Letter: Don’t tolerate personal attacks on Grafton officials, candidates

Dear Grafton Community:

This is an open letter to our community and to persons running for Town office. As citizens of Grafton and members of Grafton Racial Inclusion and Social Equity (RISE) we would like to ask that candidates for our Town offices and their supporters pledge civility and kindness during this upcoming election season.  

While our views, values and beliefs may differ, we all share the common desire for a continuously improving Grafton.  People who serve in our many Town offices as elected officials and volunteers give much of their personal time and energy with the goal of moving our community forward.  We may at times disagree (even strongly), but we will always be appreciative of your work. 

We also ask candidates to actively distance themselves from supporters that commit personal attacks on other candidates.  As adult role models in our community, we believe that it is possible to disagree with another´s idea or approach without committing a personal attack.  We can and have to do much better than ever taking actions such as this.  

This is especially true with the use of social media. Social media is not private, statements are not anonymous or harmless and your words online last forever.  We teach our children these facts about statements on social media with hopeful eyes towards their future as they will apply to college or plan a career. As adults, we too have a responsibility to live together.  Our children will go to school with your children.  We will shop at the same stores. We will walk the same paths or check out books from the same library.  Grafton is everyone´s. While we do not all have to love each other or even be friends, it is important that we model that we can all be respectful and considerate.  

While we believe these approaches towards social media are known, this is a gentle reminder to everyone and a pledge from RISE members that we ourselves will plan to uphold these standards for civility. 

In conclusion, thank you for your attention to this matter.  We look forward to hearing diverse views, to hearing about candidates´ approaches to improve inclusion in our community and may the best people for each position win.

Signed by the following members of Grafton RISE:

Julie Feeney
Jen Ventullo Aspesi
Lisa Krissoff Boehm
Renee Shattuck
Justin Wood, Planning Board Vice-Chair
Rachel Gerstein
Jessica LaFreniere Belton
Amar Clark
Nancy Smith
Emily Hopkins
Sue Robbins
David Robbins
Anna Bee
Liz Clark
Jen Vacca
Sarah Vacca
Lee Sweeney Hume
Peg Ferraro