Disgust, embarrassment and frustration are some feelings engendered by the July 14 Charlestown Town Council meeting — again.

I think James Mageau and Bruce Picard owe a great apology to the people of Charlestown and to the two councilors who stayed (Kate Waterman and Harriet Allen), for so wantonly ignoring their duty by leaving the Town Hall and leaving the council meeting, which could therefore not conduct business because there was no quorum. This was a fit of childish pique and very irresponsible, willful misconduct, considering there was a large number of important issues on the agenda and people had set aside time to attend because of the issues. Also, the large number of citizens who take the time to be involved in staying informed about town matters were subjected to an embarrassing situation and wasted their time.

It seems as if these two councilors cannot stand to be videotaped and the community made aware of their behavior. They are public servants who have sworn to do their duty. They should not be allowed to continue in office if that is how they are going to behave. Mr. Mageau is running for office again in November. I hope everyone remembers these and many other inappropriate acts of a juvenile or bullying nature that have occurred.

I hope that residents do not want to continue with this situation and will vote for those who will carry out their duties consistently and honorably with respect for the community. It should make all Democrats ashamed to be called Democrats when these two use that term in order to get elected by those who are true Democrats but who do not take the time to research the candidates, and vote strictly along party lines, resulting in the election of such people. They were not endorsed by the local party either. Do not pull the party lever this time, please.

This November, please consider whom you vote for. Consider their record but also their behavior. I trust we will have on future councils five people who think independently, are willing to state their views respectfully, listen to other councilors and residents, get correct information, share information, and discuss the issues reasonably, then vote according to each issue and not act unilaterally or as a prearranged group. Whether Republicans, Democrats or Independents by inclination, I expect each councilor to be able to verbalize their opinion and why they think that way, not just say “because I said so,” nor to stay silent for the majority of the two years as Mr. Picard has done. He apparently has no personal opinion at all.

When there are “meet and greet occasions,” it would behoove us to ask how the candidate might approach a topic, what issues they think important for the town, and how they would wish to see them implemented. We won’t agree with all. Views can change in the light of further information, and everyone should be willing to look at all sides to try to find the best solution.

Each candidate usually represents only a portion of voters, not all, or even a majority of voters as some would have us believe. Ms. Waterman and Ms. Allen got the most individual votes. Mr. Mageau was fifth. It takes a majority of councilors to pass a vote. These votes should not be prearranged. That is illegal.

For those who would wish more information about issues and notification of important meetings, you can be on the e-mail list of the Charlestown Citizens Alliance, a citizens group wishing to see open, good government in Charlestown. That is the main reason it was started, despite what Mr. Mageau asserts in recent articles.

People who value Charlestown’s character and integrity in government should be aware of what is going on. Go to http://charlestowncitizens.org or e-mail Charlestown Citizens Alliance < mail@CharlestownCitizens.org>