Elaine Tefft for Town Council, Bedford NH 03110: February 2007

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Week Three: An Open Letter to the Voters

Much has happened since my last open letter. Many of you have taken me at my word when I told you I would listen to what concerns you. I am pleased that so many of you are comfortable talking to me about a wide variety of issues and that you trust me to honestly answer your questions. If I don’t know the answer, I do tell you I’ll find the information get back to you. And, that is what I have done.

I attended the most recent meeting of the Bedford Adults & Seniors Committee and they have some exciting plans. Before I met with them, I read their by-laws. Those by-laws provide that 75% of the committee is to be composed of persons 50 and over. That is their focus and their constituency.

It seems to me that this should be the rule on all other committees, sub-committees, boards, or commissions, appointed by the Town Council and achieving that parity is going to be one of my primary goals.

Time and again, the Town Council’s agenda lists candidate interviews at 5:30 pm, with appointments voted on at 7:00 pm the same evening. No time is taken to carefully consider the candidates; no opportunity is given to the public to give their input or to make sure that the people most affected by the work of the appointees are fairly represented. If they can list the names of proclamation recipients on the agenda, they can list the names of those being interviewed for a council appointment. There is absolutely nothing in the Right-to Know-Law that precludes those names from being made public prior to action being taken. If you vote for me, I will work to have an open and equitable process for those appointments to committees, commissions, etc.

I’ve been working hard to get my message out to the voters and to encourage them to vote on March 13th. Bedford is at a crossroads. Depending on who is elected, Bedford will either become a civil community with open access and information for all residents, or it will remain a closed club.

The choice is yours. Please go to the polls and vote for me on Tuesday, March 13th. If you need a ride to the polls, please call. If you know you won’t be able to get to the polls, please apply for an absentee ballot. You can do it on line or you can call the Town Clerk at 472-3550 for help.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Week Two: An Open Letter to the Voters

The most frequently voiced complaint I have heard in the last few weeks is the lack of representation of the average resident on boards and committees. This results in a pretty homogenous group of people who keep getting appointed and re-appointed. In part, it can be explained under the old “birds of a feather” adage. You can only appoint people you know and you generally make friends in your own socio-economic group. There also exists the suspicion, that those who don’t fit the profile of the well-to-do get short shrift in the interview process. The interview is sometimes pro forma and it is communicated to the applicant that he doesn’t stand the proverbial snow ball’s chance of being nominated. I know that both of those scenarios have and do occur.

But there is also a third possibility. Maybe the people who should apply just don’t do it. There can be a number of reasons. Writing an application letter is intimidating. What do you say? What are the criteria? Will they use what I write to make fun of me? All of those are valid concerns. I hate to write about myself, or even talk about myself. For me, it’s been the most difficult part of running for office.

If I find a problem, I try to fix it and this seems to be a problem. So, let’s try to build a sense of community in Bedford together. Let’s assume that the first two explanations for the make up of the boards and committees is no longer operational. That leaves the third possibility and that’s where I can help. If you want to apply and want help with your application, just call or email me and we’ll sit down together and get it done. My telephone number and email address are both on my website, www.elainetefft.com.

Before I decided to address this issue, I checked at the town office to find out how many applications had been received for the committee to study the wetland regulations and was told they have only received four.

I hope that at least half of those were sent in by residents who have signed the petitioned article that is going to be voted on March 13th.

That’s also the same day that you will vote on the candidates for town council.

HELP ELECT ELAINE TEFFT

Vounteers may contact Elaine at: threepeel (at) aol (dot) com

Please include your name and address, phone number, email, and the best time to call.

Please indicate what you would like to do to help Elaine:

- Make phone calls.

- Put sign(s) up on your property. Please indicate the address to which the signs are to be delivered.

- Help put up signs elsewhere.

- Allow the use of your name as a supporter on campaign materials and on this web site.

- Write letters to the editors at the Bedford Bulletin, Journal, Union Leader.

letters@theunionleader.com
editor@thebedfordbulletin.com
cabnews@cabinet.com

- Help canvas neighborhoods and hand out fact sheets.

- Hold a sign at the polls on March 13, 2007.

Please include any other comments or ideas you have.

Personal Information

ABOUT ME: A native of New Hampshire, I have been a Bedford resident for 38 years. I grew up and was educated in New Hampshire, attending the University of New Hampshire. My daughter Alice graduated from West High School and went on to Wheaton and Dartmouth. She is married, lives in New Jersey and works in New York City; trained as a chemist, she has become a computer geek.

I worked as a paralegal in my late husband’s law firm for 30 years. I researched legal and other issues, drafted documents, prepared witnesses for their testimony and was responsible for jury selection. As a Trustee of private trust funds, I’ve been responsible for the administration, disbursement and investment of substantial amounts of money on behalf of the beneficiaries.

My interest in American decorative arts led to my owning Bedford Center Antiques, membership in the New England Appraisers Association for 25 years and the New Hampshire Antique Dealers’ Association. I do independent research, lecture and write on various areas within that field. My late husband and I produced “Odds & Ends”, programs which were shown initially on BC-TV. Our program on KEO was used in the Bedford School System.

As a past president and member of the Bedford Women’s Club, I’ve helped raise money for scholarships and many groups in Bedford including the library and fire department. I’m a member of the Bedford Garden Club, Currier Museum and support the work of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic New England and the New Hampshire Historical Society. I work to help them and other similar organizations raise money for research, preservation and operating funds so they can continue their important work. As a member of the State Board of Directors of the General Federation of Women’s Club, I worked to improve opportunities for women.

Even though living in and maintaining an old farm house is time consuming, I’m one of the library’s best customers and I play backgammon, bridge, cook for my friends, and garden.

Political Profile

I’ve held several offices since I started in politics as a teenager, some were elective some were appointive, but I learned from all of them. The people I worked with taught me a great deal about what it takes to be effective while holding onto your core values. They taught by example; they treated all of their constituents with courtesy and respect, recognizing whom they worked for and their legal rights to petition their representatives. I have consistently listened to those who feel they have no voice. I intend to continue my belief in these values when I represent you on the Town Council. They are very simply my core values.

I grew up during the Army/McCarthy Hearings, the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. I had read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in elementary school. And I believe that those documents meant what they said and the rights they guaranteed were for all Americans. Of special importance in Bedford are the rights you have to the quiet enjoyment of your property, the right not to have property taken from you by onerous regulations, the right to address your government officials without fear of being ridiculed or embarrassed.

I first ran for office after I moved to Bedford and served nine years on the school board. I was on the town's budget committee, various building committees and planning committees, supervisor of the check list. Governor Meldrim Thompson appointed me to several state committees and on behalf of some of those committees; I traveled the state and took part in public hearings to hear directly what the taxpayers wanted done. I held the office of Permanent Journal Clerk for the New Hampshire Senate and from my office in the State House observed how laws were enacted and met with politicians running for local office as well as presidential candidates.

The Bedford Town Council is a non-partisan election. While I have served on the Board of the town Republican Committee, I declined to be re-nominated because I want to visibly represent all of the voters — Democrats, Independents as well as Republicans. As a Town Councilor, I will represent those who do not now have a voice, regardless of party affiliation. I will work to secure appointments to boards and committees that represent the entire spectrum of Bedford residents. And I will never forget my core values and that I work for you, the Bedford taxpayers.

Elaine Tefft for Town Council, Bedford NH 03110