Another component of Wareham’s shadow government bit the dust Tuesday night, and as expected, its members went down kicking and screaming.
    By a 3-2 vote of the board of selectmen, the Affordable Housing Partnership was either sunsetted or demolished, depending on which side of the table you were sitting. When the decision was rendered, Community Economic Development Agency director Marilyn Whalley turned around and walked out. She had finally lost her middle-men.
    The Affordable Housing Partnership had been set up by a previous board of selectmen several years ago as an advisory committee, a sort of go-between between selectmen, CEDA and the zoning board on issues dealing with affordable housing. As originally conceived, the partnership was supposed to report directly to selectmen, but over time its membership became a buffer between 40B developers and the town’s highest elected officials. There was plenty of back-room negotiating going on with developers over the past few years, but selectmen weren’t privy to any of it. On Tuesday night, the board finally disbanded the group.
    That means Whalley, who has been romantically linked to Chris Makepeace, is once again back on the hot seat. She will now have to report directly to selectmen regarding affordable housing proposals.
    No wonder she was ticked off. A few months ago she approached interim town administrator Mike Sanguinet, requesting that she be allowed to report to him directly. The selectmen were having none of that. Ironically, the head of CEDA used to report to the town administrator, but former selectman Mary Jane Pillsbury re-wrote the CEDA rules several years ago, requiring the head of CEDA to report to the BOS instead.
    Affordable housing is clearly an important issue in Wareham. The state mandates that 10 percent of a town’s housing stock be deemed affordable based on a bizarre formula created with the Statehouse. If a town falls short of that quota, 40B developers can pretty much bypass the local zoning board and build whatever development they see fit.
    But the decision to disband the Affordable Housing Partnership was about more than just affordable housing. It was another battle in a war to end these types of satellite committees, which can make decisions on the town’s behalf without being held accountable to anyone.
    If you see some similarities here with the former board of library trustees, you’re not alone. At the heart of the lawsuit between the former trustees and the town is the question of accountability. Even though they were sworn into their positions by the town clerk, the former trustees have repeatedly balked at the notion of answering to the town. In their minds they are, in fact, a government unto itself, with its own rules and regulations. And if they want to take money donated to the public library and put it into their very own private bank accountant, just try and stop them.
    Of course, that’s exactly what they selectmen are attempting to do. And the resistance has been considerable.
    There are many boards and committees in Wareham that operate with a self-assigned autonomy. The Wareham Land Trust comes quickly to mind. In theory, it’s wonderful to have a group of citizens trying to preserve open space for future generations. But at some point these folks began negotiating with private land owners for conservation restrictions using Community Preservation Funds as the carrot. Those funds come from tax dollars. Nobody appointed the members of the Wareham Land Trust. They appointed themselves. So who gave them the authority to negotiate on behalf of your tax dollars?
    That’s why the Baker Land deal was such a sham. The CPC went before Town Meeting, and voters approved $400,000 for a conservation restriction on a deal negotiated by the Wareham Land Trust. But the deal wasn’t closed when the money was approved. The owner wanted to do some clear-cutting. How is that conservation? And as it turns out a member of the CPC is an abutter to the Barker property. All this occurred without the knowledge of selectmen or the general public.
    This is the kind of stuff that has to stop. There has to be accountability somewhere. Selectmen are hired to represent the voters of Wareham. They are not being dictators when they ask hard questions. They are doing what they were elected to do.

Whalley has one of the most important jobs in Wareham. Economic development is vital to this town. But she’s been allowed free reign for far too long. And her clear personal conflict-of-interest needs to be addressed at some point. A.D. Makepeace likes to pretend it’s some kind of giant benevolent company. But make no mistake; these people are real estate developers. There are millions and millions of dollars in play here. A.D. Makepeace cannot be allowed to negotiate with the town in the shadows. There is far too much at stake here.