At last Thursday’s Joint Boards of Selectmen meeting, Chairman Leo Blair proposed that the group schedule an unstructured brainstorming session to aid in the Devens disposition process, with no attribution of comments by the press.
We applaud all efforts to come to a Devens disposition that aligns the towns and benefits the region, and although brainstorming sessions could be useful in accelerating process and solving problems, we believe that coverage by the press can only aid that process by keeping citizens informed. And aside from what we believe, Mass. General Laws Chapter 39 Section 23 B, otherwise known as the open meeting law, requires that any meetings of a government body or subcommittee be open to the public, except for very specific instances exempted by the law, and that minutes of those meetings be made available to the public. The law is intended to promote transparency in government.
Accordingly, the Press has notified the Harvard selectmen that we will continue to fully cover all public meetings of government officials, along with appropriate attribution of comments made at those meetings.
Participating in town government by way of public meetings—whether as an elected official or as an engaged, involved citizen—takes the courage to withstand public scrutiny and stand by one’s statements, for better or worse.