Shepeluk: Working with elected leaders – a case for constructive dialogue

October 27, 2020  |  William Shepeluk

Many have questioned me about the comments Chris Viens made during a candidates’ forum last week. As municipal manager it is not my place to defend or criticize the personal public statements of public officials with whom I work. They like we all “own” their beliefs, philosophies and opinions, as well as the statements they make. However, in my long career, the public’s distrust and disdain for government and for elected officials, in particular, has never seemed higher. Office holders and members of the public alike tweeting their every thought and society’s addiction to social media often finding its highest and best use a means to inflict humiliation upon those with whom we disagree, have put us in a position where few people are willing to stand for election anymore – even in small Vermont towns like ours. 

To those who wonder how someone with views so unlike their own can represent the community, please take note of this: Three seats are up for election each year on the Waterbury Select Board. Since 2013, there have been only two contested elections for positions on the select board. After winning a seat in a three-way race for two seats in 2012, Mr. Viens has run without opposition four times including this year. Being critical of the ideas or motives of an elected official is easy, but it seems just so much talk, when so few bother to even think about running for office.

Can a select board member be removed from office? There is no provision in Vermont statute for a “recall” of a select board member by the voters. This means unless the board member resigns, she or he holds the position until the expiration of the term. In most towns in Vermont including Waterbury, the chair of a public body is elected to and may be removed from that position by the membership of the board.

I sometimes cringe when I remember a public statement or a decision I have made as town manager. None of us is always right and sometimes there is an inelegance in the transition between the ideas we formulate in our minds when “on the spot” and the words that come out of our mouths. When an elected official speaks, especially when I disagree with the statement or the thinking behind it, whether the seats held are in Washington, Montpelier or in our own town or school district, I try to remember that most run to move our society forward in the right direction, as they see it. I try to remember we voters put them in office. They hold office because they choose to run and because a majority of us voters marked a ballot in their favor. Sadly, however, and more and more of late, we elect candidates by acclamation or unanimous consent when we voters allow a candidate to run unopposed.

Fifty years ago, Walt Kelly told us through his comic strip character Pogo, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Think about that. We are all flawed and there are imperfections in all of our moral characters. These days we demand near perfection from our elected officials. We want them to represent “the better angels of our nature” as hoped for by President Abraham Lincoln. At his first inaugural, on the eve of the Civil War and trying to avoid it, he admonished his detractors and supporters alike, stating “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passions may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” 

In our town, in this time, I think this means when a public official says or does something we disagree with or even find to be egregious, we should first look for a means to educate the “offender” about how he or she has missed the mark. This is best done, not through insult or ad hominem castigation, but through civil admonition and then constructive dialogue. Perhaps pointing out why their statements offended you so, and explaining your own position would be a more effective way to bring about change, don’t you think? 

We all are in this together. A more perfect union should be our goal, but demanding perfection from public officials leads to disillusionment, discord and disengagement. “E Pluribus Unum” in its literal translation means “out of many, one.” However, in the case of a country or a community it anticipates a constant striving to become unified, to become that more perfect society we all desire. Let’s be more quick to pick up one another when a mistake is made and less willing to pile on. 

William Shepeluk is Waterbury’s municipal manager.