Unseating an incumbent in any contest is usually an extremely difficult task. This year's contest for the single seat on the Burlington Board of Selectmen is made even more difficult in that the single seat has not had a challenger win it in over 25 years. History, plus the fact that the incumbent is completing a fifth term and is pretty well liked by the community in general makes an upset against the odds.
The obvious being stated does not alter the fact that there are reasons for an upset. Those reasons can be symbolically seen in a small way in the center of town. At the moment there is a vacant lot across from the new CVS store. It is a lot strewn with trash and it appears as a big red pimple on the end of the nose of the community. The symbolism is revealed by the number of the incumbents political signs on the lot. If a politician was paying attention to detail and fully engaged in both his office and his campaign do you think he would allow his signs to be part of an eyesore?
There are other more obvious indications of a lack of energy, enthusiasm and engagement in the incumbents service. It should be expected that an elected officials attendance at public meetings should be at or near perfect. Such has not been the case in recent years. Simply because a candidate has occupied a seat for 15 years is not justification for a continuation of that service. An elected position is not one of entitlement or of seniority.
Town government like any organization is not driven by auto pilot. It needs a constant infusion of energy and ideas. There have been precious few initiatives from the incumbent in recent years. In fact, many issues have simply sat around without any proposed resolutions with the incumbent remaining detached.
Those issues are apparent to frequent voters who will be going to the polls on April 5th. The Grandview Farm, Wildwood School, water treatment plant and banner fiascoes as well as a number of other issues remain unresolved or previous resolutions looked sloppy and left residual anger amongst the electorate.
I admit a bias in supporting the challenger, Dan Ditucci for the position. I have known Dan for over 45 years and graduated from high school in the same class. In all those years he hasn't really changed to much. He has always been a hard worker who has succeeded in his business. He is a "townie" who I believe genuinely has the town's best interest at heart.
What ever the outcome of this race, the fact that Dan has chosen to run and to shake up the status quo is in the community's best interest. The message that is being sent to town hall by a strong challenge is that better performance is expected by the residents from its leaders. If Dan is elected I believe the community will get that, if he is not elected I believe the community will benefit from an incumbent who got a wake up call.
