Here’s a political question to ponder. In a representative democracy, should a public board follow ‘majority rule’ or what might be called ‘plurality rule’?
More specifically, if town residents vote 60 percent to 40 percent against locating a gravel pit near town, should the governing body write rules that sort of prohibit the pit but allow some gravel extraction in a smaller corner of the proposed pit — taking the stated stance that “not everyone gets what they want,” so the board splits the difference?