Commentary: The right to vote is precious. It should not be abused.
My View | Carl Gustin Jan 19, 2025
A petition circulated last year asking if Gloucester voters wanted to vote on “3A” was an abuse of the right to vote. Misinformation and no information put the city and its citizens in a precarious position. According to the Gloucester Daily Times, the City Council was told by petition proponent Tracy O’Neill in early December “There was no misrepresentation … We never misrepresented ourselves. You signed a petition that said, ‘I want a chance to vote on 3A.’ That’s all it was.”
The issue is not 3A, which the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court early this month ruled to be constitutional. It’s about a legally required zoning plan approved unanimously by the duly elected City Council after months of public input and careful consideration by the city.
Why it matters
When a law is violated, there is a price to pay:
Opponents of the zoning proposal encouraged those who signed the petition to tell the city, in effect, to break the law — and leave taxpayers to pay the price.
That price is the potential loss of substantial grant funds under a variety of programs.
The plan is the result of an open and transparent process with many opportunities for full public participation:
A quick query of the city’s website shows more than half the entries in the first five pages of a search for “State 40A 3A / MBTA” involve notices of public hearings and meetings with opportunities for input.
The Gloucester Daily Times covered the process throughout as officials worked diligently over many months to arrive at a plan.
The plan is a community-specific, creative response to the law. It balances goals of the legislation with community concerns and recommendations.
Context is important
Misunderstandings about the law, the process, the substance, and the results should not be excuses for rejecting the plan. “Gloucester is losing its sovereignty” is not relevant. Rights flow from the laws of the nation that grant rights to states and communities. Singapore, Monaco, and the Vatican, not Gloucester, are sovereign cities.
The opponents were neither forthright about the topic nor provided context about what voters were being asked to sign.
The right to vote is precious. Voters, when asked to sign a petition have the right to receive — and proponents have the responsibility to provide — fair and honest information so voters have the context within which to make an informed decision.
Carl Gustin is a Gloucester resident and columnist.