ORDER-2018-133 : Election of the President of the Board of Aldermen for the Year 2018 to fill vacancy created by the current President becoming Mayor on Feb. 5, 2018. Said Election shall be conducted pursuant to Section 2-2 of the City Charter and in accordance with Rule 4 of the Rules of Order of the Board of Aldermen.

Transcript (~12 min @ 29:50)

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

▶ 29:47 Peter D. Mortimer: We proceed now to New Business. Would you please read the first order on the New Business, Madam Clerk of Committees.

▶ 29:54 Speaker 3: Order 2018-133, Election of the President of the Board of Aldermen for the Year 2018 to Fill Vacancy Created by the Current President Becoming Mayor on February 5, 2018. election shall be conducted pursuant to section 2-2 of the city charter and in accordance with rule 4 of the rules of order of the Board of Aldermen thank you

▶ 30:16 Peter D. Mortimer: very much is there a request for immediate consideration yes request for

▶ 30:21 Scott M. Forbes: immediate consideration on this order mr. president alderman Forbes has made a

▶ 30:24 Peter D. Mortimer: request for immediate consideration is there an objection to the request for immediate consideration seeing none is there a motion to suspend the rules by

▶ 30:38 Peter D. Mortimer: alderman forbes is there a second second alderman Tramontozzi has made a motion to suspend the rules all in favor of the motion to suspend the rules please say aye aye thank you is there this time

▶ 30:52 Peter D. Mortimer: i'd like to make a motion to open nominations alderman ford has made a motion to open the floor for nominations second seconded by alderman Tramontozzi all in favor of the motion to open the floor for nominations please say aye aye any opposed hearing none the floor is now open for nominations for the office of president of the melrose board of aldermen alderman forbes please

▶ 31:17 Scott M. Forbes: thank you mr president at this time i would like to nominate alderman Michael werco for president of the board of aldermen for the calendar year 2018 alderman forbes has made a motion to nominate

▶ 31:24 Peter D. Mortimer: alderman Michael werco for president of the board of aldermen for calendar year 2018. our own rules are silent on this but robert's rules say that this office does not require a second are there further nominations please alderman Medeiros thank you i'd like to nominate

▶ 31:47 Peter D. Mortimer: myself alderman monica Medeiros very good alderman monica Medeiros has nominated alderman monica medeiros for the office of president of the melrose board of aldermen for the calendar year 2018. are there further nominations at this time seeing none motion to close nominations alderman forbes has made a motion to close nominations for the office of president duly seconded by alderman Boisselle all in favor of closing nominations please say aye aye aye any opposed nominations are now closed alderman medeiros please thank you on discussion i want to say

▶ 32:24 Monica C. Medeiros: thank you and thank you to this board for allowing me the consideration tonight for the office of president i've sat on this board this is my 11th year but up until last month i had never publicly submit my name for president and i know some of you know that i have been interested in this in the past and you know at various times i had stepped back and stepped aside and you know allowed maybe a member who was leaving or some other member to uh to run and sometimes did not put my name forward just in an effort to have one united front going forward for the next new year whenever that may be but i can see that that may come across as it's something that i'm not interested in and in fact i very much am interested in serving as your president and i think you know hopefully could do a good job um it's it's an honor to just even be able to ask you for that consideration this year is a year of lots of change for us it's unprecedented for this particular board we have some new members and pretty soon we're going to have another new member in Ward five we have a new mayor congratulations Mayor Infurna and you were having lots of changes at the city clerk's office with the new city clerk and it seems we may have changes in the clerk of committees office as well I think this is a time where the Board of Aldermen needs experience and stability in their president and I think that's something that I could offer and bring forward and just again you know one of the things that's been sort of a passion of mine and I've tried to bring forwards to make sure that we do have as members of this board adequate time and information before we take votes this is going to be quite a year for us again mayor Dolan in his state of the city address laid out some very aggressive plans for us and which I'm sure many of which president Infurna will carry forward and it's our job as aldermen to make sure that we we thoroughly vet those provisions and that we make sure that the public and has time to view the information that we have time to view the information to for the public to weigh in and let us know how they feel about it and for all of us to make decisions and that's something that as an alderman whether I'm sitting in that chair and this one I'll continue to do but I think it could be much more effective from that chair in that position in being able to proactively work before things come to us to make sure that we have adequate information and that it's there so again I know we have a 10 page long agenda that one of us is going to get to sit through for the rest of the night and I just want to again thank you I know this has been quite tumultuous time for us especially with the way the situation came with the vacancy in the mayor's office and with our caucus last December and so you know whether it be tonight I want to stress that I I do want this position and I'm very much interested in it and if for some reason you feel you can't vote for me tonight and whether it be for a commitment you made or for some other reason, I hope that you will consider me in the future. So I just want to say thank you.

▶ 36:03 Peter D. Mortimer: Thank you. Thank you, Alderman Medeiros. Alderman Puerco, would you like to make a statement?

▶ 36:13 Michael P. Zwirko: Thank you, Mr. President. So I'm very excited about this opportunity. I really am. I think that there's a lot of, as my colleague expressed, there's been a lot of turmoil so far this year and there will be challenges that will come before us. But there's an immense amount of opportunity here for this board and for actually anybody that meets in this chamber as well as our new mayor that's in the corner office and the residents out in the streets too you know we all have to step up I'm willing to do that I want to do it I really do look forward to this opportunity should I be fortunate enough to get it and you know I don't have the experience and tenure on this board that Alderman Medeiros does have but I have known her for a very long time and she's her and I get along very well personally and I look up to her in many ways where we work together with the Massachusetts Municipal Association but I do love this job and I do love serving the city of Melrose it means a lot to me I think that I could be a steady hand for this board in the next year finishing out 2018 I've also learned a lot from all of you and I don't take that lightly whether it's you know getting a cup of coffee at Dunkin Donuts or here in this chamber making mistakes and having successes and doing these things here in this body with the residents it means a lot to me I do try to take an active role in my role here on the board I have written and authored a couple of orders I've also worked with the department heads to see that those orders not only make legal sense but are also something that's going to benefit for the city and its residents I would really appreciate this opportunity for my colleagues to be able to preside over the Board of Aldermen in 2018 I intended to do that last fall and for me nothing has changed I would still like the opportunity to do that I I do feel that I will be a steady hand as i had mentioned for this board and i would love the opportunity thank you mr president

▶ 38:30 Peter D. Mortimer: thank you alderman's workout nominations having been concluded and statements having been made we are now ready to preserve proceed to aviva voce vote which will be done by us by our city

▶ 38:48 Speaker 1: Clerk Mary Rita O'Shea. Alderman Bewtra. Alderman Zwirko. Alderman Zwirko. Alderman Rizal. Alderman Michael Zwirko. Alderman Michael Zwirko. Alderman Forbes. Alderman Michael Zwirko. Alderman Michael Zwirko. Alderman Lemmerman. Alderman Zwirko. Alderman Zwirko. Alderman Lipper-Garabedian. Alderman Zwirko. Alderman Zwirko. Alderman Medeiros. Alderman Medeiros. Alderman Medeiros. Alderman Mortimer. Michael Zwirko. Alderman Michael Zwirko. Alderman Lipper-Garabedian. Alderman Zwirko. Alderman Zwirko. Alderman Medeiros. Alderman Medeiros. Alderman Mortimer. Michael Zwirko. Alderman Zwirko. Alderman Lipper-Garabedian. Alderman Zwirko. Ald

▶ 39:12 Speaker 1: Alderman Tramontozzi.

▶ 39:14 John N. Tramontozzi: Alderman Zwirko.

▶ 39:15 Speaker 1: Alderman Zwirko. Alderman Wright.

▶ 39:17 Francis X. Wright Jr.: Alderman Zwirko.

▶ 39:18 Speaker 1: Alderman Zwirko. Alderman Zwirko.

▶ 39:20 Speaker 4: Alderman Michael Zwirko.

▶ 39:22 Speaker 1: Alderman Michael Zwirko.

▶ 39:27 Speaker 1: Nine for Alderman Zwirko and one for Alderman Medeiros.

▶ 39:30 Peter D. Mortimer: And in a confirmatory statement, I had the same count. It appears and it is decided by this temporary president that Alderman Michael Zwirko has been duly Election to be the permanent president of the Melrose Board of Aldermen. And in just a short moment, he will be administered the oath of office from our city clerk, Mary Reader O'Shea, Alderman Lemmerman as the appropriations chair. Would you kindly escort President-Elect Michael Zwirko to the podium?

▶ 40:18 Peter D. Mortimer: Please administer the oath.

▶ 40:23 Speaker 4: Thank you. I, Michael Zwirko, do solemnly swear that I will bear two faith and allegiance to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and will support the Constitution thereof.

▶ 40:36 Michael P. Zwirko: So help me God. I, Michael Zwirko, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me.

▶ 40:55 Speaker 4: As President of the Board of Aldermen, according to the best of

▶ 40:59 Michael P. Zwirko: my abilities and understanding agreeably to the

▶ 41:03 Speaker 4: rules and regulations of the Constitution and laws of the

▶ 41:10 Michael P. Zwirko: Commonwealth. So help me G.O.D. I, Mike Sworka, do solemnly swear that I will support the

▶ 41:20 Michael P. Zwirko: Constitution of the United States.

▶ 41:35 Michael P. Zwirko: United States so I greatly appreciate this honor it means a lot to me it really does personally I'm very excited and it's gonna be a fun year it's gonna be an interesting year but it's gonna be a fun year so we got a lot of work to do I know we're all ready for that as I said before I will seek your counsel I will need your counsel no one ever does anything alone and I'm honored to be a member of this board I'm honored to receive your vote and your approval so here we go 2018 begins now so thank you so next on the order of business this evening is the order number two zero one eighteen dash one three four could the