November 10, 2018:-  Unless there’s a stray Amherst ballot-box or two lurking in Broward County, Florida, it seems that I did not win enough votes to become a Town Councillor.* Such is life. I am grateful to the people who voted for me, and very grateful to those who put out yard signs and the few kind souls who contributed money. Many thanks to my dear wife, Meg, who endured yet another campaign, to the children for their words of encouragement, and to my stalwart and inspiring treasurer, Hope Crolius, who knows the risks of getting caught in the Overton window as it falls shut and is determined to keep it wedged open.

It brings me deep joy to live life as a citizen of a self-governing republic of free people, with the right to speak my mind without fear of government goons showing up in the middle of the night to drag me off to the cells for a bit of re-education. It even brings me joy that people voted against me because of what I said and how I voted in Amherst Town Meeting on the issues of impeachment and the enforcement of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This is how elections are supposed to work and will continue to work for so long as each and every one of us can choose not to live like the greengrocer in Vaclav Havel’s Power of the Powerless. Let’s hope it stays this way.

— Peter Vickery

*  Obviously the sole cause of my defeat was Russian meddling, but I have no current plans to protest, stage a one-man riot, or demand that the Town’s lawyers investigate possible collusion between the victorious candidates and Vladimir Putin.  My effort to initiate a Twitter campaign collapsed when I was unable to take a selfie showing “#NOT MY COUNCIL” written on my forehead; it kept coming out “LICNUOC YM TON#,” for which I blame the mirror. Have you noticed that the supporters of certain candidates are customers of Florence Savings Bank? Well I noticed while conducting routine surveillance, and consider it very interesting that the bank’s initials, FSB, are exactly the same as those of the Federal’naya Sluzhba Besopasnosti, Putin’s secret intelligence service. Coincidence? I think not.

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August 28, 2018:- Recently I completed a candidate survey for MassLive, which asked about my priorities if elected. My answer? Near the top, restoring the old paid-metering hours in the downtown so that you do not have to pay before 9:00 a.m. and after 6:00 p.m.  Extending the hours to 8:00 p.m. was a mistake. Eight’s too late!

In downtown Northampton, parking is free after 6:00 p.m. (see below). Noho wants to welcome evening shoppers, not deter them. Amherst should follow suit.

August 7, 2018:- As Tip O’Neill used to say, when it comes to voting “people like to be asked.” Asking people to vote for you costs money. I explain how I am spending money in my campaign — and how to contribute — in this new video.

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August 6, 2018:-  The attempt to block the first Town Council elections via litigation has failed. You can read the judge’s decision here. So, per the wishes of the voters, the elections will go ahead as planned.