Town Meeting Member Proposes Charter Amendment Requiring Incumbent Nominations-September 2, 1982

In an effort to foster greater accountability and civic engagement among local legislators, a Norwood town meeting member is spearheading a proposed amendment to the town charter. Thomas C. Coen of District 4 announced plans to present an article at the upcoming September 20 special town meeting requiring incumbent town meeting members to gather ten signatures on official nomination papers in order to run for re-election.

Forcing a “Re-Examined Commitment”

Under the current municipal framework, individuals running for town meeting for the very first time must secure ten signatures from registered voters. However, existing town charter provisions allow incumbents to bypass the nomination petition process entirely, requiring only a written notification of intent to the town clerk to appear on the ballot.

Coen argued that while obtaining ten signatures is not an onerous task, the procedural requirement would force incumbent representatives to “re-examine their commitment.”

“Ten signatures are not that hard to get, but at least they’ll have to re-examine their commitment,” Coen stated. “This just makes them do the same as any other candidate… They don’t have to answer to their constituency now. At least they’d have to work to get on the ballot.”

Addressing Absenteeism and Accountability

Proponents believe the change would inject much-needed responsiveness into the legislative body, compelling members to engage in basic campaigning and answer directly to voters regarding persistent legislative hurdles—most notably absenteeism. The roughly 200-member town meeting frequently struggles to secure the mandatory 50 percent attendance quorum.

“People who don’t show up have no problem getting re-elected,” Coen noted, asserting that interacting with at least ten constituents during signature collection would give everyday citizens an opening to question representatives about their attendance records. Furthermore, Coen dismissed concerns that the measure might exacerbate existing challenges in filling town meeting vacancies due to candidate shortages. “One reason people don’t run is because it’s too easy for people in office to win,” he suggested.

The initiative builds upon a similar effort introduced the previous year by District 5 member Paul Poznick, which ultimately failed due to technical wording flaws. Determined to secure passage this time around, Coen is actively touring all nine town districts to drum up grassroots support and intends to demand a formal roll-call vote. “I’m going to ask for a roll-call vote,” he remarked. “It’s going to be awfully hard for them to say ‘no.'”

Skepticism From Town Leadership

Despite the ambitious grassroots campaign, Town Moderator Robert C. Capasso expressed strong skepticism regarding the article’s prospects, noting that he doubted it would pass “unless the sentiment has changed” among the incumbent membership.

While Capasso voiced support for well-informed representatives, he questioned whether forcing signature collections would effectively solve chronic attendance issues. “I’m all for town meeting members being informed. Whether that’s the way to do it, I don’t know,” Capasso said. “I don’t think having to get signatures will get them to appear.” Even if approved by local voters at the special town meeting, any resulting charter modification would ultimately require formal ratification by the Massachusetts State Legislature.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger