Recent controversy has a local organization, Citizens for a Fiscally Responsible Belmont (CFRB) in the spotlight. There has been some discussion of what CFRB is and does in local media. Dawn MacKerron, the president of CFRB, offered an explanation in a letter to the Belmont Voice, but it was self-contradictory and explained little about CFRB.
It claims that the CFRB is a “grassroots” organization amplifying the voices of the “marginalized, under-represented and ignored.” However, it also says that officers are elected officials and sit on town-wide committees, including the Economic Development Committee, the Vision Implementation Committee and the powerful Warrant Committee, the finance committee made up of town meeting members.
How is an organization headed entirely by elected members of town meeting grassroots? Grassroots means ordinary people, and one would not assume its leadership are all elected members of Town Meeting. Moreover, if CFRB has members in town meeting and on town-wide committees, why did they need to form a non-profit to “amplify marginalized voices”? What marginalized groups do they represent?
According to Ms. MacKerron’s letter and the CFRB website, they are working to increase accountability, responsibility and transparency in town government, all laudable goals. With so many CFRB leaders serving in town government, perhaps they can tell us more specifically about their work toward these goals and how it informs their representation of the residents of Belmont? Perhaps they can also elaborate on how CFRB’s goals amplify marginalized voices in Belmont? While there are so many eyes on the organization, it’s a wonderful opportunity to educate the town more fully on their aims and their work.
Rachel Watson, Hull Street