A Vitriolic Debate

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The debate over article #25, Form Based Zoning for North Amherst Village Center, veered towards testy a couple times and in both cases from opponents who would eventually rule the day--but only because, in zoning, a minority can obstruct the will of the majority.


Nathan Turowsky, a rare UMass student member of Town Meeting, described by another youthful rookie member as  "an adorable dorky kid" came close to being escorted from the podium by the constable.  Not so adorable.

And over on the privately owned Amherst Town Meeting listserve a vociferous opponent came back to a positive post from Nancy Buffone, UMass Executive Director of External Relations and fairly long-time Amherst resident, by calling her a "buffoon"-- although he quickly apologized:

 "Today I realized that no matter which side ends up winning tonight, I will have lost. I get no pleasure out of this kind of strife and nastiness that's been going back and forth. I'm probably one of the more guilty folk but I am not alone. The bottom line is that I feel drained and depressed. I probably will not watch Town Meeting tonight because I really can't win win no matter what  the vote is. This has taken a lot out of me."

After article #25 failed to garner a two-thirds super-majority, losing 137-73, there are indeed no winners.