Local Democracy II/V

Wethersfield is no longer Wethersfield  

NOVEMBER, 9, 2024 - After conducting essential visits to archives and libraries, our field investigation led to a significant surprise. Wethersfield, the township cited by Tocqueville, is no longer governed by the direct democracy model of Open Meetings. Instead, governance has evolved into a political system with an elected mayor and his party, alongside a city manager who is a professional at the helm. Nevertheless, the mayor continues to uphold the tradition of conducting referendums.

Across the six states that make up New England, there is a struggle for influence between two camps. One camp believes that the issues have become so complex that they are beyond the understanding of the general public, and that only elites with specialized knowledge should govern. In this setup, the technician is educated, specialized, and knowledgeable about the laws, while the politician takes center stage to present and persuade. The politician specializes in communication and aims to regulate traditional democratic processes, particularly the voting on budgets through referendums, Both groups often invoke the concepts of professionalism and modernity, and both are compensated for their work—a point considered heretical by the opposing side. Those who advocate for a more democratic approach argue that city management should begin with citizen debate and that everyone can grasp the issues if technicians explain them effectively and with pedagogy. They often express frustration at feeling excluded, which they cite as a reason for the declining attendance at meetings. Over the years, participation in these meetings has dwindled. Despite this decline, the Open Meeting system remains predominant. In this scenario, the political-technician alliance is likely to leverage referendums to gradually implement their governance system. In larger cities, governance leans toward a political-technical model, while townships resist or compromise. However, civic interest can still be notably high. A recent referendum in Wethersfield saw an exceptional voter turnout exceeding 60%, whereas others fell below 20%. This situation illustrates a landscape characterized by two parallel worlds.

For over two centuries, Wethersfield has faced the challenges posed by the Connecticut River, which flows through meadows enriched by the alluvium it carries.  John Oldham and nine others known collectively as the “Ten Adventurers, recognized this location as a compelling call to settle, leading to the establishment of the first village at a strategic bend in the river, effectively connecting maritime trade with agricultural growth. The Massachusetts’ General Court granted them permission to purchase land. So they purchased a six mile stretch moving in a north-south direction, a five mile tract directly to the river’s west, and a 3-mile stretch to the east–  what “great meadow” cradled by what natives called the Great Tidal River, which produced fertile soil for anyone interested in farming it and cultivating beans, squash, peas, and maize. (Fierro, 2018). Around 200 families joined them. Renamed Wethersfield in 1637, “Ye Most Auncient Towne,” is arguably Connecticut’s first settlement.

Because of  the river’s unpredictable nature, which threatened to flood the colony, Wethersfield remained resolute in its pursuit of westward expansion, a goal that was never fully thwarted. They organized their civic,  social and religious life putting at the center the Open Town Meetings Building.  Since the beginning of the settlement, a wooden structure built by the residents, functions as a venue for both civic and religious activities, typically situated near the center of the township. At the time of Tocqueville’s visit, the current Meeting House, built (1761), in bricks in the Georgian style was the third one and served not only as a place of worship, but also as the assembly hall for town meetings and other public events,  a place to debate, vote, judge and elect. 

At the township level, Open Town Meetings were responsible for electing various agents, including tavern keepers, meat packers, horse-branders, sealers of weights and measures, grave diggers, cow keepers, sheep masters, surveyors of fences and common lands, chimney viewers, collectors of fines, and pound keepers.

Local sources, particularly "The History of Ancient Wethersfield" by Adams and Stiles (1904, 1974), confirm the existence of many elected officers in Wethersfield. The town court was established in 1669, consisting of three principal inhabitants, one of whom served as the sworn "Moderator." The court met bi-monthly and had jurisdiction over matters involving up to forty shillings (Ibid, p.188). More significant cases were referred to the General Court in Hartford. An amendment adopted in 1838 required the electors of the county—created as an administrative unit in 1666—to elect the personnel of the county court, as well as a marshal (1666) and a sheriff (1838).

Each township elected a constable, who was approved by the General Court. The constable acted as a link between the local community and the Colony, responsible for collecting colonial taxes and fines, delivering them to the Colonial Treasurer, and executing orders passed by the General Court.

The Open Meeting  building does not exist any more. And Wethersfield is no longer ruled by an Open Meetings regime. In 1953, after a change in the charter approved by the population through a referendum,  the township shift to the opposite model, a representation system with an elected city council of nine members and an appointed city manager, hired for his professional expertise.

A Council-Manager Governance

 This shift represented a significant departure from the direct governance of earlier days, when Tocqueville was writing. The rationale behind this change was the prevailing belief that modern governance requires expertise and professionalism. The office of the mayor is a full-time position, with a salary range typically between $83,703 and $106,000 per year, depending on experience and tenure. In contrast, council members hold part-time positions with modest compensation of around $2,000 per year. The charter can be reviewed each five years and submitted to the vote of the population. In 2105, the population voted in favor of minor changes with a “low turnout” according to the Hartford Courant, the leading newspaper

Key Points of the Current Charter

1. Incorporation and Powers:

 The town is recognized as a body politic and corporate, with the ability to own property, sue, and be sued.

2. Elections

Town elections are held every odd-numbered year; with nine members of the Town Council and other officials elected. They belong to a party, six over nine are Democrats including Ken Lesser, the current Mayor. The Mayor is the chief- elected official of the town and presides over Town Councils meetings.

Ken Lesser has a background in education and public service. He has been elected a first time in 2017 and been re-elected since then, he can serve multiple terms, but each term is two years long. He represents the town at official functions and is the key spokesperson for the community. In an email interview (11/8), he wrote. “You know the quote from Winston Churchill, “Democracy is the worst form government except for every other one.”  The point is democracy has many flaws, but our democracy has served us well for almost 250 years. We changed our charter to make government more efficient I believe as I was not around at the time. We have kept important pieces of the open government process, like the ability for citizens to get signatures on a petition to send certain issues to a town wide referendum. In fact, we will be voting tonight to send a town issue to referendum. Our democracy works well in Wethersfield.”

The Town council meeting is held typically the first and third Monday of each month. The Open Town Meeting is held at the same time. Citizens are Invited to express their views to the chair under certain rules (obligation to register, time of speech etc). Their interventions are kept in the minutes and the video recordings. However, major change with the old times, they do no vote including the annual budget, except under some circumstances leading to a question ballot or a referendum as it occurred in November 8, 2022 (see below)

The rights of the population

The role played directly by the inhabitants is summed up in the charter

“Sec 301 Powers The governing body of the town shall be the Council, which shall exercise and perform all the rights, powers, duties and obligations of the town, except as the same may be assigned by this Charter to some other officer, board or agency.

The Council may provide by ordinance for the exercise of any of the administrative powers of the former Board of Selectmen not otherwise assigned by this Charter, by the Manager or some other officer, board or agency. The legislative power of the town and final authority concerning the budget and tax rate are vested exclusively in the Council, except as otherwise provided in this Charter

Sec 309 Referendum on ordinances and resolutions Any ordinance or resolution adopted by the Town Council, with the exception of matters relating to the annual budget, the tax rate, the removal of any person or persons, a special appropriation of less than 0.15% of the appropriated General Fund expenditures for the current fiscal year or an emergency ordinance as defined in this chapter, may be reversed by referendum if, during the twelve (12) day period following the adoption, there is filed with the Town Clerk, in respect of such ordinance or resolution, a petition signed by electors of the town, in number equal to at least five percent (5%) of the total number of electors in the town, as determined by the last final voter registration list.