Are the Special Town Meeting Petition and the Change.Org Petition To Save Farming Comparable?

Darlene Cancell of the Westwood Minute wrote an article comparing the Special Town Meeting petition started by Erin Sibley to the Change.Org petition that I started. The purpose of my petition was to gauge the Town residents’ support for the Bean Farm and the Select Board’s lawsuit to assert Westwood’s right to determine the use of the Prout Farm/Clapboardtree Meadow property. The article and the postings that I have written have resulted in a number of postings criticizing certain aspects of my petition. Below is a summary of some of the criticisms, and my response:

Are the signers all Westwood Residents?

I have responded several times on this issue. Change.org does not allow any restrictions on who can sign a petition, so there are certainly signers that are not from Westwood. This is not an election or a petition to demand a Special Election; the exact number of Westwood signers does not need to be determined. Based on my past experience, I know that the town listed for the signer is sometimes incorrect; for example, when my wife signed, it indicated she was from Norwood until she went in and changed her Change.org profile. I can tell you that based on the feedback I have received, and a review of the Change.org statistics, there are well over 200 Westwood residents (we stopped counting) that have signed in support of the Bean Farm, the Select Board and the views that I have expressed.

We need to consider why people that are not Westwood residents would sign the petition. In my opinion, it is because they believe that Westwood (like other towns) should do what they can to support their sole, surviving farm.

Are people signing the Change.org petition because they are interested in a Westwood business?

Someone suggested that the signers are “merely a reflection of consumer interest in a Westwood business”. Although only the signers know why they signed, I think it is not at all likely that they did so because they were interested in a Westwood business. If the petition was regarding saving a pizza parlor, gas station, convenience market, etc., I don’t think it would garner much attention. It is a priority in the state of Massachusetts to preserve the few surviving farms; that is why so many people have taken an interest. I personally don’t think it would reflect well on Westwood to allow the Bean Farm to fail so that we can preserve the view of one meadow (Westwood has multiple meadows).

Is it “outrageous” that Westwood would effectively subsidize the Bean Farm?

This has been suggested by a couple of people. I think it ignores two important points:

1.) As Select Chair Gotti has stated, the lawsuit is to get a ruling regarding the Town’s rights to determine the use allowed on the Clapboardtree Prout Farm/Meadow property. If the Town wins and they want to allow farming, it will require a public bid.

2.) Farming is obviously essential to all of us throughout the United States; according to USAFacts, the Federal Government spent $9.3 Billion in 2024 to subsidize farming. The State of Massachusetts has multiple programs to help farms survive:

• The Division of Agricultural Conservation and Technical Assistance (DACTA) offers funding programs to support agricultural land preservation, environmental stewardship, and technical assistance (MassGov).
• The Massachusetts Agricultural Preservation Restriction Program (APR) provides financial incentives to farmers who commit to keeping their land in agriculture (CISA).
• Additionally, the Federal Crop Insurance and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) offer financial assistance to farmers for crop losses and conservation practices (CISA).

These programs aim to support farmers and enhance the agricultural sector in Massachusetts. I think most would agree that it is not outrageous to spend $12,000 in support of farming in Westwood (even if it is in support of the Bean Farm).

The point of my petition, as stated, was to gauge the support; it has accomplished that. The vote at the Special Town meeting will allow people to express their opinions and vote on the four articles.

Here are some questions I have regarding the petition that has resulted in the Special Town Meeting:

• My understand is that signatures were obtained at the Westwood Library; how many people took the time to read the petition before signing?
• The heading of the petition is “Regarding the Town Lawsuit Against the Westwood Land Trust”. How many signers of the petition understood that the lawsuit was to assert the Town’s right to determine the use of town-owned-land on Clapboardtree Street (note: it is not mentioned in the petition)?
• How many signers of the petition understood that the Town had repeatedly asked the Land Trust to negotiate or mediate the matter, and the Land Trust refused to do so?
• How many signers of the petition understood that the Special Town Meeting results would not be binding but advisory only?
• How many signers of the petition understood that it would cost the tax payers $27,000 to conduct the Special Town Meeting to discuss the expenditure of $12,000 on this lawsuit? (presumably none because I think most of us just learned about this at the Jan 5th Select Board Meeting).
• How many signers of the petition understood that they were signing a petition which would effectively ban farming on the Prout Farm/Clapboard Street property which may have the consequence of ending the Bean Farm? (Note: a number of people criticizing the Change.org petition say they support farming.)
• Who drafted the 4 articles? Was it the Westwood Land Trust or its lawyers, or did they have any involvement? I believe that as a 501(c)(3) organization, they are not allowed to be involved in politics.
• If the signers of the petition had the answers to all of the questions above, how many would now withdraw their names from the petition and spare the Town the $27,000 expense?

Conclusion:

In my Change.org petition articles and postings, I have clearly identified where it is my opinion versus factual quotes from the actual documents that are involved in the lawsuit. I don’t believe anyone has shown the facts that I have presented to be incorrect. Many of the apparently negative comments on my petition are questioning the residency of the signers supporting the Bean Farm and the Select Board. I am quite confident that we could obtain hundreds of signatures of Westwood residents supporting my petition by soliciting them at the Library, Post Office, Supermarket, etc. I think most people will sign any petition presented to them without reading it as long as it appears to be reasonable, and the person presenting it is sincere.

In point of fact, other than posting my opinions, I have done nothing to solicit people to sign my petition. I can only conclude that the signers of my petition did so because they agree with the views I have expressed.