I would like to thank the voters of Wakefield – or should I say, the non-voters – for making a prophet out of me.

Two weeks ago in this space, I boldly predicted that you would stay away from the polls in droves on Election Day.

You didn’t let me down. Fully 90 percent of you avoided going anywhere near a voting booth on April 28. The Town Council race was decided by just 11 votes, so your non-participation made a difference!

They say that democracy is not a spectator sport, but 90 percent of Wakefield’s registered voters would beg to differ.

You’ve probably also heard the expression, “If you don’t vote, you don’t get to complain.” Tell that to members of the roughly 900 Wakefield Facebook groups. When it comes to things like roads, development, traffic and parking, people are more than happy to share their unsolicited opinions online 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

But on the one day that their opinions are actually requested, nine out of 10 are AWOL.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The recent Town Election is a case in point. Let’s just say that it’s probably a good thing that only the most tuned-in 10 percent of the population voted.

When it comes to increasing voter participation, be careful what you wish for. Take Monday’s opening session of Town Meeting. Please. Town Meetings draw even fewer voters than Town Elections – except when the School Department wants something. Then the troops come out of the woodwork to vote for whatever the “educators” want.
Remember the Saturday morning Town Meeting in 2023 when the question of building a new high school was on the warrant? Hundreds of newbies strolled in at the last minute, swamping the check-in lines. Town Meeting was delayed nearly an hour while they settled in with their pink Stanley mugs and their knitting.

They were leaving nothing to chance. The vote in favor of building a new high school was 1231-42, taking the term “packing Town Meeting” to a whole new level.

The same thing happened this week to a slightly lesser degree. With the town facing tough financial times, all town departments were asked to reduce their FY2027 budgets going into Annual Town Meeting. All departments complied except one. Can you guess which one that was?

The School Committee decided that they would go to Town Meeting with their full $58.6 million budget intact. Let Town Meeting try to cut $300,000!

The alarm went out to School Department employees and parents that an effort was afoot to decimate the school budget by cutting a fraction of one percent!

The minions dutifully showed up and made sure that not one penny was taken from the schools. The message was clear: Make other town departments cut their budgets. The School Department is untouchable.

As soon as the vote was taken, the deficit deniers began their noisy exit. Let the peasants deal with the rest of the warrant.

If these tactics bother you, I have one question.

Where were you Monday night?
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[The column originally appeared in the May 7, 2026 Wakefield Daily Item.]