Randolph voters reject shift to mayor-council government

In local elections Tuesday, two of the largest towns south of Boston wrestled with the question of how they should be governed.

Randolph voters narrowly rejected a plan to replace its town meeting form of government with a city-style format led by a mayor and council. The measure lost by 201 votes, 52 to 48 percent.

In a nonbinding question, Braintree voters supported a mayoral form of government. A year ago, in a question that was binding, they rejected a proposal for a new government that would have featured a mayor and a municipal manager.

The elections do not appear to have resolved long-running debates over what form of government is best for the communities. In both towns, activists plan to present reform proposals to town meetings this spring.

A Randolph group that opposed the mayoral proposal will ask Town Meeting this month to adopt an alternative reform plan that would reduce the size of the representative body, and replace the town administrator post with a town manager, who would have more authority.

Randolph Selectman James Burgess, who championed the mayoral plan, said he does not believe the idea is dead.

''I've seen a lot of communities go through this," Burgess said. ''It usually doesn't pass on the first try."

William Grove, chairman of Braintree's town government study committee, said the wording of the two-part nonbinding referendum on Tuesday's ballot was ambiguous. He said the committee will ask Town Meeting next month to move forward with a plan to create the post of a ''strong town manager' to replace the weaker job of executive secretary.

''The only way to find out what the people want is to put it before them, and let them vote it up or down," Grove said.

Randolph Town Clerk Brian Howard said if proponents of the plan for a mayoral format want to put the question before the voters again, they would have to start the process from the beginning. That would mean winning Town Meeting approval, then approval from Beacon Hill.

Howard said voters do appear to be looking for a change. ''The closeness of the question shows that people want town government reform. The question is how much?" he said.

Howard said it is possible that supporters and opponents will agree on a compromise proposal in the coming weeks.

Burgess, however, said he finds that unlikely. ''I don't believe you can do this piecemeal," he said.

Braintree, with 34,000 residents, and Randolph, with 31,000, are two of the most populous municipalities in Massachusetts still governed by town meeting and a board of selectmen.

Other large towns have debated switching to a city form of government in recent years. Weymouth made the change in 1999. Plymouth rejected city proposals in 2002 and 2004.

Advocates of a city-style government say town meeting is too unwieldy for large communities. Opponents argue that a mayor and council would be too far removed from citizens, who would lose their say in local government.

''On the one hand you have people who want to adapt to modern times and others who want to hold onto a treasured tradition," said state Senator Brian A. Joyce, a Milton Democrat who represents Braintree and Randolph.

''It's a tough decision."

Robert Preer can be reached at preer@globe.com.