It was a big decision for a small town
MIDDLEBOROUGH -- They showed up as early as 8 a.m., lugging lawn chairs, umbrellas, and bags full of snacks to sustain them. For most of the morning, they swayed to the mix of James Taylor, the Allman Brothers Band, and the Eagles playing over the loudspeakers.
And then, when the clock struck 11, town moderator James Thomas took the stage, banged his gavel, and instructed everyone to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Five minutes later, a small airplane appeared in the sky dragging a "NO CASINO" sign behind it. Residents opposed to having the state's first casino built in their town applauded loudly.
This town 40 miles southeast of Boston, which deems itself the cranberry capital of the world, yesterday held what most observers consider the largest Town Meeting in the history of the state. Gath ered on the local high school athletic fields, they took part in a heady exercise in democracy that had a free-for-all vibe of a tailgating party.
"We were thinking, the heck with the vote. Bring out the barbecue and beers and let's have a party," said Jeanine Knowlton, who was opposed to the casino.
Played out in steamy summer weather, the town meeting was, at times, a messy affair. Residents booed and hissed the neighbors they disagreed with and applauded those they supported. One woman grew teary as she implored voters to reject the casino, saying, "My children deserve more than a casino and all the bad that comes with it."
Some took photos, with a sense that something important was occurring as the town took what many have called the most important vote in its 338-year history.
"I want to have a record of this, for posterity's sake," said Jared Sinnott, 23, who snapped pictures of protesters in an area designated by town organizers as the "Free Speech Area." "This is American, right here."
There were about 50 patrol dogs from K-9 units across Eastern Massachusetts, and about 120 police officers rode bikes, motorcycles, and four-wheelers, lining the perimeter of the high school ball fields to make sure no non-Middleborough residents participated in the process.
Residents, many of whom had to take town buses to the school because parking was limited, filtered through the high school gymnasium and were provided with large, yellow ballots with the town seal on the front and two boxes on the back, marked yes and no, that residents were supposed to tear and place in ballot boxes later in the day.
When it was time for the so-called Australian secret voting to take place, nearly two dozen black boxes were carried to places on the field. Given the go-ahead, residents flooded the boxes, tossing in the portion of the paper that said whether they wanted the town to support a casino.
"This is democracy in action," said Kevin Cook, chairman of the town's personnel board. "They ought to have kids down here to watch this as a civics lesson."
Yesterday's meeting was run by Thomas, 71, who ran an insurance business in town and is in his second year as town moderator. He sternly sought to keep a firm handle on the large crowd, appearing flustered at times but also banging his gavel frequently to quiet booing dissenters or stop speakers going past their allotted two minutes.
"Everyone deserves to be heard!" he yelled into the microphone at one point.
Town Meeting is an institution dating to 1629 when the Colonies were dealing with important matters such as hiring a local minister. Anyone can write legislation, or take the microphone to influence his fellow residents.
It's a form of direct democracy that is practiced mostly in New England. Once towns get too large to have everyone gather in one place, they often switch forms of government, sometimes electing representatives to attend Town Meeting, other times forming a government with a mayor and city council.
Of the 351 municipalities in Massachusetts, about 300 have Town Meeting. About 40 of those are representative and about 260 are open Town Meetings, like Middleborough's.
Most of the meetings are sparsely attended, filling small auditoriums or high school gymnasiums to approve the budget or debate new zoning restrictions. Town officials said Middleborough usually attracts about 500 residents to its annual Town Meeting.
North Andover held a Town Meeting last year that drew 3,100 residents, which the Massachusetts Municipal Association reported as the largest in state history. There were 3,722 votes recorded yesterday in Middleborough.
But at an event many hailed as democracy in its purest form, the media was restricted to a pen in the corner, barricaded off by traffic barrels and yellow police tape. At one point, reporters and cameramen were led onto the field by a police escort, but were instructed not to approach voters. A sign instructed voters who wished to be in the limelight to head over to the media area, 10 people at a time.
Among the first to step forward was Bob Kinney, a 52-year-old opponent of the casino who argued to the media and some onlookers that a casino would increase crime and drunken driving.
"You are twisting the facts to fit your own agenda," said Bill Marzelli, a leading proponent for the casino. Then, Marzelli placed his index finger next to Kinney's ear and proclaimed before two dozen reporters who converged on them, "This is a finely tuned [lie] detector. Beep, beep, beep, beep!"
"That is just wrong!" said Kinney, his face growing red about the time the Eagles' "Peaceful Easy Feeling" played in the background.
Some yesterday were trying to take advantage of the casino prospects, or at least wanted to use the largest gathering in town history to their advantage. A local restaurant, the Tuscan House, passed out a $5 gift certificate as "A Reward for Voting."
Michael Quish, who lives 2 miles from the proposed casino site in Raynham, used his fleet of luxury, air-conditioned shuttle buses to pick up hundreds of elderly residents, many of whom favored the casino. Quish said his company, MSM Exec Limo, would surely benefit from the casino.
"There's been a lot of excitement," said Marilyn Nitenson, who has lived here 11 years. "A lot of people never even heard of Middleborough. Now we're on the news every day and night."
Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com 