We’re continuing to bundle letters from readers regarding Town Manager Derek Brindisi’s decision to halt communications with the Independent. As always, we welcome your views. Send your letter to letters@plymouthindependent.org.


As an appointed town meeting and committee member, I was disheartened to hear our town manager, Derek Brindisi, request that all appointed town officials refuse to talk to the Plymouth Independent. Mr. Brindisi is entitled to any opinions he may have on the new local paper in town, but to use his taxpayer-funded position of power to push his opinions on others in town government is wrong, disingenuous, and makes the town government appear to be hiding something.

Local government needs an independent and unburdened media source (outside the influence of big business or politicians) to provide transparency for the voting and tax paying public.

As a town meeting member, who votes on behalf of my neighborhood, I want my neighbors to know what is going on. I don’t want my friends, family, and neighbors to receive inaccurate and misleading information from nefarious social media sources. This is why I, happily, voted in favor of the communications coordinator position for Plymouth. There is an information vacuum that exists in America’s Hometown. Mr. Brindisi’s order only expands that vacuum.

As a Plymouth civics teacher, who enthusiastically teaches the First Amendment, I recognize the importance of a free press and welcome the Plymouth Independent’s questions and reporting, even if they report on me.

I ask other members of our town government to join me in supporting the robust protections and ideals of our First Amendment. We must live in a town that promotes transparency, open dialogue, and peace of mind from fear of reprisal.

(Full transparency: I have written for and donated to the Plymouth Independent, but do not speak for them, nor do I speak for the Plymouth school system, the Plymouth Center Steering Committee, nor town meeting. I write as a concerned private citizen)

Harrison Quinn


We as residents and taxpayers of this town have the right to be informed about the workings of the Town of Plymouth by a free and independent press and any attempt to discourage such coverage by town employees or elected officials should not be tolerated by the taxpaying voters whom they serve.

Whether or not town officials or all residents approve of the coverage of the Plymouth Independent or any other news outlet is irrelevant. Town officials have an obligation to cooperate and respond to reporters of all news organizations. While we are sure this responsibility can be time-consuming and frustrating, it is an essential function of government at all levels. If officials feel coverage is unfair, they can issue public statements to correct the record, write a letter to the editor, or request a retraction. What officials must not do is restrict the legitimate, independent role of the press in holding the government accountable to the people.

We encourage all the citizens of Plymouth to raise your voices and demand that the Select Board instruct Mr. Brindisi to lift this ban and begin communicating with the Plymouth Independent (and other news outlets) in a manner consistent with the principles of a free press and freedom of speech. Furthermore, attempts to set “acceptable parameters” such as email-only communication must be stopped. This is the time to make one’s voice heard in writing and phone calls to town and state officials, and in person at Select Board meetings until our town officials uphold their responsibility to cooperate with any independent press organization that approaches them.

Thank you for your time.

Norm and Diane Stillman

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