ORDER-2019-37 : Election of the President of the Board of Aldermen for the Year 2019

Transcript (~7 min @ 2:17)

Speakers identified by voice; unnamed voices are numbered within this recording. Auto-caption text — verify against the video.

▶ 2:11 Monica C. Medeiros: from the public can come on discussion i'll just point out that that was not allowed at our last organizational meeting but that's all thank you okay motion to close public comment

▶ 2:26 Speaker 1: great um so now we'll proceed to the business of electing a president for the year 2019. at a caucus of the board held on december 7th 2018 jennifer lemmerman was unanimously nominated for the office um is there a motion now to formally open nomination so moved second um the motion to open nominations made by alderman mortimer second by alderman forbes

▶ 2:58 Speaker 1: um all in favor all in favor aye aye the floor is now open for nominations i make them mo i

▶ 3:01 Peter D. Mortimer: I nominate Alderman Jennifer Lemmon for president.

▶ 3:07 Speaker 1: Second. A motion to nominate Jennifer Lemmon for president was made by Alderman Mortimer, seconded by Alderman Lipper-Garabedian. Are there any further nominations?

▶ 3:15 Speaker 4: Motion to close nominations.

▶ 3:16 Speaker 5: Second.

▶ 3:19 Speaker 1: Hearing, so the motion was made by Alderman Zwirko to close nominations, seconded by Alderman Mortimer. All in favor? Aye. Nominations are hereby closed. The election will be by a viva voce vote. Each member answering to his or her name announce their choice and the clerk will now call that role alderman Bewtra alderman jennifer

▶ 3:40 Speaker 2: lemmerman alderman lemmerman alderman Boisselle alderman lemmerman alderman lemmerman alderman forbes alderman jennifer lemmerman alderman lemmerman alderman lemmerman alderman lemmerman

▶ 3:55 Speaker 2: alderman Letter garabedian alderman alderman lemmerman alderman mcmaster alderman jennifer lemmerman Alderman lemmerman Alderman Medeiros Alderman Jennifer L Lemmerman Alderman lemmerman Alderman Mortimer Alderman Lemmerman Alderman Entãoze

▶ 4:11 John N. Tramontozzi: Alderman Jennifer Lemmerman Alderman Lemmerman

▶ 4:12 Speaker 2: Alderman Wright Alderman Lemmerman Alderman Lemmerman Alderman Dzeko

▶ 4:19 Speaker 2: when Hélder and Jennifer lemmerman 11 for lemmerman so I'll delicious

▶ 4:22 Speaker 1: antescent énergieni lemmerman levane so alderman lemmerman has been unanimously unanimously elected as president of the Board of Alderman for the fikutsu

▶ 4:36 Speaker 1: 2019 please escort the newly elected president to the rostrum where she can take the oath of office

▶ 4:51 Speaker 6: can you please raise your right hand and repeat after me i state your name i jennifer lemmerman do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that i will bear truth faith and allegiance will bear true

▶ 4:58 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: faith and allegiance to the commonwealth of massachusetts to the commonwealth of massachusetts and will support the constitution thereof and will support the constitution thereof so help me god So help me God.

▶ 5:21 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: I, Jennifer Lemmerman, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me as President of the Board of Aldermen.

▶ 5:27 Speaker 6: According to the best of my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the rules and regulations of the Constitution,

▶ 5:34 Speaker 6: In laws of the Commonwealth. So help me God. I, Jennifer Lemmerman, do solemnly swear that I will support

▶ 5:48 Speaker 1: the Constitution of the United States.

▶ 5:50 Speaker 6: So help me God. So help me God. Thank you very much.

▶ 6:01 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: Thank you very much.

▶ 6:08 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: Just take a couple of moments if you all don't mind. I first want to say thank you to my colleagues on the Board of Aldermen for your support and your trust in me to take on this position.

▶ 6:19 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: It really does mean the world to me. Thank you to the residents of Ward 2 for allowing me to represent you for the past five years, ultimately leading me to this opportunity. I also want to thank our City Clerk, Amy Camosa, and our Clerk of Committees, Kristen Foote. You both support the work of this Board in innumerable ways, and you make the work go smoothly. Thank you. And thank you to Mayor Inferna and all of the department heads and staff for everything that you do to make Melrose the thriving community it is today. Finally, thank you to my family, the people who have always been my strongest supporter. Particularly thank you to my husband, who now has a two-year-old competing with him for the role of my biggest cheerleader, and who has taken the extra duties required of a parent whose partner has a job that functions almost exclusively on evenings and weekends and done it with nothing but smiles and support. I love you both. This year will be one of the most challenging years we have faced in recent history. As we begin the work of 2019, we do so in a city at a crossroads. The decision made this year, both by the board and by the voters, will dictate not just the work of our local government, but the direction of our entire city for years to come. As we face those challenges, communication with constituents will be a top priority for me as president. Good decisions are best made in an environment of open, frank, and honest discussion. I will do all I can to make sure that the residents of Melrose know what we are doing, when we are doing it, and how they can be a part of it. We will navigate through both the difficulties and the progress that 2019 has in store with a commitment to transparency and a promise to lead. This year, we the aldermen and we the voters will face a number of decisions that will have the potential to change the fabric of our city. From the potential introduction of recreational marijuana, to the ways that we will manage

▶ 8:07 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: and protect our infrastructure our human capital and our natural resources to continuing the progress that this community has made thus far and making the financial investment necessary to do so

▶ 8:20 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: related to the latter we will face two very different budgets that will make clear two very different futures i know that we will that none of us take this responsibility lightly and that we will be held to account for which version of morose we support as city leaders as the result will be ours to grapple with perhaps it's the quirk of a social worker to have a favorite sociologist but i do and dr brene brown said we can choose courage or we can choose comfort but we can't have both not at the same time to subject ourselves to public study and scrutiny as elected officials takes courage and i have admired that courage in each of you i am sure this year will test that trait in all of us but we will rise to the challenge and do what is best for the city as we always have i'm proud to serve with you all and i look forward to partnering with

▶ 9:14 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: you in the year ahead thank you now we will move on to the business of the evening first up we have