tuesday night, before the results even started coming in, i fired off this email to Joe Curtatone, the mayor of Somerville:
Dear Mayor Curtatone,
This morning I woke up bright and early, looking forward to doing my
civic duty and being part of this historic election. I work for the
Commonwealth, outside the city, and actually used personal vacation
time to make sure that I had a chance to vote. I knew I would be
late for work, and I accepted that because voting is important, and I
feel that with *this* election things are particularly important.
Not only is the presidential election going to make history, but the
ballot questions are provoking and important for the future of
Massachusetts.
I parked in Davis Square so that I could get to work as quickly as
possible, so as to not needlessly squander my limited vacation time.
I fed the meter, even though it was 6:45 AM, and walked down to the
Dilboy to vote.
I am not about to complain that it took me over two hours to wait in
line and cast my ballot. I am thrilled with the voter turn out, and
am happy that people are motivated. The line was pleasant, the
volunteers were above reproach, and I didn't even complain when I
found that I had been booted to the inactive voter rolls for missing
the primary. It was fixed quickly and easily, and I voted with pride.
I was dismayed, however, to find out that while I was patiently
waiting in a two block long line to vote, the City of Somerville took
the opportunity to look at my expired meter and ticket my car! I had
no chance to feed my meter. I had put in the maximum number of
quarters that I could. And had the voting line been reasonable, I
would have made it back to my car.
We do the residents of Somerville a huge disservice by fining them
for executing their right to vote, and for completing their civic
duty. If there was ever day when Somerville should have looked the
other was, this was it. It shouldn't be a day about making money.
It should be a day about everybody boldly stepping forward into a
new, unknown, future together.
Respectfully,
-- katherine
today, much to my surprise, i had this reply:
Dear Katherine -
I apologize for the inconvenience and applaud you for waiting in line to
vote. We saw a record number of voters come out to the polls in
Somerville on Tuesday - it truly was a great day for our city, our
state, and our country.
On Tuesday, our Parking Controls Officers were instructed to be mindful
of the long lines and the polls and to issue tickets accordingly.
I spoke to my Director of Traffic and Parking, Dear Katherine -
I apologize for the inconvenience and applaud you for waiting in line to
vote. We saw a record number of voters come out to the polls in
Somerville on Tuesday - it truly was a great day for our city, our
state, and our country.
On Tuesday, our Parking Controls Officers were instructed to be mindful
of the long lines and the polls and to issue tickets accordingly.
I spoke to my Director of Traffic and Parking, Jim Kotzuba, and he will
dismiss your ticket. I have cced Jim on this email so you can provide
him any pertinent information.
Again, I apologize for this inconvenience.
Best -
Joe Curtatone
many thanks to the mayor, and to somerville, for making things right. if you got ticketed while voting, i suggest you send an email!
