Mabfan's Musings

Probably the most controversial pair of articles to come in front of Brookline Town Meeting at the session just past were the ones devoted to the security cameras.

In brief, a few months back the town received money from the Department of Homeland Security to set up a few security cameras in some of the more high-traffic areas of the town. The police department planned to use these cameras to help fight crime. They had some reasonable arguments in favor of the use of these cameras, pointing out that they were only in public spaces and that the footage would be useful in reconstructing events.

Despite these assurances, though, and despite the respect and trust that the town has in our police chief and our police department, there was a grass-roots movement to fight the cameras. People opposed to them were concerned about a variety of things, including the storage of the footage, access to the footage, and a general unease having to do with anything coming from the Department of Homeland Security.

Although I myself would tend to side with the folks opposed to the cameras, I wasn't active in the fight, because I didn't really see the harm. In fact, despite my standard liberal progressive voting record in Town Meeting, I wasn't sure where I would end up voting on the cameras. I listened closely to the very reasoned arguments of two of my fellow Town Meeting Members from precinct 12 as we discussed the cameras in a discussion meeting before Town Meeting. Casey Hatchett, who is also a police officer, supported the cameras and pointed out all their usefulness to the department in keeping the town safe. David Klafter, who is firmly in the progressive camp, opposed the cameras and warned about the encroachment on our liberties. (I was pleased when both of my fellow TMMs brought their arguments to the floor of Town Meeting, one right after the other.)

The cameras have been in place in a pilot program now for a few months, the idea being that the town can evaluate how effective they are and whether or not they are a good idea. Although it is the decision of the Board of Selectmen to keep the program going, Town Meeting chose to weigh in on the issue. Article 24, if passed, would have encouraged the Selectmen to keep the program going; article 25, on the other hand, would have urged the Selectmen to end the program immediately. (Some of us were amused by the possibility that both articles might pass, but Town Moderator Sandy Gadsby reminded us before considering the articles that Town Meeting is usually consistent on our votes.)

Before Town Meeting, I took the pulse of my constituents to see where they stood on the cameras. I called two friends of ours who are married to each other and I asked my wife. Feedback was mixed, so once again I found myself having to listen to my own conscience on the issue.

And in the end, for me the tipping point was an editorial in the Brookline TAB: Editorial: Camera pilot program too risky. I urge you to go read it in full, but for me the money quote was this:

"Even if the study committee were to give the program high grades based on its mandate — and it might — it will never satisfy what we feel is the fundamental question: If a free society is monitored from a remote location, is it still free?"

I can still see the point of supporting the cameras, I have to admit; with the recent economic downturn, we seem to be experiencing more crime in Brookline. (If not, it just feels that way.) But the TAB got me thinking about the definition of a free society. And in the end, I have to say that I do worry about the tiny bits of freedom that are eroding in the wake of our new technologies. (The convenience of Google Maps, for example, has to be weighed against the knowledge that anyone on this planet can now easily see the plants I choose to put in my windows.) Stopping the cameras now is incumbent on us, because even if we trust the watchmen of today, we have no idea who will take on the role of the watchmen of tomorrow.

Afternote:

As usual, the Brookline TAB's reporting of the events of Town Meeting is comprehensive. Here are some good articles I recommend.

How did Town Meeting vote?

Last night's capsule Town Meeting

Brookline Town Meeting rejects surveillance cameras

I always feel that there's too much going on in my life to adequately note it here. For example, this past weekend we had sdelmonte and batyatoon visiting, and next weekend is Shavuot, and the weekend after we're doing something, and...

You get the idea.

Also, for everyone who keeps asking me, gnomi is continuing to do fine.

So, anyway, tonight is the first night of Brookline's Town Meeting. Having just been elected from my new precinct, I feel an obligation to show up, even though there are many other political choices tonight (do I go to a rally in support of Sotomayer or against Proposition 8?). Tonight may very well be the longest Town Meeting session of the year, as we're going to approve the town budget for Fiscal Year 2010, which starts on July 1.

Unfortunately, the state has warned all the municipalities that the amount of local aid promised may end up dropping, even though many municipalities are determining their budgets over the next few weeks. So we may end up approving a budget, only to have to reconvene to adjust it when we find that we're not getting as much money as we had expected from the state.

It'll be an interesting discussion tonight and tomorrow. Just don't expect me to get much sleep. :-)

Last night, as a newly elected Town Meeting Member from precinct 12, I attend the Neighbors Building Brookline Warrant Review Meeting. Although I've been a Town Meeting Member from precinct 9 since 2001, I’ve never participated in an advance discussion other than by email or phone. I found this gathering of my new precinct delegation most useful, as it gave me a chance to hear different perspectives on the issues in a more intimate setting.

I've written up a report on the discussion at the Neighbors Building Brookline website. The report can be found at this link: Warrant Review Meeting Report. I considered reposting the report here, but decided that if anyone's interested, you can just click through from my blog to the report. Feel free to comment here, though.

According to the unofficial results from the precinct 12 Town Meeting election, it would appear that I remain a Town Meeting Member for another term.

My thanks to all those who voted for me.

For the first time, I decided to take the day off from work to campaign during the day for Town Meeting. Nomi and I arrived at our new polling place, the Runkle School, at around 7 am, and already there were many other candidates waiting in front to meet voters. Nomi went inside to vote while I handed out campaign flyers, and then she took over for me while I went inside to vote.

At this point, I'm really not sure what kind of turnout we'll get. Last year, precinct 12 had a turnout of more than 700 people, but the weather was beautiful and there was an override on the ballot. This year, the only contested town-wide race is for School Committee, so unless you've got a horse in your Town Meeting race, there might not be much incentive to come out and vote. (Also, it's cold and drizzly, and supposed to rain more steadily later.)

We had a number of voters come this morning, but there were also a lot of parents dropping off their kids for school, and not all of the parents were planning to vote. Still, those of us there running for Town Meeting or supporting other candidates are maintaining a nice level of enthusiasm.

I'm handing out palm cards for my slate, Neighbors Building Brookline, but I also prepared a small flyer about myself. I wanted to let people know that I've never missed a night of Town Meeting ever since I was elected in 2001, and that I've been one of their Library Trustees since 2004. I'm hoping precinct 12 voters will see my dedication to representing them, and choose to elect me to represent them as I represented precinct 9 for nine years.

I'll be back out campaigning from 11 am to 1 pm and then from 3 pm to 5 pm. Members of my slate will be around during the vital evening hours, which is good because I have a press screening to attend. But if you're a voter and you're around in the middle of the day, please stop by and say hello.

Yesterday evening, around 7:45 pm, Nomi and I were going home on the Green Line C train, and we couldn't help but be fascinated by a conversation a young woman was having on her cell phone. She was facing the wall of the train, obviously intent on preserving some modicum of privacy, but the fact is that if you're choosing to have a conversation in a public space you have to accept that people around you will be privy to your words.

It was a rather heated conversation, too. At first I thought she was talking to her boss or a co-worker, as she was complaining about how she had already applied for her vacation days for next year, and now all her plans were going to be disrupted. The more we listened, however, the more we realized that the person on the other end of the phone was not her boss, but her boyfriend. Apparently, he had agreed to be in a friend's wedding, which was going to disrupt whatever plans the woman had already made with him.

As we were getting off the train, she was still talking to him, using phrases such as "you should treat me like a partner" and "I can't do this anymore." It sounded as if she breaking up with her boyfriend on her cell phone, while riding a moderately crowded train. And we weren't the only ones on the train intrigued by her conversation.

As Nomi and I walked home, I pondered the advice that fiction writers often get to pay close attention to people's conversations, the better to write dialogue. The fact that this woman was having this conversation on her cell phone meant that on the one hand, we weren't getting the full dialogue. On the other hand, I doubt it's a conversation we would have heard at all if it had not been for the false sense of privacy afforded to her by the cell phone.

So here's an exercise for writers: listen to someone's cell phone conversation on the train or somewhere else public. Jot down what that person says, and then fill in the dialogue you missed on the other end of the phone call.

For those of you interested in my campaign to be re-elected to Town Meeting, I have now posted my Candidate Statement at the Neighbors Building Brookline website.

As I mentioned on Monday, all week I've been posting the candidate statements for the five Town Meeting candidates that NBB has endorsed from precinct 12. I honestly have no idea if any voters have been reading the statements, but I expect more will do so soon. This morning, on my way to work, I stopped at the Post Office and dropped off the NBB flyers, which include the address for the website. So I'm hoping that over the weekend, voters in precinct 12 will take advantage of the website to learn more about the candidates.

I'll be campaigning much of the day next Tuesday, and I'm hoping to get to know more of my neighbors.

As many of you already know, in my campaign to be re-elected to Brookline Town Meeting I've been endorsed by Neighbors Building Brookline, an association devoted to improving our community based in precinct 12 of the town. Yesterday we gathered to prepare the campaign mailing that goes out on Thursday morning. The flyer includes information on the five endorsed candidates, but of course on any flyer space is limited.

So in my own role as a member of the group, and with the help of fellow member Mike Oates, I've taken steps to start working more on our group's website, which is located at http://www.neighborsbuildingbrookline.org. In the future, we hope to make the website a resource for Brookline residents, but for the moment, we're mostly focused on the upcoming election. To that end, as we note in our blog post Candidate Statements Start Today, we've decided to post candidate statements this week from the five candidates we've endorsed for Town Meeting, one each from Monday to Friday. The idea here is that any precinct 12 voter who wants more information can come to the website and find out more about the candidates we've endorsed in the election.

If you're a precinct 12 voter, I welcome you to come check out the statements this week from our endorsed candidates for Town Meeting (Lee Cooke Childs, David J. Cotney, Jonathan Grand, Michael A. Burstein, and Casey Hatchett). It'll give you a chance to find out a little more about the five of us, and why Neighbors Building Brookline feels that we'd be valuable members of Town Meeting. (Actually, four of us already are members of Town Meeting.) If you live outside of Brookline, consider visiting the site anyway, as an example of local politics and community organizing in action.

And if you're a precinct 12 voter, I hope you'll vote for me next Tuesday for Town Meeting.

As a Brookline resident I don't get to vote in Boston municipal elections, but since we're surrounded by Boston on three sides I tend to try to stay plugged into Boston's politics as much as I can. (Also, six days a week I find myself in Boston.)

Over the years, I've come to be impressed by Mayor Thomas Menino (although I will note that I do have friends who disagree with me). In my humble view, Menino presents himself as a caretaker mayor who wants to make sure that life is made as easy as possible for the residents of his city. He's not someone who has a grand political vision and wants to push it through; his vision for the city is to make it a place of simple livability.

It seems to be a common impression, and now I know why. It's because that really is how Menino does his job. And here are two pieces of proof.

Firstly, there's this column from today's Boston Globe: Mayor Menino, at your service by Yvonne Abraham. I highly recommend that people interested in local politics read the whole article.

(Aside: speaking as a writer and editor, I find Abraham's article a delight to read.)

Apparently, Menino holds regular receptions for new homeowners, during which he shows genuine interest in his citizens' lives and looks for ways to help them out. Abraham presents one specific case in which Menino connected a new homeowner who just lost his job with a city housing expert working to stop foreclosures. In another case, Menino actually knew one homeowner's father, a Boston cop, and details about her new neighborhood.

(Another aside: columns like these present most eloquently the reason why we need newspapers to stay in business.)

Menino may not be a great orator, Abraham points out, but he clearly cares about your problems.

Which leads me to the second thing.

Some of the members of our synagogue, Kadimah-Toras Moshe, have been dealing with the issue of Boston College's expansion plans into their neighborhood. Originally, a public hearing and presentation to the Zoning Commission had been scheduled for the evening of April 8, which this year is the night of the first Passover seder. Members of the community wrote to Mayor Menino and other politicians, pointing out this conflict and imploring them to take action. This resulted in a letter sent yesterday from Menino to Robert Fondren, the chairman of the Zoning Commission, in which Menino asks him to postpone the meeting to a later date. And that led to an announcement today that the hearing will in fact be postponed.

I grew up in New York City, and I understand that the mayor of New York has a much bigger job to do than the mayor of almost any other city in the United States. But I never got the feeling that any of New York's mayors had the same personal connection with his city's residents as does Mayor Menino of Boston.

As many of you know, I'm very involved in local politics in my adopted hometown of Brookline. Since 2001 I've served as a Town Meeting Member from precinct 9, and since 2004 I've also served as a Trustee of the Public Library of Brookline. Both of these are elected positions, and so I face re-election to each office every three years.

As a Library Trustee, I'm in the second year of my second term, so I don't have to worry about re-election until 2010. But as a Town Meeting Member, this year is an interesting one for me. My current term expires this year, and so I would normally be running for re-election...except that in December Nomi and I bought a condominium in precinct 12, so I now have to run as a new candidate in our new precinct.

Conveniently enough, though, we happened to buy the condominium of a Town Meeting Member whose term also expired in 2009 and who was moving out of the town, thus leaving an open seat from our new precinct. I breathed a sigh of relief at this turn of events, because to be perfectly honest I don't like challenging incumbents unless I feel very strongly that they're not the folks for the job. This way, I could file papers as a candidate and not feel like I was challenging anyone already present.

(Brief explanation: each precinct has 15 TMMs representing it, in staggered three-year terms. So this year, there are five TMM seats to be filled from each precinct.)

As it turned out, one of the other incumbents chose not to run, meaning that only three incumbents were running for re-election. But then beside me, three other residents of the precinct decided to run, meaning that there would now be a challenged election, seven people running for five positions.

In a race like this one, it's always good if you can get endorsements, and I'm pleased to be able to announce two endorsements for my candidacy.

The first endorsement has come from Neighbors Building Brookline, a coalition of precinct 12 residents who first came together in 1994 to support an override. I already knew some members of the coalition through my work in town politics, and I was hoping for their endorsement. The simple fact of this year, though, is that all seven candidates from precinct 12 are excellent candidates. So when I met with NBB earlier this week, I knew that I couldn't take their endorsement for granted. I very much appreciate the difficult job they must have had in picking their candidates, and I am delighted that they saw fit to endorse me. Assuming I am elected, I plan to be an active member of the coalition, meeting with them to dissect the warrant as they do in the weeks before every Town Meeting.

One notable thing about NBB is that they don't actually take positions on the warrant. The people in the group span the political spectrum, but they're all dedicated to doing as good a job as possible understanding the articles that come before Town Meeting, so they can cast educated votes on the issues. As someone who always wants to hear the opposition's point of view on an issue before casting my own vote, I'm looking forward to these discussions.

(As an aside, although the Town Meeting Members of precinct 9 all knew each other, we generally didn't get together to discuss the warrant beforehand. But we did often email each other.)

My second endorsement was not entirely unexpected, but one that still pleases me nevertheless. Once again Brookline PAX, a local political action group, has chosen to endorse me for Town Meeting. Brookline PAX has actually endorsed me in every local race I've been in, and I hope they've been satisfied with my work as I've fought for better library services and good development for the town.

Election day is May 5; for the next month or so, other than observing Passover, I'll be working toward convincing my new neighbors that I would be as good a Town Meeting Member for them as I was for my previous neighbors from precinct 9. If you're reading this and you're a registered voter from precinct 12, please consider casting your vote for me on May 5.

Back in 2001, I ran for Brookline Town Meeting and won. Ever since, I've been a Town Meeting Member representing precinct 9.

Last December, Nomi and I moved from precinct 9 to precinct 12. Conveniently enough, we ended up buying the condominium of another Town Meeting Member, one whose term, like mine, expired in 2009. Furthermore, she moved out of town entirely, leaving an open seat for me to run for in the new precinct.

However, because we're new residents in precinct 12, I'm no longer considered an incumbent for my seat. So over the past month, I've been collecting signatures from registered voters in my new precinct, asking them for the opportunity to represent them the way I represented the voters of my old precinct for these past nine years.

Yesterday, I filed my nomination papers with the Town Clerk's office and am now an official candidate for Town Meeting once again.

Interestingly enough, there's not a lot of competition going on in town this year in the local elections. The TAB posted an article today from tomorrow's paper, Prospective Selectmen, Town Meeting candidates sitting Brookline election out, in which writer Steve Bagley notes that a large number of precincts have no competition in the local races. I'm quoted in the article, pointing out that there tends not to be a lot of interest in the races unless there's a pressing local issue. And this year, the biggest issue on the table is the economy, which doesn't really have a clear-cut way to be addressed on a local level (as noted by TMM Marty Rosenthal, who is also quoted in the article).

As it stands, I may end up having an actual race, because six people have pulled nomination papers for the five Town Meeting Member positions up for election in precinct 12 this year. As a candidate myself, I'll be honest and say that it would be a lot easier for me if the race ended up uncontested. Even if that were the case, I'm still planning to call up many of my new neighbors to introduce myself as a candidate for Town Meeting Member from precinct 12.

But as a proponent of democracy, I wouldn't mind seeing more contested races throughout the town.

The December 2008-January 2009 issue of Brookline Magazine (along with its sister magazines Newton Magazine and Metrowest Magazine) has just published a very nice profile of me. Although the impetus of the profile is the publication of I Remember the Future, the focus of the profile is also my involvement with the town of Brookline:

Michael Burstein is a writer with a special focus, a profound concern with memory.

Burstein is a typical Brookline resident – well-educated, liberal, and with leisure enough to content himself with a wide spectrum of interests. A physicist by training and educator by practice, Burstein has been a Brookline town meeting member since 2001, a library trustee since 2004, was once a would-be astronaut and has a tendency to burst into song over dinner.

If you'd like to see more of the article, the author has posted a PDF from her blog entry Profile of Michael Burstein.

As I mentioned earlier today, I haven't had much time to blog because we've been very busy. In brief, last month Nomi and I moved to a new apartment. We're still in Brookline, but the move has been both busy and stressful. (We're actually still in the process of moving some of our possessions out of our old apartment.) Our new apartment still isn't completely set up, and is unlikely to be set up for a while, which just adds to the stress.

But overall, we're quite happy.

I'm hoping to get back to a more regular discussion soon of the usual things of interest: writing, science fiction, conventions, history, politics, science, and all those other things I like to talk about. But with deadlines at work, Arisia coming up, and new stories to be researched and written, my presence here may be sporadic at best.

In the meantime, here's some things I want to share:

My high school has been in the news recently, which always interests me. The New York Times reported on The Big Cram for Hunter High School, in which they profiled groups of sixth-graders taking the test for admission. Of course, there's a reason you might want to go to Hunter, as it could help you one day get appointed Solicitor General of the United States (class of 1977).

My friend Michael Marano is a fellow Grub Street instructor, and he's teaching what looks like a fascinating class on "The Art of Genre" on how to give your genre fiction a more literary bent. I wish I had the time to enroll, but if you're a local writer, you might want to check it out.

The Hugo nominating ballots are being sent out, and people are posting all over the Internet about their eligible work. I'll be doing the same soon.

More to come...

As part of the promotion for I Remember the Future, this month I am appearing on the local cable access TV show Brookline Writes. Brookline Writes is a TV show devoted to featuring Brookline writers. I'm appearing on a panel discussion with Dan Kimmel and Gary Wolf. Here's the official listing:

“Brookline Writes,” a series of lively panel discussions about books broadcast on Brookline Access TV, continues its second season with December’s program on science fiction. Joining host Peggy Hogan are Michael A. Burstein, author of the short story collection “I Remember the Future;” Daniel M. Kimmel, film critic and Internet science fiction reviewer, whose new book “I’ll Have What She’s Having: Behind the Scenes of the Great Romantic Comedies” is just out; and Gary K. Wolf, the celebrated author of the novel “Who Censored Roger Rabbit?” whose literary vision of humans cohabitating with animated characters became a reality in the $750 million blockbuster Disney/Spielberg film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”and inspired the themed Toontown Disney Parks at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland. His latest science fiction novel, “Space Vulture,” is a collaboration with his childhood friend, Archbishop John J. Myers.

In their wide-ranging, provocative exchange, the three writers discuss with Hogan their individual introductions to their genre, the attractions and challenges of creating alternate universes, and the differences between science-based fiction and fantasy, as well as the peculiar pleasure of visiting Disney’s version of a world you created. Broadcasts continue through December. See www.batv.org for a full schedule.

If you don't live in Brookline, clicking on the link above will bring you to the TV show's website where you can also watch the half-hour on streaming video.

Tomorrow evening the town of Brookline will have its annual First Light Festival from 5 pm to 8 pm.

The festival includes local authors reading from their work at Brookline Booksmith, and it so happens that I've got the first slot, from 5 pm to 5:15 pm. The website of the Brookline Public Library Authors' Collaborative currently lists all the authors who will be reading, and when.

I'll be reading the interlude sections of the title story of I Remember the Future. Come hear me read if you can, and you can also pick up a signed copy of the book.

On my way to work this morning, I ran an errand, and discovered the following box sitting on the Beacon St. "island" between Pleasant St. and Waldo St. in Brookline:

Coolidge Corner Box Photo copyright ©2008 by Michael A. Burstein.

It appears to be a rather large wooden box. Inside it's lined with what appears to be aluminum foil, and there's a wooden log just sitting there.

Inside the Coolidge Corner Box Photo copyright ©2008 by Michael A. Burstein.

Anyone have any idea what's going on? If I had to guess, I'd say someone is doing an experiment with using sunlight to set the log aflame. But who is doing this, and why? Did they have to get permits? There was no sign explaining this at all.

As I mentioned on Friday, a bit of Town Meeting/Library Trustee business threatened to fill up my time. But no matter what might happen in the world, Nomi and I always have Friday night and Saturday off, because, of course, of shabbat.

Nomi and I had a very nice shabbat. On Friday night, we ate dinner at the home of our friends the Cypesses, and we met a most fascinating visitor to Boston for the year, an air force chaplain who has been sent to study at Boston University. You don't meet too many Orthodox Jewish rabbis from the air force.

Shabbat lunch we were invited to the home of the Weinbergers, a family we're been meaning to have lunch with for a very long time. The food was delicious, and the conversation flowed.

Finally, back at Kadimah, I gave a talk on this week's Torah portion, Vayeira. My father died many years ago on the shabbat of this parsha, which includes the story of Abraham arguing with God about Sodom and Gommorah. I based my talk on the question, "Shall not the judge of all the Earth deal justly?" and used it to discuss both my father's love and pursuit of justice and my own belief that God created the world with scientific principles and laws that we can trust in.

When shabbat ended, I discovered two things that had developed over the day to press upon my time.

The first one had to do with town politics, more of the same from Friday.

The second one is best described on the Apex Digest blog, under the post The Battering of Burstein. The basic facts are that two of the boxes of autographed hardcovers of I Remember the Future that Nomi and I packed up very carefully, with the same padding in which they arrived at our home, ended up arriving at the publisher in damaged condition. One of the boxes was apparently completely sealed and intact, but with nothing in it. Needless to say, this has both of us distraught on many levels; Nomi and I went to great effort to take these 30 pound boxes to the Post Office, and I can't understand how one box could end up empty and sealed in transit unless someone stole the contents within.

If you see signed and personalized copies of the book being offered anywhere, I'd appreciate it if you'd alert me immediately. And if you're inclined to purchase a ticket in the Apex raffle for any of the items they're offering, Apex and I would both appreciate it.

Anyway, the rest of Sunday worked out nicely. Nomi and I went to the movies, saw many friends, and caught up on a little television. But for the rest of the week I have Town Meeting, so expect me to be scarce.

So next week is Town Meeting.

So on Sunday a Town Meeting Member filed an amendment to the standard revisiting-the-budget article to move the Library RFID money out of the capital budget and into a reserve.

So on Monday we had a Library Trustees Meeting to discuss a response.

So on Tuesday I crafted a response, which the Trustees looked over and which we sent out as from the Trustees.

So on Wednesday I was on the phone a lot.

So on Thursday night I was out at the Old Lincoln School, the temporary Town Hall, to attend meetings of the Advisory Committee's Administration and Finance Subcommittee and the Advisory Committee, along with a few other Trustees and our Library Director.

So today, I'm exhausted. And the three nights of staying up late for Town Meeting aren't until next week.

If I have time, I'll post details later. All you need to know is that Trustees still fully support funding the RFID program, as Town Meeting voted to do back in May.

Nomi and I got up early to vote today. We almost always do, and usually we try to get to our polling place at 6:50 am or so, ten minutes before they open. But four years ago there was already a long line at that time, so today we decided to get to the polls by 6:30 am instead.

It's a good thing we did. When we got there, there were already ten people on line in front of us. At 6:45 am, I stepped outside to count the number of people on line; it was already up to 43 people.

They opened the polls at 7 am, and we went in and voted. Our ballots were #15 and #16 inserted into the scanning machine.

When we left, the line was down the block, and people were still joining it.

I'm anticipating record turnout today.

Today, Massachusetts is holding a state primary, during which those of us taking a Democratic ballot have a choice for senator (although it's pretty clear that John Kerry will win re-election). Most of the other offices are uncontested in our precinct, and as a result they're not expecting a large turnout.

As is our wont, Nomi and I made a point of voting first thing in the morning today. The polling place opens at 7 am, and Nomi and I usually make it there around 6:55 am or so in order to beat the line. We were running a little late this morning, so we didn't make it to the polls until around 7:05 am.

Where we were greeted by the women at the check-in table with the words, "We were wondering where you were. Now we can have the election!"

Apparently, they've gotten so used to us being the first ones in line that they were worried when we hadn't shown up yet.

(In the end, we were voters #4 and #5 to feed our ballots into the scanner.)