Seeking solutions: Randolph tries to turn it around

By LANE LAMBERT
The Patriot Ledger

RANDOLPH - When voters and elected officials talk about the town’s plate of troubles, they offer one suggestion without much prompting: Change the form of government, and change it soon.

“It’s a critical thing,” town moderator Kevin Reilly said. “Too many times we’re spinning our wheels in the wrong direction. Some things are passing us by.”

Those “things” range from increased, consistent funding for Randolph’s distressed school system to a more focused outreach to thousands of foreign-born residents and their children, who now make up a third of the town’s population of 29,000.

Reilly’s and other like-minded comments come as supporters of a proposed change to a mayor-council system have begun looking at a second choice - selectmen and a town manager, an arrangement Randolph once had. Many other South Shore towns have a selectmen-manager system.

Supporters withdrew the mayor-council article at last Tuesday night’s town meeting. But even that move highlights a growing view that the current form of government no longer works for a town that has become a small city with urban-style challenges.

Middle-school parent Anthony Price delivered that message to the state Board of Education during an October board meeting at Randolph High. Chamber of Commerce Vice President Mary Fernandes went further, lamenting the town’s “lack of leadership ... and lack of coordination and collaboration.”

“We have no plan and no vision,” she said.

“The buck never stops”

Reilly and others credit some selectmen and school committee members for trying to address some problems. Most endorsed February’s failed property tax override question. But as the town has grown, they say the opportunities for conflict and stalemate have sharpened, too.

“The buck never stops anywhere,” said community activist David Harris.

Along with a change in government, community activists like Patricia Zamor of the Randolph Unity Network say it’s imperative to “get on the same page,” setting an agenda and taking action that everyone from longtime residents to immigrants can support - perhaps through a task force or a series of neighborhood sessions.

“We need to get all our voices out there,” Zamor said. “We’ve done it before.”

Reilly and school committee Chairman Larry Azer agree.

“We need someone to set an agenda and move that agenda forward,” Reilly said.

‘Make it happen’

While elected leaders and activists agree that stronger school funding is a clear first step, outside observers say the town has some basic work to do first.

At the University of Massachusetts at Boston, political science professor Paul Watanabe of Weymouth says Randolph appears to be a town that has barely begun to grapple with its financial, educational and social problems.

“What has yet to be established is a consensus not only about the desirability of diversity, but about a willingness of everyone to recognize that it’s going to require full participation to make it work,” Watanabe said.

“That places the onus on everybody,” he said. “Not just the immigrant community, and not just on those who’ve been there longest.”

For Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Ceasar McDowell, Randolph’s situation reminds him of civic projects he’s worked on in ethnically-mixed Boston and Springfield neighborhoods, where social and government connections were limited.

“You have to go out and connect with them almost one person at a time,” said McDowell, who teaches and does research in community psychology.

Such networking could be easier to do in Randolph, he said, because it’s smaller and not part of a city. But the town must first battle indifference and tackle the issues, rather than tip-toe around them.

“People will resist dealing with the problem from every sector,” McDowell said. “People have got to be in dialogue. You’ve got to make it happen.”

Make that happen, he said, and results such as higher voter turnout and successful overrides are more likely to follow.

As a traumatic year comes to an end, more people in Randolph seem ready to make something good happen. Despite shootings, political infighting and warnings about the schools, most still believe Randolph is worth rescuing.

“Basically, it’s a good town,” newcomer Jean Appolon said.

“And will be,” added town moderator Kevin Reilly.

Lane Lambert may be reached at llambert@ledger.com.