Like it or not, Chappaquiddick is part of Edgartown. Town meeting and town elections are coming up. If you don’t think that your participation matters, witness the chaos emanating from Washington, D.C. which proceeds with the narrowest of margins.

Town meeting is on Tuesday April 8 starting at 7 p.m. with a special town meeting followed by the annual meeting. If the squabbling, I mean discussion, doesn’t get done in one evening, the meeting will continue the next evening, same time, same place. You can relieve yourself of the silly notion that the Chappy Ferry will shut down and leave you stranded if the meeting goes beyond 11:15 p.m. Jeff will eagerly await your return and whisk you home even if it’s during the one-hour break. So don’t be using the ferry as an excuse to shirk your duty.

There are a total of 97 articles to be considered. Go to the Edgartown official website and click on the town meeting warrant. It’s on the opening page of the website and loaded with interesting issues to be addressed. They will be throwing lots of tax dollars around so you will want to be there. The financial advisory committee worked long hours going over the articles with a fine-toothed comb. They make recommendations, but you get to make the final decision. If you don’t attend, don’t be complaining later about the results.

Even if you are not a registered voter in Edgartown, you can still go and sit in the peanut gallery at the back of the church. I like to sit right in front of that group. You will hear some great comments muttered. My favorite is, “That’s not the way we do it back in Weston!”

Town elections are on Thursday April 10. Polls are open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. There are 15 offices listed on the ballot. Only two are a contest. That’s for the select board and the planning board. But you can still vote for the uncontested officials to show your appreciation for their dedication to serving their town.