Public Participation

Transcript (~12 min @ 12:15)

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

▶ 12:05 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: This meeting is being recorded, it is played live on MMTV. It's also available for viewing later on both the city website and the MMTV website.

▶ 12:15 Peter D. Mortimer: Motion to open the floor for public participation, Madam Chair.

▶ 12:18 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: Second. We have a motion to open the floor for public participation by Alderman Mortimer, seconded by Alderman Forbes. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? The floor is now open for public participation. Any member of the public wishing to speak on any item before our agenda this evening is welcome to do so. You can come forward to the table in front of us. Please state your name and your address.

▶ 12:43 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: There are several issues on our agenda this evening, including some appointments and appropriation for contract stabilization, as well as an order on a special election for a mayoral vacancy.

▶ 12:57 Speaker 4: Thank you. I'd like to ask the board to approve a special election for mayor. uh i think the people have a right to speak and say who they want to represent them for the next two years it's been said that two years isn't enough to get established or anything but for over a century it has been a two-year term and so i'd like to just see a an election for the remainder of mayor dolan's excuse me term thank you sir would you state your name and address for

▶ 13:33 Speaker 4: record as well as sign in the sheet when you have a moment it's a richard stanton i'm at 185 pleasant

▶ 13:37 Speaker 5: street in miller thank you very much thank you thank you thank you my name is david goodue i

▶ 14:06 Speaker 6: live at 13 tremont street i also agree with the gentleman that just spoke before me the next term for mayor will be almost a full term and i think it's very important that we recognize the fact that we have a pool of citizens in this community that are very talented some of them retired some of them not professional politicians in politics for life work you might say so I think that we should open up the process to these people because there's a lot of talent in this community and we should avail ourselves of that pool of people if it was a short term that we were looking at i could see put somebody in appoint somebody to take the the uh the mayor's responsibility in an orderly quick fashion until the next election but in this case it's a little bit different because we have uh almost a full term and i think whoever fills that office most likely will be continue to be they'll be in a very good position to extend their it one term after another after another so i think again i get back to i think it's a good time to broaden the pool of candidates and by doing that we uh open it up we should we should open it up to the public have a general election to avail ourselves of that possible talent that's out there That's it.

▶ 15:47 Speaker 5: Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you.

▶ 16:09 Speaker 6: Okay.

▶ 16:16 Speaker 6: Julie DeLillo, 13th Circuit Street.

▶ 16:26 Speaker 6: I can't do two things at the same time, seriously. I first want to say I value the fact we have a charter. I value the fact we just reviewed it and that this topic didn't come up, and I fully respect Gail, for all you've done for stepping up into the role, but I would ask that if it's possible to have a special election, that we go ahead and do so. For me, as a citizen, I got technically five votes, right? I got my award for Alderman-at-Large. Those are the voices that speak

▶ 17:02 Speaker 6: for me well the four aldermen at large who speak for me didn't all agree until

▶ 17:15 Speaker 6: five votes in that it was Gail and so they didn't really represent me the

▶ 17:20 Speaker 6: first four times around I mean I think the fourth time we got sort of the consensus and so I think it's only fair that the citizens who voted all of you in if you had all out of the gate said Gail well we voted for you to represent us and I would have said okay I voted for you but when three of my five didn't

▶ 17:47 Speaker 6: agree then you haven't you haven't really represented me you sort of capitulated you're sort of all agreed in the end that this is the way we would go and I think for the citizens who who vote for you that it's only fair we get to have a say in it again so therefore I'm I would ask that if it is possible that we have a special election thank you thank you

▶ 18:23 Speaker 7: is there anyone else would like to speak this evening to chill 15 6th Street I am also in favor of having a special election I believe that there is more talent out there that we could tap into also um you know the talent that we're looking at them you know it were broken up into seven woods here and so i mean you know one seventh in a way of the city is only represented and actually voted in favor of what now is going to be the mayor for two year term um so i i think that should be open to public and and have a a better pool of uh people that we could have elected into the into the term of um mayor

▶ 19:27 Speaker 8: thank you sir good evening carrie corcoran malice from cargill street i would like to voice my support for the order in favor of considering a special election for all of the reasons previously articulated and also I believe the citizens should be able to weigh in when we're speaking about a two-year term but I also think that from a fiscal point of view it needs to be considered that meaning no disrespect to Ms. Infurna that The long-term pension consideration, because Ms. Infurna would be entitled to a greatly enlarged pension through the system, if I understand it correctly, would cost the taxpayers over many, many years. Not that that isn't an option that should be considered, but I think that the cost of an election, somewhere between $25,000 and $30,000, I understand,

▶ 20:32 Speaker 8: versus many years of paying a much larger pension should be weighed carefully. And I think that the voters have a right to a full dialogue on that type of topic also. so i very much support the order to consider a special election thank you thank you good evening

▶ 21:21 Speaker 6: my name is robert albers i live at irving street and i'm here tonight because i support um but mostly everyone's been saying about we do have a special election i can see if this term was going to be filled for six months seven months maybe even a year but i think two years down the road there's going to be a lot of decisions and hard choices that need to be made and I really feel that the people of Melrose have a right to have a say in this matter I know you know we all like use Alderman and everything else but I just think it would be more fitting if we had this election for the length of time that it involves so thank you very much thank you thank you good

▶ 22:30 Speaker 9: evening my name is Robert off Euro I'm a resident of Lebanon Street in Melrose I like to add my name to the list of citizens who would like to see this order move forward it was pretty clear to us last week that there was a change of opinion amongst the Board of Aldermen from the previous December meeting and so I think it'd be in all fairness to all the citizens all the taxpayers in our city that they be given a chance to have a say in who gets to be their mayor for the remaining two years I understand there is going to be a cost associated with a special election but I think that's the price we may have to pay for a representative democracy so I would like to see this move forward thank you very

▶ 23:49 Speaker 7: much thank you seeing no person willing to come forward motion to close public

▶ 23:53 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: purchase second a motion to close public participation by Alderman Forbes and seconded by Alderman Mortimer all in favor of closing public participation all right any opposed public participation is now closed we have six