Some ballots ask voters' views on war

Voters in seven communities south of Boston will have a chance to voice their opinions on the war in Iraq when they cast ballots in the Nov. 7 state election.

Citizens groups gathered the 200 signatures needed to put the question on ballots in the Third and Eighth Plymouth districts. The Third District includes Hingham , Hull , Cohasset, and Precinct 3 in Scituate. The Eighth District includes Bridgewater , Raynham, and Precinct 6 in Easton .

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Statewide, all or parts of 139 communities will weigh in on the nonbinding question, which instructs state representatives to support a resolution calling on the president and Congress to end the war immediately and bring home all US troops.

Across this region, supporters of the ballot question are using their weekly vigils in area communities to promote it with placards. They plan to be at the polls on election day to further urge its passage, and they have contacted area newspapers to get the issue before the public.

Ray Ajemian , a member of Citizens for an Informed Community, said the group will be out in force in the Eighth District. "We hope people will take the ballot question seriously," Ajemian said. While the measure "can't force the government to do anything . . . it is still public pressure," he said.

Bridgewater resident Vernon Domingo , a professor at Bridgewater State College and member of Citizens for an Informed Community , said it was not difficult to gather the required signatures for the question.

"We didn't meet with any hostility at all," he said. "I was surprised at how willing people were to have the question on the ballot."

The ballot question has, organizers say, stimulated debate across the region on the war . The aim of the nonbinding question is to "encourage a confrontation with the war," prompting people to examine the issue more closely, said Paul Shannon, a coordinator of the ballot effort.

The state representative for the Eighth District is David Flynn, a Democrat from Bridgewater . Flynn said he had given the nonbinding question serious thought and plans to vote against it on Nov. 7. "I'm concerned over the security of our military and over the safety of the Iraqi people," said Flynn, a Korean War veteran and a lifetime member of the Bridgewater Veterans . "There's a lot more to this than just bailing out."

Flynn stressed that he respects the opinions of Eighth Plymouth District voters and plans to discuss the issue further with US Representative Stephen F. Lynch , whatever the outcome of the vote.

Roger Fissette , a Korean War veteran and the veterans agent in Bridgewater, echoes Flynn's view that pulling out of Iraq, as the ballot question urges, is unwise. "And what will pulling out now do for the 2,000 that have given their lives there?" he asked. "I just don't know what the real solution is."

In the Third Plymouth District , an antiwar group called South Shore Peace Forum has been holding peace vigils every week for the last few years. Most people have been supportive, but a few have accused members of lacking patriotism, according to member Catha McSweeney of Hingham. The group this spring gathered the 200 signatures needed to put the nonbinding question on the ballot for the Third Plymouth District.

"We decided the question pertains directly to what we're about," McSweeney said. "It lets us express our opinions, and I think it will fare well."

Among the volunteers who gathered petition signatures for the ballot measure were local veterans of Iraq, Vietnam, and other conflicts, organizers said.

"Many of the people who are connected to the military are spearheading the effort to end this war," said Shannon , a member of the American Friends Service Committee . "The way to support our troops in a war based on lies is to bring them home."

To that, Mike Cunningham , a Vietnam veteran and veterans agent for Hull and Hingham , commented, "If it was only that easy." Cunningham called the ballot question unrealistic. "I support the troops wholeheartedly," Cunningham said. "As far as that resolution goes, I wouldn't vote for it."

Shannon is guardedly optimistic about the outcome on the question. "I'm hoping we'll get more than half the total, and that it will win in most of the districts," he said.

So, too, is Domingo. "Initially we thought it would be educational, but opinion nationally has changed so much," Domingo said. "Now, we're optimistic."

Christine Wallgren can be reached at CLWallgren@aol.com.