LEXINGTON

Syed Ali Rizvi stood outside of Bowman Elementary School March 2 to gain support for his write-in campaign to become a Town Meeting member for Precinct 2.

Rizvi, originally from Lucknow, India, missed the February deadline for nomination papers, but learned about the write-in candidate process.

“Someone mentioned to me that you can be a write-in candidate. I didn’t know that,” he said. “The best investment I can make to the town is serving it.”

Rizvi was elected with 33 votes, according to unofficial results from the town clerk’s office, as was Jason Bressner, who received 14 write-in votes. Five other candidates in Precinct 2, who were on the ballot, each received two votes.

Precinct 2 was one of two that didn’t have enough people running for Town Meeting. Three write-in candidates were elected to Town Meeting this year.

Rizvi has been involved in school functions since he moved to Lexington 10 years ago.

“We have benefited tremendously from the town and all of what it offers,” he said. “Bowman parents have known me for many years.”

Rizvi had a lawn sign created for parents driving by or to Bowman Elementary School to see, which he held up on Election Day for people like Peter Kovner who might not have known about him.

Kovner only voted for the five Town Meeting candidates on the ballot because he knew of no write-in candidates. Rizvi had held up his sign in the morning and Kovner voted that evening.

“If somebody had let me know that they were running I would have put them down. If they had a sign, they would have my vote, not that they would need it,” Kovner said.

Kovner said low voter turnout was concerning, but he wasn’t at all bothered with the fact that these races weren’t contested. The March 3 election had a 16 percent turnout, according to the town clerk’s office.

“If there were more contentious issues in town people would run. I don’t think people are being smug, I think they’re pretty happy with what’s been happening,” he said.

Long-term membership

One of the longest-serving members, Dan Fenn II, has been in Town Meeting for 52 years. Having experience working in Washington, D.C., Fenn calls Town Meeting “a microcosm of the democratic process.”

“You see the same kind of personalities, the same kind of human behaviors in Congress in Washington,” he said. “It’s important to participate in public affairs of the community in which you live.”

source: http://www.lexington.wickedlocal.com /  Home> News Now> Article / by Jordan Frias / Lexington, March 06th, 2015