and determine who is best qualified for each office based on their own criteria before casting their vote on March 13.
Kate Miller
Meredith