Serving as a member of the Stockbridge Select Board involves dealing with dozens of smaller issues while working toward a few larger goals.

Big changes in our government and town bylaws are relatively hard to accomplish, and that’s a good thing. We don’t empower a single person to govern, unlike a mayor, governor or president. Instead, we elect three selectman, a planning board, a moderator who appoints our Finance Committee and a number of other boards, all of whom need to work together to identify problems and develop solutions.

Consensus is the key to town government. That means convincing your colleagues that the challenges need to be addressed and working with them and other boards to come up with the best policies to solve them.

We have so many talented individuals in this town. Want to become more involved? Start by attending our meetings. You can find the schedule on the Town Website Calendar. Find the areas that are of interest to you, and participate. Your voice matters and it will be heard!

Patrick White serves on the Select Board and Conservation Commission.