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<DIV>Sarah,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I think it's a 4th reason that you sort of mentioned in the bottom of your
post. </DIV>
<DIV>I think Councilmembers Kiernan and Donaldson did mean NO (it certainly
didn't mean yes!). </DIV>
<DIV>On many occasions in politics, if an opportunity presents itself to avoid a
negative voting record, by voting "abstained"; that opportunity will be
taken. Councilmembers Kiernan and Donaldson, while realizing that
there would not be enough yes votes to carry the legislation, more than likely
abstained from voting at all, to protect their voting record, and subsequently
concealing their real bottom line opinions on the matter. We may not like it,
and it may seem like a cop-out, but it is what it is, and it's their right
to do so. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Just my opinions, and mine alone.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Jay Wright</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 12/7/2006 12:15:41 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
twacks@his.com writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>can see
three reasons for abstaining.<BR><BR>(1) You believe that to vote on the issue
is a conflict of interest, <BR>and that it is therefore unethical to
vote.<BR><BR>(2) Your constituency doesn't care about the issue, and you don't
have an <BR>opinion yourself.<BR><BR>(3) Your constituency is evenly split on
the issue, and you don't have an <BR>opinion yourself.<BR><BR>Public opinion
on this issue seems overwhelmingly in favor of a <BR>pay increase if you base
it only on messages sent to this list. But we <BR>should all remember that we
are a small (but active!) group of voters in<BR>town. We don't represent
everyone. And those council members who abstained <BR>know their constituency,
just as those who voted "yes" know theirs.<BR><BR>I will say this, though.
Over the years, I have seen many a council member <BR>abstain when they really
mean "no".<BR><BR>I can't speak for Councilmembers Kiernan and Donaldson
regarding why<BR>they abstained on this
issue.<BR><BR>-Sarah<BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
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