What’s the role of the moderator?
The moderator in all Massachusetts towns is responsible for pulling together the information about the Town Meeting and trying to run the Town Meeting as smooth as possible. It varies from town to town in the respect that our moderator in Concord has the traditional role of trying to get as many citizens speaking in front of the microphones and in front of the group as possible, whereas other moderators tend in other towns to try and move the process along and get through in one night and they applaud if they do. But we in Concord feel that the Town Meeting should be an opportunity for speaking to each other and speaking to neighbors and coming together as a community. So the moderator traditionally has protected the rights of the citizens to the microphones and encouraged people to vote.
