Good luck, now get to work

This week residents went to the polls - not in droves, but they still went - and elected those who will represent them on a variety of boards and committee for the next few years.

Nick Hay will now be sitting on the Westminster Board of Selectmen and newcomer Michelle Gianino will be starting her service on the Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School Committee, representing Ashburnham.

These two will be stepping into very active groups that are dealing with tough budgets, pending lawsuits or negotiations, as well as a host of other issues. For these newcomers it will be imperative to learn the issues quickly and thoroughly, but as Hay recently said, they bring "new energy" to the boards.

As these new boards and committees sit down for the first time together over the upcoming weeks, they should set goals for themselves and try to come at the new year with ambition and determination to succeed.

New energy is good. It can help to bring a fresh idea to resolving a problem, or it can even raise awareness of a new problem that, once addressed, can make the town a better place. But newly elected officials should also be careful of disrupting the working relationships that exists on the boards already. It is important that ideas are brought to the table in a respectful and professional way.

Elected officials are judged on the work they do (or you don't do for that matter). From the moment they are sworn-in until well after they leave office people will take their word on a variety of subjects as the official word of the town. Newcomers, and all officials, should remember this when speaking about issues facing the town and the school district.

Officials will also be judged on the way you get that work done. Presenting a good argument with assertiveness can be a solid method of accomplishing a task, while overpowering and complaining will not serve them well in the public sphere.

It's a lesson that if learned the hard way can put an official beyond recovery.