Table of Contents
Preferred contact method:
pfrattaroli@gmail.com
What experiences and perspectives would you contribute to Town Meeting?
I am a first generation American, small business owner in town, the father of small children in the public schools, son of seniors in Winchester. I also serve on several boards and committees, and as Winchester Town Moderator. I believe all of these experiences and perspectives help me bring a full and informed picture to my public service.
What are two or three issues facing Winchester that you think are most important and what are your positions on them?
What concerns me most is the polarization in our community. When we begin labeling our neighbors and fellow residents, it becomes easier to dismiss their perspectives rather than truly listen to them. In my service as a Town Meeting Member, and in my role as Town Moderator, my goal is to bring people together. I want to foster an environment where a wide range of viewpoints can be expressed respectfully and thoughtfully. Town Meeting works best when it benefits from robust, good-faith debate and diverse perspectives.
Only through that kind of open exchange can we arrive at decisions that are truly in the best interest of the entire town.
What is a special challenge in your precinct that might not be faced in other precincts?
It's hard to conceive of a problem that residents of Precinct 6 face that another precinct doesn't face. For instance, the houses across the street from me are in Precinct 5; traffic, zoning, infrastructure, school issues that affect us certainly affect them. It's harder still to conceive of a problem that residents of Precinct 6 could solve without the input and collaboration of the other precincts. Because it takes a majority of Town Meeting Members (and in some cases more) to act, collaboration is necessary to make our form democracy work. As a residents of Winchester, we are all in this together and thats especially true when serving as a Member of the Town Meeting.
Why should voters elect you to represent them?
This question is especially relevant this year as Winchester Town Meeting considers changing from "Robert's Rule of Order" to "Town Meeting Time", a parliamentary rule set based on RRO that was specifically designed for and tailored to Massachusetts Town Meeting. There is a long standing tradition in New England Town Meetings, dating back four centuries, which allows the Moderator to vote only to break (or cause a tie). In Winchester, since moving away from an Open Town Meeting to become a Representative Town Meeting in 1927, it has been the practice of the elected Town Moderator to run for and hold a seat (one of 192) on the Town Meeting as well. "Town Meeting Time" that suggests the rare ability to breaking the is not worth the cost of one of the precinct's voices.
I have thought long and hard on this question and decided to run for re-election this spring because Town Meeting has not adopted the new rule set yet, the Moderator holding a seat in the Town Meeting has been the practice of Winchester for nearly 100 years, and in the rare instance where one vote makes the difference, my Precinct would not lose a vote. By putting my name on the ballot for re-election as a member of the Precinct 6 delegation, I will be able to ascertain the will of the voters of my Precinct on this question.
–
