Benjamin Franklin said, "It is the first responsibility of every cttizen to question authority."

The Seekonk Board of Selectmen is trying to silence the voice of the residents of this town. This will not happen on my watch. All will be welcome to voice their concerns, questions, opinions, and ideas at the board of selectmen meetings.

Each speaker should be allowed to speak for a maximum of five minutes. If it is a topic that cannot be covered in five minutes, then it should be put on a future agenda. It is my opinion, that regardless of the topic, having to give a seven-day notice to be allowed to speak is wrong. Even after giving the seven-day notice, you still may not be allowed to speak.

It will be at the discretion of the town administrator whether you are put on the agenda or not. This is a form of censorship that I am opposed to.

The board has also stated they were governed by the same rules. Not true, they seem to make up the rules as they go along. For instance, the very same night that they instituted their Administrative Policy 39, they themselves violated it within minutes, when a person from the school committee stepped up to the lectern with papers in hand, and was allowed to speak. This is selective enforcement of Administrative Policy 39.

This is a free society. Our constitutional right of free speech is being abused. Please allow me to be your voice on the Seekonk Board of Selectmen.

FRANCIS CAVACO is a candidate for selectman in Seekonk.