Letter: Provision for Attleboro Elected Officials "Keeps Them Honest"

To the editor:     

Kudos to , with support from , , and Mark Cooper on the introduction of a recall provision for all Attleboro city elected officials.

When elected to these offices, the Mayor, City Council, and School Committee take an oath to uphold the duties of those offices in a trustworthy manner and are given an awesome responsibility in governing the city and most importantly, the way that many of the city's funds are spent. This provision keeps them honest and prevents anyone from acting above-the-law as we've seen numerous times over the years in neighboring Rhode Island. I'm not so sure about extending to a three-year term but we'll see what they come up with and if they can work together with other council members on it.

The next thing that needs to be worked on is creating a provision for term limits for all of these offices. Elected officials who have been in office for multiple terms can sometimes get too comfortable and become ineffective without this needed incentive. The limiting of terms would not only force them to get something done sooner (rather than later) in their time as an official, but would also give someone else a chance to get involved.

The last thing that we need to do is discourage new candidates who want to join the process. This is especially true if they feel like they have no chance to win against a person who has outlived their effectiveness, but who still has considerable political clout.

Sincerely, Mark C. Ambrose

Attleboro, MA