Author Archives: dunster

Alpha Delta Phi v. Fred Phelps

I worked for my fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi, for a couple years in the mid-90’s.  Our chapter at the University of Chicago was coming through a rough period back then, and I spent many an evening there talking to officers, giving advice at chapter meetings, and working with alumni.  And I made some life-long friends – I keep up with the UC goings-on.

I was scanning the blogs today, and Towleroad caught my eye: “Frat Boys Offer Fred Phelps An Animal House Protest For Tolerance.”  I looked at the video, and damn if that isn’t the ADPhi front porch!  I’m so proud of these guys. Who knew, sitting there in that house in 1996, that the chapter would be making headlines against bigotry.  It reminds me why I volunteer in the first place.

You can read a bit more about the event on the school paper.

Betty Dunn for Town Clerk (Windham, NH)

My mother is running for Town Clerk in Windham.  She’s on the ballot against the long-time incumbent and the incumbent’s deputy.  She’s got a website up, Betty Dunn for Town Clerk.  On the site she articulates why she’s the right woman for the job.  Please give it a read and contact her with any questions.

So, for all you Windham readers out there, please vote for mom.  And for all you readers who know someone in Windham. . . please pass the word.  Election Day is in one week, on March 10.  Thanks.

Finance Committee FY10 – Budget Decision Delay

Black text is mostly objective, red text is mostly subjective in nature. 

We’ve had five FinCom meetings this year so far.  I missed two (out sick).  I only put up notes on some FinCom meetings, partly because of my time constraints, party because some of the stuff is just too dry to get excited writing about.  Tonight there was enough interesting stuff to write, so here goes the first FinComm post of ’09.

I think the most important thing we talked about was to not decide the budgets yet.  Ordinarily at this point in the budget cycle we’d have a bottom line in mind and a draft set of budgets that come close to that bottom line.  We’d be meeting with departments, reviewing the budgets, and getting them on target and sync’d up with general policy.  This year, we have draft budgets that reflect an increase in spending (higher than level funding, lower than level service).  The consensus is that the current expected revenues require a 1% cut in funding – our draft budget is out of date.  Additionally, there are a whole bunch of unknowns: the state has a couple different pots of stimulus money that have a real chance of affecting the town’s revenue.  There is a new chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, which makes local aid less predictable (and likely to be late in releasing a budget).  The Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) are likely to be larger because of stimulus spending.  There is a movement to increase meals taxes and return the money to state and towns.  When you look at the timeline and likely outcomes, the budgets are likely to change a half-dozen times between now and Town Meeting.

So, our plan right now is to wait.  We’ll meet with departments but not try to finalize any budgets.  Town Meeting will open.  Town Meeting will dispose of zoning and bylaw articles.  We’ll then ask Town Meeting to adjourn until late May or June.  We’ll finalize budgets in May with the departments, and then have Town Meeting vote on those finalized budgets.

We’re not locked in on this plan.  We may change our minds if other town bodies/officers recommend otherwise.  I think this is the right way to go.  There are so many variables, we’ll be chasing our tails making a budget this month.  We can reasonably expect most of the variables to be resolved by May, and we can write a believeable budget then.  I believe Town Meeting members will understand the logic.  It’s an unexpected inconvenience, but it’s the right thing to do.

In other business, the committee voted to table the vote on pay-as-you-throw legislation until the Selectmen have considered it.

The committee voted to table the Recycling Committee’s budget until after the Eco-fest so as to judge demand for compost bins.

Barbara Goodman came in and spoke to her request for home rule legislation that would, in the end, permit her to buy two years of retirement for her time as a school committee member.  The committee considered the proposal and voted unanimously to recommend against it.  There were a variety of reasons discussed.  

  • The committee would rather that  retirement benefits for volunteer positions be less available, not more common, and will not vote to expand it.
  • We should stick with the standing state law on the matter.
  • This is an example of the abuse cited by the governor’s blue-ribbon commission on retirement reform.
  • As a home-rule petition, the legislature would likely make Arlington accept the liability and pay for the additional retirement benefits.
  • Town Meeting can choose to grant a salary if it chooses, and it has not.

I made the motion on this one.  My arguments are mostly in bullet points 1 and 3 above.  In my mind, that isn’t work that makes you eligible for retirement benefits.  I don’t think that selectmen or the moderator should be elibigle either.  Pensions benefits should be reserved for full time workers, not volunteers who receive a stipend.

We heard a presentation from Jay Weinberger about his 13-year-long attempt to remedy drainage issues and water damage on Mead Road.  After hearing the story, the committee tabled the issue and asked for more information from the DPW.

We hear a report from Bill Shea of the Permanent Town Building Committee centered on the firestation rebuilds.  He wants to modify the language of the FY09 vote.  I pointed out he could do that if he got on the warrant for the Special Town Meeting, which is open tomorrow.

The Human Rights Commission was heard.  They reported on their activities of the year and asked for a level-funded budget.  We recommended level funding for them and a handful of other committees.

The minutes were approved.  A few other items were discussed without decision.  We adjourned early, at about 9:40.

Real or Onion: Mass Hires Spending Czar

My friends and I play a silly game online.  We send each other news headlines on instant messenger under the headline of “Real or Onion.”  To win, you have to fool your opponent into mis-classifying the headline.  “Congressman Wants to Talk with Rodriguez” – it’s real, on nytimes.com right now.  “Genetic  Experiment Goes Horribly Right” – that’s Onion.

So, here’s today’s winning contestant: “Governor Appoints Spending Czar.” You and everyone else guessed Onion, right?  Sorry, it’s real.

The writers at Blue Mass Group, generally defenders of the governor, are as baffled as I am.  You can read the back and forth yourself – from “what the heck” to “it’s good project management” to “don’t we already have that?” and back.

The state has what, 100,000 employees and spends more than $50 billion dollars a year.  There are countless methods the state already uses to spend money.  I do not understand why we’d need a new, special person to spend more money.  It begs the question – what do the other state employees do?

This obviously isn’t the end of the world.  In the grand scheme of thing, this guy isn’t going to break the bank.  But it strikes me as tone deaf on the governor’s part.  Thousands of people are being laid off in Massachusetts this year, and the correct response is to hire someone with skill in spending money?

Real, not Onion.

Truck Day

Today was Truck Day.  I rooted through my closet this morning and carefully chose what to wear.  The Red Sox red socks that Aunt Ellen gave me were guaranteed.  First try was the 2004 long-sleeve shirt with my Youk game jersey over it.  Turned out the jersey had some beer stains (how did those get there, I wonder).  Round 2 was a Soxaholix shirt under the 2004, with a blue Sox pullover and the new red warmup jacket with zippered sleeves.  Top it off with the cleanest of my Red Sox caps, and that’s 7 different items of clothing with a Red Sox logo.  I was ready for the 12 degree February morning, with the entire 2009 season stretching in front of me.

I was not the only Truck Day celebrant.  Respect the Tek woke from a blogging slumber (read the archives – there’s some quality writing there).  Boston.com got the photographers in full swing.  And of course Soxaholix was the place to read the commentary.

It turns out that most people at work don’t know what truck day even is.  When I explained it, they still didn’t get it, until I said it like this: We know it’s not Opening Day yet.  It’s not the first game of exhibition season.  It’s not the first day of spring training.  It’s not even the day that pitchers and catchers report.  It’s the day that the equipment truck drives from Boston to Florida in anticipation of . . . all of that.  

Truck Day is sort of like seeing the first robin of spring, but who cares about some stupid worm-eating bird?  Truck Day is the first whiff of beer and popcorn, the leading whisper of the roar of the crowd, the almost-there pop of the bat,  and the start up the hill of the roller coaster.  You’re not moving fast yet, but oh, the anticipation.

Truth in Advertising


Found via Jay and idly.

I actually drive an American car, so I don’t think they’re all shitty.  But the point stands.  When I work for a company that can’t sell enough product to stay alive, I expect the company to go bankrupt and I expect to lose my job.  Seems straightforward enough to me.

Tweeting the Governor

I got an email Friday that Governor Deval Patrick was going to visit the CIC (a bit more on the CIC).  I knew the governor was on Twitter (I was one of the first 25 people to follow him @massgovernor).  So, I sent him a tweet and asked him to stop by! 

my tweet to the gov

I wasn’t the only HubSpotter with this brilliant idea. See the tweets here, here, and here.  When you worship at the altar of inbound marketing like we do at HubSpot, it’s natural to engage with opinion influencers.

And it worked!  A little after 2 a bunch of us were in the board room listening to a presentation when the Governor walked in!  We all shook his hand, and he spent a few minutes meeting with our founders, Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah.

We all formed up for a picture outside, and as he was leaving, we sat him down for a group picture.

gov patrick group photo

You can see me in the back row.  I snapped a few pictures as well as I could. . . but you can see there were issues. 

decent Patrick picture

Afterwards we chatted with some of the governor’s posse.  We confirmed that the tweets were the reason the Governor came – his new media people saw the chatter and figured that it was a good place to visit.  The visit got written up in a couple places, including Universal Hub.  It’s a social media success story – Twitter made it all happen.

Don’t Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out

DiMasi is resigning as speaker and quitting the General Court entirely.  Good riddance.  I’d like to publicly admit that I was wrong when I wrote about DiMasi earlier this month.  I thought he’d only quit after his indictment.

I still think he’s going to be indicted.  I was wrong about the order of events.

Now all eyes turn to the Democratic caucus.  Which ethically-challenged candidate, Rogers or DeLeo, will succeed DiMasi?  I can’t say that I care.  Let’s hope a third, clean candidate appears.

A Vote To Learn What Mass Democrats Are Made Of

On January 7th, the Democratic State Representatives of Massachusetts are going to choose the Speaker of the House for the ’09-’10 session of the General Court.  The incumbent and presumed winner is Speaker Sal DiMasi.

Here’s the problem: The citizens of Massachusetts have witnessed a parade of scandal, corruption, and conspiracy from Mass Democrats.  Sal DiMasi is at the center of at least three scandals, involved in a couple more, and is actively fighting the ethical investigations into his office.  He’s not fit for the office.

Here are some links to refresh your memory:

  • Five percent of the state senate was indicted last year, specifically Democratic Senators Marzilli and Wilkerson.
  • Robert Couglin (Gov. Patrick aide and state rep) was fined $10,000 for seeking employment from an industry while he was writing them tax breaks.
  • Middlesex Count Register of Probate Buonomo was caught on tape stealing change from the copier machines at the courthouse.
  • House-Speaker-contender John Rogers’s campaign funds found their way into a vacation home mortgage.  “Ooops.”
  • State Rep. Charles Murphy was caught voting on Beacon Hill.  While he was in the Virgin Islands.  The guy is tall, but his arms aren’t that long. . .
  • Boston City Council member Chuck Turner was arrested for his role in the Wilkerson conspiracy.
  • The Wilkerson conspiracy includes an as-yet unnamed state representative – presumably one who will be casting a vote this week for the next speaker!
  • DiMasi is directly implicated in the contract that was improperly awarded to Cognos.
  • DiMasi’s accountant and campaign treasurer Richard Vitale has been indicted for illegal lobbying.  It’s worth nothing that DiMasi claimed to have never talked with Vitale on the issue, a fact that is contradicted by the indictment.
  • DiMasi and his wife were involved in killing a liquid gas facility in Fall River – while DiMasi’s friend and wife’s employer Jay Cashman made $14M on the land in question.
  • DiMasi is fighting the Ethics Commission’s inquiry into the issue.

I think you could look at any one or two or three of these items and think of them as a few aberrations, outliers.  But a list that long?  With so many players, in so many areas?  To me, that’s a system of corruption.  It’s a set of people who can’t tell right from wrong.

What sort of message will it send when DiMasi is re-elected?  The message, loud and clear, is that it’s business as usual in Massachusetts.  It doesn’t matter how cloudy your reputation is.  All that matters is that you’re a Democrat with clout; it’s all you need to get by.

I think this is deplorable.  DiMasi should not be the Speaker.  He should step down; if he won’t step down, he should be voted out.  The House should choose a new leader.  He or she should be a clean as clean can be, and should be given the mandate to reform and reform again until the public trust is restored.

At least one State Representative agrees with me.  State Representative David Torrisi (a committee chair even) has announced that he will not support DiMasi’s re-election.

I wish I could say that Torrisi was my representative!  I’d be proud to have him.  In my new home I’m represented by Jay Kaufman who is quoted:

“I don’t feel at all distracted,” said Rep. Jay Kaufman, the Lexington Democrat whom DiMasi moved from the back bench to the House chairman of the Public Service Committee and has defended the speaker. “I think I’m very focused, as are most members, on the challenges we’ve got by way of the economy and loss of jobs, an education system that still needs serious attention, etc., etc., and I’m sorry that David feels distracted. I don’t.”

What Kaufman does not appear to understand is that it is impossible for him to work on the economy and education while the government he supports is distrusted by its citizens.  He can only succeed with the support of the citizens and tax payers.  He will not have that support while the government declines to confront its image (and evidence) of corruption.

Some defenders of DiMasi will say that it is up to the courts to decide if DiMasi is guilty or not.  I agree with the statement, but it is irrelevant.  The only thing that is up for debate on January 7th is if DiMasi is the right person to be Speaker.  At this point, it does not matter whether or not he is guilty. It is unarguable that DiMasi is in ethical trouble.  It is unarguable that he’s declining to cooperate with investigations into alleged improprieties.

The bottom line: Do the Democrats understand the degree that the public has lost faith in their moral compass? Do the Democrats have a moral compass?  Do the Democrats want to show the public that they’re serious about changing the culture on Beacon Hill?  Do the Democrats have the guts to change leadership?  In short, do they have the guts to follow Torrisi?   Of course, I’m skeptical.  DiMasi is going to win re-election this week, and he’s going to hold the title until there is an indictment.

This is one of those votes that shines a bright light on your representative.  Are they willing to stand for change?  Are they willing to step out of line?  Are they willing to take a stand for an ethical government? I’m not suggesting that you call your representative and let them know what you think.  This is where you find out if they know how to do the “right thing,” without a poll or a phone bank to tell them what to do.

Watch how he or she votes. Record it, remember it. And take it to the ballot box with you in 2010.

Changing Years

I like the celebration of the new year as a point of reflection.  It’s a milestone, like a birthday, but one that we all share.  It’s a time to consider what has past.  So, reflect I will.  2008 was a busy year.

  • I went to Tokyo.
  • I became an uncle.
  • I quit my old job, and started a new one.
  • I managed to visit a number of friends that I hadn’t seen in ages, Doug, Darienne, Amy, and Glen to name a few.
  • I bought a house.

There were also a couple of changes in my personal life.  I’m not quite ready to make them a part of my blog, but feel free to ask, and I’ll tell you. 

I’m not a fan of New Year’s resolutions.  If there’s something in my life that needs changing, the time to start is when I’m ready (the sooner the better).  Waiting for a new year seems silly.  I don’t like the idea that a new year means a new outlook on life.  My outlook is always as up-to-date as I can make it, thank you very much.

I  have one thought for 2009 that comes perilously close to a resolution.  I lost 15 pounds in 2006, ending the year at 249.  2007 and 2008 both ended with the same number (thanks only to a 5 pound loss in December!).  I’d like to make some more progress in 2009 – let’s call it another 15 pounds.

Happy New Year!