I’m a retired attorney, with a career as a legal writer/editor spanning approximately 150,000 pages of material relied upon daily by lawyers and judges. I have lived in Orleans since 1993, with a break for a family emergency between 2006 and 2013. My kids both went to Nauset High. I missed Orleans deeply while we were gone, but in regard to its politics, I’m finding myself lately liking it less and less. I created this site in the course of being an advocate for one simple thing: a year-round place for dogs to be able to run and play. It doesn’t matter if you agree with me about that or not, because these issues transcend individual policy choices.

 

We deserve an honest, functioning town government which supports a thriving, cohesive community. In my judgment, we don’t have that now.

 

Over the course of several years of watching local officials operate in regard to the issue of dogs, I came to the assessment that they were acting exactly as, let’s say, Mitch McConnell might. From their point of view, perhaps they describe it as “hardball politics” and “getting things done.” I judge that their approach has been divisive and destructive, and reflects a lack of the personal qualities necessary to build consensus and community. I feel especially strongly about the need to confront such behavior when it strays into actual illegality, or (here comes a quaint word) “immorality” so significant that it damages the fabric of our little society.
 
I see the task I have taken on as explaining things I’ve noticed and why I consider them important. I’m open to being corrected if I’m misrepresenting something, and that is never my intention. I will freely admit that there are people in Orleans politics I don’t much like, but I would lose respect for myself if I invited you here in order to indulge a cheap desire to hurt or embarrass anyone. My sole purpose here is to offer you a narrative and/or some questions to consider, for the sake of upholding an honest and functional form of local government.
 
That being said, it may happen sometimes that people's actions raise doubts as to whether they are fit to continue in their positions. They may be friends of ours, or people who have done great work in the past, or people for whom we feel considerable compassion. Regardless of our personal feelings towards them, though, if we always let people off the hook so as “not to be mean,” we will not be rewarded with effective government. For the sake of the common good, we need to be objective, and we need to hold people accountable.
 
In the following pages you'll learn about…

• The absurd debacle at Kent’s Point, where Town officials have misrepresented the expert study they commissioned, and scapegoated nonresidents for their own failures, in order to enact an illegal regulation which benefits a small group of friendly constituents.  

• My dog Boris’ (utterly serious) write-in candidacy for Select Board.  As far as that goes, let me take a moment below to answer some questions people commonly ask me:
   

What Prompted You To Run Boris For Select Board?

The main catalyst was the recent administrative process to consider solutions to the so-called “overuse” problem at Kent’s Point. To make a long story short, I judge that it was socially toxic, disingenuous, and designed to justify an illegal action by the town (although probably in the mistaken belief that it would be legal). I cover this at length in the Kent’s Point portion of this website. This was kind of the last straw for me. In my judgment, every time town government has gone near anything directly or tangentially related to dogs since 2019 (Kent’s Point is a gathering space for dog walkers), they have played games, misinformed the public, and poured gasoline on simmering social divisions.

Beyond that, I see a semi-dead downtown; rapidly rising taxes; a demographic shift towards rich, sometimes self-centered newcomer retirees; and a sort of drab, sour “vibe,” even compared to when I moved here in 1993. I was 38 when I moved here. I can’t imagine being 38 and moving here today. It doesn’t feel happy or alive. Town government isn’t completely responsible for that, but the actions it takes and the way it interacts with Orleans citizens can either accelerate these bad trends or somewhat counteract them, and I want it to do the latter.

 

Why Don’t You Run For Select Board Yourself?

I could truthfully say that I have too many other obligations and interests to devote the necessary time, but I think it’s even more important that in terms of character, experience, and expectations, I don’t have enough in common with the people who currently run the town to be able to fit in, and collaborate with them productively. I’m pretty sure that’s a rare thing town officials and I agree upon.
 

What Good Will It Do If Boris Wins?

If Boris wins, he won’t be allowed to serve, and someone he defeated will take the seat. This will be a good thing, because it will remind that person, and other members of town government, that getting elected in Orleans is rarely an actual mandate from the citizens. After all, our turnout is anemic, and rarely are important issues debated seriously in the course of a campaign. Perhaps it will also encourage our representatives to make a greater effort to understand Orleans residents outside of their "bubble," and thus better serve the common good.