Joseph R. Gray

To the editor:

To Sanbornton voters:

Out political season is here. Town elections, ballot questions and Town Meeting are due to be acted upon in May. The annual SB-2 debate is underway, complete with references to last year's Town Meeting and the problems experienced there. Those who claim SB-2 is the answer to those problems would have you believe that is the only choice for improvement. It is not. Your have another important choice this year. You will be electing a moderator, as there are two new candidates for that position.

My name is Joseph Gray (please call me Joe) and I am one of those two candidates for moderator. I believe in the traditional Town Meeting and I understand the important role of the moderator to the process as it is meant to function. This would be equally true of either style of town government.

For those who don't know me, first of all, I grew up here. My father, Robert H. Gray, was Sanbornton's moderator in the late 1960s, through 1974. I attended some town meetings as a too-young-to-vote teenager, just to watch him in action. Dad was considered by many to be very good at the job. He taught me respect for the process, and the importance of fairness and impartiality in the conduct of meetings. These standards are the foundation of the moderator that I want to become.

It is vital to our self-governing process that meetings are conducted fairly, and are kept under control. Each voter needs to know that they can speak, that order will be maintained and procedure and process will be followed properly. Whether that person is a town official or employee, volunteer, private citizen, member or not of any political organization, with or without agenda — the process works the same for all.

For the record, I am not a member of any organization working to guide the politics of Sanbornton. I am, however, a member of Trout Unlimited, should that make a difference to your decision.

I have seen how well our tradition of Town Meeting can work, even with highly contested issues to be considered. We can have it that way again. I will give my best effort to be a quality moderator for Sanbornton. The future direction of our town should be, and will be, decided by you the voter. Let's work together for a better Town Meeting, and a better town.

Joseph R. Gray

Sanbornton