The conversation at Raymond Town Deliberative concerning this warrant article was balanced and pointed.
A violation of the Town Ethics Code, or the perception of a violation, is frequently the result of poor judgment. When an elected or appointed official demonstrates poor judgment, the people are ultimately penalized in some form as a consequence of the resulting actions. Rescinding the Ethics Code does nothing to correct the root cause of the problem, because it does nothing to modify the behavior of the official to use better judgment in the future. What it does is further penalize the people, since the mechanism to hold officials accountable is no longer available to the people.
Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgment. This is a lesson our younger generations would be well served to learn, and a concept some of our current officials can't seem to grasp as evidenced by their continued behavior.
I urge Raymond voters to vote "No" on Article 20.
Jim Kent
Responsible Raymond Taxpayer
