ORDER-2016-77 : Amending the revised Administrative Code in accordance with Section 5-1 of the Melrose City Charter to establish a Commission on Women in the City of Melrose.

Transcript (~1 h 6 min @ 29:35)

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▶ 29:39 Speaker 2: strike 815 is back from recess for the purpose of convening a public hearing on order 2016 dash eight eight seven seven seven seven I'm sorry amending the administrative code in accordance with section 5-1 of the city charter to establish a commission on women for the city of Melrose motion to commence that public hearing regarding order 2016-77 so red alderman tram and tozy moves to commence the public on the table it's on the table motion to remove uh i'm sorry thank you uh alderman tozy moves to remove the order from the table second emotions remove the order second invite alderman lemmerman on the motion to remove the order from the table all those in favor all right opposed motion passes the order is removed from the table alden trim tozy Motion to commence the public hearing on order 2016-77 as previously read into the public record. Second. Alderman Tramontozzi moves to commence the public hearing. The motion is seconded by Alderman Lemmerman. On the motion to commence the public hearing, all those in favor please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? Motion passes. The public hearing is hereby commenced. If anybody who wishes to speak could come forward to the table in the center of the room. Identify yourself, indicate your address, and you shall be heard.

▶ 31:02 Peter D. Mortimer: Mr. President, as a point of personal privilege, may I say, just in case there was any confusion, that anybody who spoke at public participation at the beginning of our meeting is not precluded from speaking at the public hearing as well.

▶ 31:16 Speaker 2: That is correct. Any member of the public who wishes to speak on this order can come forward this evening.

▶ 31:24 Speaker 4: hello hi my name is christina petrullis and i live at 46 reading hill avenue in melrose and i came to speak in favor of forming the commission on women we all hear stories about the pay gap between what men make and what women make for the same job how women often leave the workforce to become the lead caregiver for children thereby giving up the chance for job promotions retirement benefits and financial security. We hear of incidents of sexist comments made at the workplace and acts of violence committed against women. These aren't news stories, but personal stories that I've heard throughout the community of Melrose. And there's a need for a commission on women. The Women's Commission would allow Melrose to concentrate on issues related to and concerning women. The commission will be a way for Melrose to work towards the equal status of women in all spheres, educational, economic, political, and health. This work by the Commission can include providing education to the community on issues that primarily affect women, or developing and producing policy recommendations to this very body. The Commission will also have the opportunity to support legislation at the state level related to women, and to make sure all legislation is implemented at the local level. The main job of the Commission will be to serve as the point of access for people in Melrose on issues and concerns they have about how policies and actions affect women in the community. Acting as a conduit for this information, the Women's Commission can provide referrals and serve as a resource. As a mother of two young children and I work full-time, I see the need for this Commission. I also understand how Commissions work as I am Vice Chair of the Human Rights Commission. i respectfully ask that this board therefore allow for the formation of the commission thank you

▶ 33:19 Speaker 2: thank you anyone else wishing to speak please come forward don't be afraid so good evening

▶ 33:39 Speaker 5: my name is elizabeth hart and i live at 12 mount vernon street in melrose i come to offer testimony in support of the establishment of a melrose women's commission i come before you not only as a concerned citizen, but in my role as Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women is a state-established body charged with reviewing the status of women in Massachusetts and offering recommendations regarding policy that would improve opportunities and equality. Our mission is to advance women towards full equality in all areas of life and promote rights and opportunities for all women. The Commission exists to provide a permanent effective voice for women across Massachusetts and is made up of 19 volunteer commissioners appointed by the offices of the governor, the speaker of the house, Senate president, and caucus of women legislators. With 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Mass Commission relies on the assistance of our regional and municipal women's commissions to help us understand the issues affecting women around the Commonwealth. That said, I respectfully request the Board of Aldermen to vote in favor of the creation of a municipal commission for women in Melrose. As recently stated in the Melrose Free Press, the creation of a Melrose Commission for Women would make it the 10th independent municipal commission in the Commonwealth and would help represent not only the 53% of Melrose residents that are female but bring light to issues that would affect the other 47% currently there are municipal women's commissions in Boston Brockton Brookline Cambridge Newton Quincy Somerville Springfield and Worcester all working on issues that that will be helpful to the residents of their cities. The women who serve on these commissions are seen as leaders in their respective communities by focusing on issues that not only affect women, but also the entire community. For example, some of these municipal commissions work to advocate and monitor statewide legislation that would improve women's and girls' lives, promote programs that increase public awareness and understanding of multiple issue areas.

▶ 36:17 Speaker 5: Also provide information and referral to individuals, community organizations, and businesses related to women and girls' issues. Although the Mass Commission on the Status of Women has no oversight over municipal commissions, the Mass Commission could serve as an important resource and partner to them, which would give newly created commission access to best practices regarding appointing commissioners, with local government advocacy public relations and research regarding issues affecting women as well as the statewide as a statewide platform to help them achieve their goals women's issues are not just affecting women to quote hillary clinton pre-k is not just about taking a nap it's about creating lifelong learners equal pay is not just about paying women fairly for the work that they do but it is an economic issue because when women are not paid fairly the whole family gets shortchanged having a women's commission would not take away from any issues affecting men but give a voice to women in the community it would also not marginalize women because we feel we have to have a special commission but in fact empower women to use their voice having a women's commission would not be just another government mandated program but a program dedicated to bringing the issues of women in melrose to the forefront the establishment of a melrose women's commission would demonstrate the fact that the leaders of melrose are concerned about issues affecting women and girls and seeks to make certain these issues are addressed I thank you for your time and respectfully request you vote in favor of the establishment of a Melrose Commission for women thank you anybody

▶ 38:30 Speaker 2: else who wishes to speak please come forward my name is Alice Shattuck I'm at

▶ 38:42 Speaker 4: 140 Grove Street I realized that I'm coming before you today to speak against the creation of a Commission on women which might seem as a woman myself to be somewhat radical and I know that a commission on women sounds like something that is completely innocuous and wonderful and germane but my reason

▶ 39:09 Speaker 4: for coming before you is that to me the the issue of women's rights and equal pay is an issue that has been getting a lot of press time but is for the most part now a non-issue for women the equal pay issue the gender pay gap is all that disappeared I encourage anyone who would like to look into that further to look for economics which is not some right-wing news sources has a great podcast on the issue of the gender pay gap and why it's disappearing women now graduate from college at higher rates than men do and in the younger cohort in the workforce actually make more money so when I come before you I kind of wonder you know what the reasons are for creating a Women's Commission and what I would like to see because I know that probably no matter what I say right now there is going to be a Women's Commission created so I want to add my comments on on what I'd like to see come out of a Women's Commission and and what I would not like to see come out of a Women's Commission because some of these boards and commissions in the past have seen a bit of a revolving door between Democratic political activists campaign staffers people who worked on left-wing political causes when I look at what's written in the the Women's Commission notes I see women's health in there which is frequently used as a political euphemism for specific political policies that that are somewhat controversial and and so I challenge the the Board of Aldermen and the people creating the Commission to to think about why we're making it and particularly if we're spending taxpayer funding on such a commission to to think about who's on the Commission and what their goals are because what I don't want to see is for people who work for legislators then coming and serving on a commission or people related to them serving on a commission and then advocating for bills that the legislature the legislators are sponsoring pertaining to specific issues that maybe affect everyone that are only really marginally related to women's issues the things to me that would be valuable in a women's commission and that I would like to see are maybe you know more appreciation of things women do in the community things that historically women in Melrose have done support networks for women and those things I think are valuable but but I do think we need to be cognizant of who's serving on the board or serving on the Commission rather and and and what their goals are and that we have a diversity of political religious you know backgrounds stay-at-home moms veterans you know I think there there are all kinds of women and I'd like to see more than one kind represented on the

▶ 42:16 Speaker 5: commission so thank you thank you my name is jessica buster um i live at uh 164 derby road near my friend mike lurker out there and i'm going to write that down before i forget because i see my friend alice shaddock forgot to finish her address and i would totally do that

▶ 42:37 Speaker 5: i've come before you this evening to speak in favor of the creation of commission on women

▶ 42:45 Speaker 5: No matter how nice a town Melrose is, the broader concerns of sexism in our culture and in our nation do not stop at the borders of a very pleasant town and they absolutely affect all of the women in the town and also all of the other residents of the town.

▶ 43:05 Speaker 5: And I know that there is some concern from a variety of sources that Commission on Women might simply end up being something like a mommy's commission, worried about the concerns of mothers. And while certainly I can't imagine that a Commission on Women would be limited to those concerns, I think in a town that is facing an abrupt overflow of young children and where on any given day you can see enormous numbers of young mothers around with their children, there are quite a number of issues that a commission on women could address that would serve the interests of mothers among others, including things like the vast majority of vulnerable road users include women and children. That is the sort of thing that a women's commission

▶ 44:03 Speaker 5: could address. There are quite a number of business owners in Melrose, women business owners obviously. It would be nice to see more and it would be a very valuable service to connect those women to girls in the local schools so that because there continues to be a breakdown between the interests that girls profess and even the things that they study and the jobs that they go on to hold, especially the older they get. That is the sort of thing where mentoring relationships between women and young women are extremely valuable and I believe the Commission could help to facilitate that. It's also worth considering that women are not necessarily represented in Melrose at the highest levels in equal numbers, although I see obviously many female faces before me. That is not perhaps because those people who are representing all of Melrose in varieties of different commissions and boards and positions aren't qualified. It's more of a concern that the women, other women who are qualified may not realize they are qualified because that is a general trend for women in our society to not realize or not think of themselves as equally qualified for especially positions of power. So if a commission on women can address and encourage women who already serve in their community who already lead in their community to to think of themselves as potential candidates for leadership positions in their communities I think that would improve improve our numbers in terms of overall equity and and share share of power so I appreciate your time thank you very much thank you thank you

▶ 46:22 Speaker 5: Good evening ladies and gentlemen, my name is Gail Fertig and I live at 10 Sunset Road, right here in Melrose. I respectfully request that you seriously consider establishing the commission. And I'm taking a different standpoint, one of education. Yes, people who are involved with politics are aware what's going on with

▶ 46:51 Speaker 5: some areas that are not equal, but I liken the formation of this commission to the start 25 and a half years ago of MAVE. Back then, people didn't think we had a problem, and everybody said, oh, okay. And to look at what Rebecca Sweeney, excuse me, Mooney, and everyone else in Melrose, business people, individuals, high school students middle school students the only way we can make changes is by education and I see this commission as an opportunity to educate men women children and people who come into the town of Melrose to learn what a great community we are so I request that you vote in favor of this thank you

▶ 48:07 Speaker 2: thank you my name is Arnold Koch 66 Cranmore Lane in Melrose I just have some brief comments regarding the proposed establishment of the Melrose Commission on women and the establishment of any new Commission in general it's interesting that the Massachusetts Commission on women a little bit of history was inspired by the United Nations World Conference on on women held in Beijing, China in 1995. Susan Weld, the wife of Governor Weld, was a delegate and later became a leader in the establishment of the Massachusetts Commission in 1998 and it was funded by a line item in the state budget. As mentioned before, there are currently nine local commissions including Boston, Brockton, and Cambridge, Brooklyn, Springfield, and Worcester all have double or triple the population of Melrose. If approved tonight, Melrose would be the 10th commission under the Massachusetts Commission, which quote, serves as a resource and partner for the local commissions and maintains contact with them on a regular basis. Their priority of legislation, political legislation for this fiscal year includes established equal pay for women, including the legitimacy of parent-based work systems, family medical leave and temporary disability leave, equitable, diverse gender representation on company boards of directors, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, including reasonable accommodations to be provided by the employer frequent breaks and more time off transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous position and private non-bathroom space establishing any new commission should involve more evaluation and needs assessment than we have seen so far in this commission other than some statements of support from some women in the community and a newspaper editorial saying it would be quote good for the women of Melrose there has been no real evaluation of the necessity implementing such a commission for Melrose without a more careful analysis is bound to raise the aura of gender politics as it already has been raised thank you thank you 13 circuit Street so I know I've

▶ 50:53 Speaker 7: come before you before on this and I can't do two things at once but as I talked to people in the community mothers of boys there is a concern that the more we focus on girls and women we put behind us the boys so that's one concern that I hear I've heard from from some people is what are we doing with our boys but more importantly so this caused this this whole debate has caused talk out on Melrose messages I was accused of being angry and fearful and

▶ 51:32 Speaker 7: you know what maybe I am because I am a successful woman I did it on my own I fought hard and I worked hard and I knew if I was gonna take time off to raise my children and I have three of them they're grown that I wasn't gonna have the same experience as my male counterparts I knew that I work in HR I

▶ 51:53 Speaker 7: do this for a living I hire people day in and day out male female I've said it before I've watched men come in negotiate a salary they come in they know what they want and they demand it and nine times out of ten they

▶ 52:14 Speaker 7: get it but a woman comes in she may list the number but if there's a counter offer oftentimes that woman will go with the counteroffer that leaves women behind from the moment they enter the door not all women so I don't when you do a commission on women it's you're talking about all women I don't say it about all women but a lot of women right off the bat are behind no Commission is going to change that we need to educate I agree with the woman who talked about education absolutely they also during the course of their work lives whether it's taking time to raise a child or men are very good at I've been here two years I've done this I've done that I want to raise they're good at that and women more are more apt to sit back and wait for that race to come to them so So when you talk about equal pay, you need to understand all that goes behind it. There is a law about equal pay. And when you say equal pay for women, you're saying that men, men are not paying women equally, because I would assume you're not saying women aren't paying women equally. But guess what? They could be, because that same woman is coming in the door not fighting. And so the divide gets greater. And what do we say to our daughters? So from the get-go, you want to say to your daughters, there's a commission on women,

▶ 53:55 Speaker 7: and that that commission is designed to help you get equal pay to your brothers, your cousins,

▶ 54:05 Speaker 7: whoever counterpart to make sure that you're equal in the workplace you're doing that at a young age if you're talking to your daughters about this you're already making your daughters think they're different than their male counterparts so I said this before that the Commission for what it has been proposed for I totally disagree because it's not going to help again I do this every day I see women and men in the workplace all levels of the organization and you don't think women are successful look at the women on this board the women on the school committee the women that work in this city the women that do own businesses they did it without a commission they did it because they

▶ 54:52 Speaker 7: worked hard they learned they learned how to fight for themselves nobody

▶ 54:59 Speaker 7: help them do that so I would I would ask you just like what was just said that more I want I think you need to take the time look at statistics don't just say women don't get equal pay there's reasons other than our gender it is not just our gender and in most cases it's not our gender because you know why most of the men that I that have as hiring managers doesn't matter to them it does

▶ 55:35 Speaker 7: not matter to them so you need to look at what are the other issues that cause this before we say equal pay you can talk about leave acts but you leave the workforce to raise a child I have them I did it but then understand you don't have the same years of experience so again you have to understand the facts what goes into a hiring decision you need to understand that and for the for the men you guys are I said this the last time you are in a very tough spot

▶ 56:09 Speaker 7: because if you vote against this I know you're still thinking this that in your minds people are gonna say they don't like women they're against women we hear all the time in the political arena right the war against women there isn't

▶ 56:25 Speaker 7: a war against women not if you're out there you're confident in your abilities you can do the job and you work hard there is no war against women not from

▶ 56:35 Speaker 7: not from my perspective so I would ask you to consider doing more research on this but I would say at this point that it is not needed in the city of Melrose

▶ 56:53 Paul Brodeur: thank you thank you good evening mr. president ladies and gentlemen of the board Paul Brodeur 125 Trenton Street and I'm here to say that I think this is a good idea and I have some stuff written out but I don't think it's important because I think the reason why it is a good idea has been shown here this evening there is a tremendous amount of consciousness that this is an issue but no one seems to be sure exactly how it should work out we've heard two folks speak in opposition one saying that women actually in the workplace right now make more than men and one person say they don't and but it's it's reasonable and explainable to me that is the one of the reasons why I should consider forming this commission because there is clearly a lot of work to be done there's a lot of statistical analysis there's a lot of history to be considered and if they're there if there are myths out there explode the myths you have an opportunity as is it ten other communities that have done and continue to do I would urge you to take advantage of that opportunity and and create a dialogue I don't think anyone here has predetermined I hope what what this Commission is going to conclude I assume that they will continue this dialogue in this discussion which is really something that the city has done very well on many occasions and sometimes not done on the on this and other issues so I do I do see it as an opportunity you hear it driving the national political dialogue certainly with a lot of strong feelings on both side you certainly hear it in the state where they're absolutely there are ISSUES AND LEGISLATION DIRECTED AT ISSUES OF EQUAL PAY, UNDERREPRESENTATION OF WOMEN ON BOARDS, ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, WOMEN VETERANS, AND THE ISSUES GO ON AND ON AND ON. I'M NOT SURE THAT THIS COMMISSION WOULD NECESSARILY WANT TO TACKLE ALL OF THOSE THINGS, BUT THERE'S CLEARLY BASED ON WHAT YOU'VE SEEN HERE TONIGHT, A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY FOR DIALOGUE. I don't think the Commission is going to speak with one voice. We'll see if you do choose to go forward But I really do think it's an opportunity to do What this community historically has done very well when they put their mind to it And that is have a full public discussion of issues. They're clearly on the front burner of What we're talking about and and what we want to see happen as a society SO I HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF CONFIDENCE IN YOU FOLKS CERTAINLY AND THE FOLKS THAT MAY BE NAMED TO THIS COMMISSION AND CERTAINLY THE PUBLIC AT LARGE THAT CLEARLY IS GOING TO COME AND PARTICIPATE IN ANY COMMISSION DELIBERATIONS OR PROCEEDINGS. SO GIVEN THE NUMBER OF ISSUES AND THE WAY THEY MAY, YOU KNOW, IMPACT THIS COMMUNITY, I HOPE YOU GO FORWARD AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WATCHING THE COMMISSION'S WORK SHOULD YOU DECIDE TO GO FORWARD.

▶ 59:54 Speaker 2: THANK YOU.

▶ 1:00:13 Speaker 2: Good evening. My name is Arnold Furtig. I live at 10 Sunset Road in Melrose. I come here with three different hats on. On the one hand, I'm the rabbi of the local Jewish community, and as a rabbi, I stand for social justice. And it's clear to me that this is an issue of social justice, that women's issues are different than other minority issues. They are included but go beyond, and that this proposed commission could do a world of good in terms of education, in terms of motivation, in terms of helping women to connect with each other and to improve the society. I come here second as a member of the Human Rights Commission. And it's been said that this proposed Women's Commission would be duplicative of the Human Rights Commission, and I would take issue with that notion as well. On the Human Rights Commission, we are loaded up. We have a number of programs that we run successfully each year. We have limited person power, and we cannot tackle all the issues that are out there. And because women's issues fall into a set ranging from health care issues to education issues to employment issues and others, I think that the Human Rights Commission would view the establishment of Women's Commission as being complementary and a partner that we could have within the community and not something that would take away or in any way detract from the good work that the Human Rights Commission already does. And the third thing that I would like to bring before you is that I run my own company called Job Hunter Coach, and I have a background before that of heading my own boutique recruiting company for 10 years. And I see and deal daily with individuals seeking work, hiring managers, HR, not only here locally but around the country. And it's true what was said, that there are some women that will come and anecdotally they will be strong and they will have higher salaries, they will have better benefits, they will rise to the top. Anecdotally, of course, that's true. But it doesn't say anything about what's going on structurally within the society. And as a structural matter, there are issues that keep women different than men that should be addressed and that can be changed and the women's commission can do that as well so just because some women are meritorious just as other individuals representing other protected classes succeed it doesn't mean just because i did it you can do it you have to work hard there are a certain number of chairs in this in this party they're limited it's structural and this commission could do something to address that in society as well so for all of these reasons and from all these perspectives i urge that you vote in favor of this commission thank you thank you

▶ 1:03:47 Speaker 4: good evening lisa halloran 27 whittier street i'm not sure that i quite agree with needing a commission within melrose i guess as i'm listening to people i'm listing so many questions and i'm not having enough specifics on what this commission is going to try to accomplish is it pay is it family medical leave which is already mandated was there a study in comparison to other cities in regard to the result of needing this Commission I don't know I'd like a little more information point of access and in what way is there a point of access is there is this going to be a state established Commission is this only for the residents of Melrose is this for the women who work in Melrose I believe in equal pay does it have to be specifically women is it equal pay period and especially where we're trying to be fiscally responsible is this going to be a paid Commission or is this volunteer commission and if it's volunteer who decides the volunteers how do you volunteer how will this be addressed as well and I don't think I

▶ 1:05:20 Speaker 4: had any other questions thank you thank you hi good day my name is Lynn Kelly I live at 24 Melbourne Ave here in Melrose I am a lifelong resident of Melrose I have to agree with a few of the other people that came up before earlier I would really like to find out a little bit more about what exactly this Commission is going to do if this is going to be a group of seven female individuals male into it like what is going to be made up of this Commission here and what exactly do they expect to do within the city of Melrose when I first heard about this Commission and read the legislation about it I was like wait what why you know I read it and then I sat down and I really started to think I drove around the city of Melrose and started asking people some questions I looked at some of the most dominant businesswomen here in Melrose and I could name off 10 or 15 of them right now Allison Socia Linda Okanowski Lisa Howitt Amber Orton they dominate the real estate industry here in Melrose I went into Shah's and saw every friend and manager and supervisor of the female persuasion I look here at all of the women that sit here on this board one which was my former neighbor I look up on this wall and I look at the first female president of the Board of Alderman and that was my mother when I was 24 years old I gave birth to my first child I was a single parent I had no Commission to rely upon you know they would give you these these vouchers for women infant and children well what about parents of infant children and then I sat down I looked at the city of Melrose resources there are more resources available to women here in Melrose than I can count you know you you know reproductive health Planned Parenthood you have the human rights you have you know Melrose League of Women voters you have breastfeeding support child support this that and the other thing there are so many resources that are available to women and I just wonder that you know how are these seven individuals really going to make a segue here in Melrose you know I walked up and down Main Street and I saw a gym that was only open to women you know not open to men but only open only to women so they could have a better self-image about their selves every week when I open up the Melrose weekly news I see there they're just congratulating all of the fantastic female athletes here in Melrose you know I myself a mother of three boys that range in age from senior in college all the way down to fifth grade I work full-time outside of the house and I do make more than my male counterparts because of my effort and my persistence and my drive to kind of offset with that woman said back there and this individual right here I spent 15 years in a male dominated industry of recruiting for finance and accounting professionals I worked for one of the largest industries for Robert half International one of the biggest firms in the world and I didn't have a commission advocating for me it was hard work drive and just basically my own resource to provide for myself and my family and again I'm just wondering what exactly is this commission going to do are you going to be going into the businesses of Melrose and saying well you need to do this or you need to do that well there's the family medical leave Act to address those who decide that they want to take a leave of absence from their job to have and start family I did it and 12 weeks later I was back at work after I secured daycare and went back to work full-time and did that through the course of my my child years and now I have a full-time job home here in Melrose I am currently in my fifth term as the president of the Melrose benevolent protective order of Elks a organization that was dominated by males into the 1970s when we were allowed in there and it wasn't because of a commission advocating for me to win this presidency it was because the people in my organization had belief in my ability to get the job done and I beat a male five times over so personally I don't feel as myself that I need a commission to speak for myself there are a lot of us women that can go out there and make our way and I'm also concerned from a fiscal standpoint as to where these resources are going to come from is it going to be in the result of an increase in my already high taxes that I pay every year for my home here in Melrose I think there are a lot of unanswered questions I personally would like to volunteer to be on this Commission because I want to see what it's all about yes I agree that we need to empower people but having them hide behind a commission that we already have a plethora of up here in the city of Melrose I just find it this I need a lot more questions answered I was doing a lot of research in the Brookline Commission on women and what I saw from their blog posts and from their reportings it was about clothing drives for toddlers and you know some food drives we do those type of things every single month over at my Lodge or through st. Mary's School we work in conjunction with the food pantry st. Vincent de Paul we're always here to help members of the society I really didn't see anything of substance maybe they did recognize a few women that have had some historical contributions to their city or town that can be said about any town I mean I really would like to find out more about this Commission and is it a $3,000 budget meant you know budget proposal for right now but then you know next year is it going to be 23,000 then 43,000 and 63,000 I mean these are light items line items that we have to scrutinize every single day you know because we are the one that you know that we're drawing these funds of putting them forward so I would like to hear some more information about that and thank you very much for your time thank you anyone else who wishes to

▶ 1:11:05 Speaker 4: speak this evening I'm a new mom so I'm used to being much better at multitasking than I am today hi my name is Sam hammer and thank you so much for having me tonight I live at 12 Bartlett Street and I am new to Melrose I've moved here six months ago I'm new I'm civically engaged I'm a full-time working mother and a full-time working family and my kids are home tonight with husband so I'm really happy to be here. There are three main reasons why I'm in support for the Women's Commission of Melrose. Again I said I'm new and I've received, I felt the tremendous impact of the Women's Commission in Boston where I came from. Not only the workshops that they had but they really were able to move the city and this region and this Commonwealth forward in a national conversation for not only pay gap but also the cost of childcare and and universal pre-k and issues that impact not only women but families as well the second reason is that when i moved to melrose not knowing y'all um i'm also not from the south not knowing everybody here i was really proud to see the strong leaders that we had especially the women at the table um and i was really proud to read about this initiative in the local paper um i'm really proud to be from melrose now because of the thought leaders that we have um in our setting the disabled and also I really I'm really excited that Melrose gets to be a part of the attend the nine or ten other communities in Massachusetts so again lead the conversation on not only women's issues but working mothers issues family issues I really believe that strong women make strong families make really strong communities I can't imagine any negative impact from having good dialogue around women's issues and family issues in a community and just a bit more about me the pay gap is very real I am in a male-dominated industry and I had twins and it cost me to go to work and so I had to leave a job that I loved in order to take on three jobs to pay for the cost of childcare and live in the city of Boston at the same time so not everyone has the luxury to go back to work after they have children because the cost is really very prohibit is prohibitive um especially for women who tend to be the caregivers of children and elderly as well so i am in full support again i'm new um and thank you so much i think that's

▶ 1:13:40 Speaker 2: all i have thank you thank you anybody else wish to speak before we conclude the public hearing

▶ 1:13:48 Speaker 2: motion conclude the public hearing mr president second alderman mortimer moves that we conclude the public hearing the motion is seconded by alderman forbes all those in favor of the motion indicate by saying aye aye motion the public hearing is hereby concluded and uh on behalf of the board i'd like to thank all of you who came down tonight to speak to us and let us know what your opinions were on this issue good conversation

▶ 1:14:13 Speaker 2: motion to passage mr president alderman lemmerman is moving for passage of the order second second Motion is seconded by Alderman Cuswerko. On discussion, Alderman Lemmerman.

▶ 1:14:23 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: Thank you very much, Mr. President. I'd like to just take a moment to make a couple of points, particularly with regard to some of the questions that were brought up tonight. I would like to say that as far as the issues that this commission, which we will vote on in just a moment, the issues that they'll work on, these commissioners, it's something that's going to be up to those commissioners. so when we're voting tonight we're not voting on a prescribed set of issues for this commission and it will be something that will be determined as this is developed and and as it goes forward it will be a public body just as all our Commission's and boards are and I think that's important to note and to encourage people to continue engaging and and having a discussion on what issues should be discussed by these commissioners along those lines who will be on the Commission the commissioners will be determined the same way that all our commissioners and board members are which is through an appointment process through the mayor's office and then will come before this board for final approval you know there's been some discussion on who is qualified to be a commissioner that's very clearly set out in the city charter and of course we will follow that and there's every intention to do that there's no shortage of very committed residents who have come forward and asked to volunteer on commission and so we are not going to have shortage of people to pull from for something like this who can come together and make this happen they will be volunteers they won't be paid another point that I just want to make very quickly is that as we're voting on this tonight we're voting on an unfunded order this at this moment does not have a budget I do intend to request a budget and to have it be the same and in line with the Human Rights Commission because I think it's important that the resources are in place to make this successful but as we're voting tonight it is unfunded finally I just want to echo the president's sentiments I don't think in the time that I've been on the board we've ever had 45 minutes of public participation and it's just really wonderful to see we don't operate in a vacuum we shouldn't operate in a vacuum and and everything that we do here should be done with input and so thank you to everyone who was who is able to come down and everyone who was able to write it thank you very much I'm very excited to vote in favor of this

▶ 1:16:40 Speaker 2: order thank you further discussion on the order all informed Thank You mr.

▶ 1:16:48 Scott M. Forbes: president you know we have heard from people here this evening that come from different points of view on this I appreciate all of you speaking here tonight and for me personally I don't think I'm ready to vote on this order tonight yes or no what I would like to do is I would like to file a motion to send this back in the committee so we can think about what was just heard by all of these people have some dialogue and then represent itself to the board at a later time I know that would make me feel better it would give me more confidence in my vote I've talked to my wife about this issue I have a 13 year old daughter so this does hit home so I think in my best interest I would like to file that motion to send it back in the committee have more dialogue and then we can reconvene and then I know I'd feel more confident my vote yes or

▶ 1:17:41 Monica C. Medeiros: now. Okay. Thank you, Alderman. Alderman Medeiros. Thank you. I also want to echo the thanks to the many people who came and spoke before us tonight and the many people who have emailed us. There's definitely one thing for sure, even though there's a difference of opinion here, there's a lot of strong women in this community, and I'm very proud to have them be my fellow residents. Um, that being said, uh, I do have some concerns about this because in general and, you know, in my life, I've found that when we label ourselves that we're kind of perpetrating the inequity, if you will.

▶ 1:18:20 Monica C. Medeiros: And we're perpetrating a divide where it becomes men versus women, black versus white, and instead of us focusing on the things that unite us, which we're aldermen, we're citizens, we're Melroseans, we're Americans. And to that vein, I started to put together an amendment to make this. we've done a lot to try to discourage labeling and and these gender roles and I started to put together an amendment to this to make it the Commission on gender equality so that it would really open things up I hear from you know we do have a lot of strong women in this community we have a woman city clerk we have women sitting here on the Board of Aldermen we have school committee members that have been majority most of the time have been women in recent history have had a majority of women we have a woman superintendent but at the same time I'm very well aware that there are you know issues that are very real in which were treated differently as women than men are but that that does go to men as well for instance if there's a man who stays home with his family and is the say you know they call him mr. mom and there's a tremendous stigma against that and that's not good or right either so I would support maybe

▶ 1:19:56 Monica C. Medeiros: looking at this a little bit longer like alderman Forbes had said and I was wondering you know through through the chair to alderman Lemmerman if there had been any consideration toward, you know, making this something that was more gender neutral, like Commission on Gender Identity, or if that had come up in — I thought I had seen this on the Human Rights Commission agenda maybe a month or so ago, if there had been any discussion in the Human Rights Commission, as far as you're aware of that angle.

▶ 1:20:33 Speaker 2: Could you respond to that, please, Alderman?

▶ 1:20:35 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: Yes, I'd be happy to. There has been discussion with the Human Rights Commission. I sat down with the chair and the vice chair in the very early stages of my my work around exploring this and received very very strong support and you know it's echoed primarily and what the rabbi said which was that this is something that's come up for them that they do not feel falls squarely in what they are you know tasked with doing for the city but that they would like to see addressed and that they feel that the I don't want to speak directly for them but I'm i'm relaying what they've given me permission to relay um that they do feel that this would not duplicate um but only strengthen and and potentially partner in certain ways with what

▶ 1:21:19 Speaker 2: they're doing okay thank you thank you mr mr further discussion just also so that everybody knows where we stand um in terms of sentiment to send this order back to committee we have a motion for passage that's been made and duly seconded that motion needs to be voted on or withdrawn before i could entertain a second motion just so the board understands where we are in the discussion in the uh in the order further discussion hoggins worko thank you mr president

▶ 1:21:47 Michael P. Zwirko: i also wanted to echo the comments from my fellow board as well to have public here tonight it's really impressive to see i've only had the pleasure of serving here for five weeks so apparently this is business as usual here we do have an active engagement and a lot of people tonight have spoken very passionately about this and coming before the board being on TV and laying your stake in the ground and taking a position is not always easy so I greatly appreciate that it helps a form where we're gonna stand on this and it's just good to kind of get out where you are and to hear it from you directly I'd also like to extend gratitude to alderman lemmerman this I did support the passage seconding it for passage I know that all the lemon wouldn't work very hard on this she carried this through she vetted it very well and I know that it's a testament to not only her passion but also her rigor in trying to see this become Commission for women within the city of Melrose tonight we've had lots of conversations I feel that supporting this will allow those conversations to continue it will allow for further education of all of these issues I actually like the open-ended charge that this commission has it doesn't box itself in in any way it can bring up issues related to men which were raised here by some of the members of the board I think that the absence of this commission is actually worse than not having one we've seen a lot of participation here tonight I feel that we'll have a lot more participants participation in the future from our residents and for those that are concerned about what the charge of this Commission way maybe I would say continue your participation once this Commission hopefully is formed and you can help move that Commission and have that Commission hear your concerns and the results of any of its studies any of its findings so I think that there's a benefit to having this Commission I would also say that I feel as a man that this is good for men too we speak a lot about education of these issues and I think that men could certainly benefit from that and also be a participant I often think that regardless of where people stand on issues when people don't talk nothing changes and I think it's good to have conversation regardless of where you are I don't see a harm in that I think there's only benefit that can come from this I vehemently support it and I hope that we vote on putting this forward tonight thank you for your thank

▶ 1:24:17 Speaker 2: Thank you. Anyone else? Alderman McAteer-Margolis.

▶ 1:24:22 Mary Beth McAteer-Margolis: Thank you, Mr. President. I also appreciate and respect the participation of the members of the public this evening. And I'm grateful that we have so many strong female leaders amongst us in our community. But we have a lot of women who are struggling, who are not in the limelight and I think it's important that we acknowledge our whole community and that those of us who have been fortunate enough to be successful in some fashion are willing to offer a hand up so that perhaps the next generation coming up behind us or people who are alongside us don't have to struggle and fight quite so hard as we did. Probably as one of the oldest women in the room, I can attest to the fact that there were days when there were not a lot of successes in women's history, regardless of how much you struggled and how hard you worked and what kind of support you had personally I was very fortunate to have support of local family to help me out with childcare and career choices that were available to me but even at

▶ 1:25:49 Mary Beth McAteer-Margolis: that it was difficult and I would have loved to have the resources that alderman Lemmerman is proposing and as alderman Zwirko has mentioned I don't think there's any hidden agenda here. I think this is a very open-ended commission and that will work with the members of the community to establish what the needs are and how in Melrose as a community we can try to fulfill those needs. We'll have more access to other communities who are in the process of doing this to the state and that can only help more of us become more successful not only as women but as members of our families for our children and for our community and for the education of the next generation so I fully support this and I'm really very hopeful that we are able to pass it this evening thank you thank you anyone

▶ 1:26:50 Speaker 2: else who wishes to speak on the order. Alderman Medeiros for the second time. Thank you. As

▶ 1:26:57 Monica C. Medeiros: it seems, I don't believe we'll probably have a withdrawal of the motion for passage. So at this time, I'm going to expect that we're going to take a vote in a few minutes on this. And like I said, I do have some concerns. And I think they're real and valid. And I hope that we look at this moving forward. At the same time, I have had a chance to speak to many many many members both male and female of our community about this and

▶ 1:27:31 Monica C. Medeiros: you know I think there is a thought that this some good can come out of this I think we heard a lot of positive suggestions tonight which I hope will be incorporated into this future Commission and you know we as aldermen continue to you know look at this and um you know i i do hope and i see that there's a strong interest in this and i you know in terms of we're not funding anything tonight this is just simply to create the commission uh you know we i might feel differently in uh when we come to budget times when but i think that you know i will vote to move this forward with the hopes that it does focus on the issues of education and that we really, you know, look closely that we're not doing things to set us back by labeling ourselves and that we're looking at really truly the whole thing. We're not a minority, actually. As Rabbi Fertig said, we're actually the majority in society, 53%. And, you know, I think I just want to take a moment to talk to all the women out there and know that commission or no commission you can do anything you want to do and don't let anybody stop you or tell you otherwise so thank you thank you anyone else

▶ 1:28:58 Speaker 2: ms o'shea could you call the roll please

▶ 1:29:01 Speaker 5: i'm sorry i didn't see you all i'm sorry before we get to this

▶ 1:29:10 Scott M. Forbes: if we send this back to committee one more time and i'm not trying to do this to block anything i'm not saying that i'm against it but just to have that one dialogue before a vote and let's say it comes before the board and passes unanimously two weeks from now if it allows people if they're not already set on making a decision to ask the appropriate questions and feel more confident in their vote moving forward and i would respectfully request that we return this back to committee i like the comments from both sides on this issue i feel like there needs to be balanced on this commission i think that it does have the potential to do a lot of good things but i really think that there should be some t's that are crossed and some eyes that are dotted in order to be assured that this is what we want to do as a board moving forward that's my opinion you may already be preset in your in your decision yes or no and i respect everybody on this on this board for that decision all i'm asking for is if it does go back one more time it comes back for a vote two weeks it may pass unanimously but i just again just want to consider that moving forward to just have that dialogue so maybe we can straighten out and answer some of the questions that some of these people have here tonight or reaffirm some of the positive things that were spoken about it for or possibly being opposed but at least it allows us to move forward in a clear direction so everybody knows what we're doing moving forward so thank you mr

▶ 1:30:37 Speaker 2: thank you anyone else i have alderman wright for the first time please thank you mr president um

▶ 1:30:45 Francis X. Wright Jr.: i think we have heard a divergence of opinion tonight and i i would expect that that divergence will continue uh on the women's commission so i you know i'm hopeful that the mayor will send to us prospective members um so that all points of view are heard so that this conversation as as Alderman Forbes so correctly points out, can continue, but I don't necessarily think it needs to continue in this chamber. I think it can continue with the Women's Commission, and it will succeed or fail based on that membership. I think if it's not divergence, and if you're gonna have a bunch of people sitting around just patting each other on the back because they're all of the same mind, and it will go nowhere. But if we can get a divergence of opinion on there, and we can get people sharing ideas opening up each other to different trains of thought then this can be successful and I don't see any downside to it I think that as far as funding goes it's not going to be funded until the budget it's a small amount of money at that point if it comes to it at all and I think that I'm prepared to vote tonight um i understand alderman forbes concerns but i think the legislation as proposed is pretty dynamic in what it describes as far as what the purpose of this commission is it amends the administrative code and i think that ultimately we will see that it gives a proper framework for this commission to perform its function and for the members to um to act and And I think it's open-ended enough so that they can take up anything they believe is appropriate, but still gives us enough guidelines so that they can't go off the rails. Thank you.

▶ 1:32:38 Speaker 2: Thank you. Just one point I want to make. I'm sure the Board of Aldermen understands this, but maybe members of the public don't. I don't believe that these commissioners are going to be subject to confirmation by the Board of Aldermen. This would be an advisory committee, which would be similar to the Veterans Advisory Board. but the Board of Aldermen doesn't vote to confirm members of the Veterans Advisory Board, and I don't believe we would vote under the charter to confirm these people. This is not like an appointment to the Board of Appeals or the Planning Board or something of that nature. I have Alderman Lemmerman for the second time, and then I have Alderman Medeiros for the third time.

▶ 1:33:18 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: Oh, you'll talk to Alderman Medeiros.

▶ 1:33:19 Monica C. Medeiros: No, I just, Mr. President, I believe this is an amendment to the administrative code to establish this commission as a multiple member body for which like the historic district commission and Human Rights Commission and other commissions that that the mayor would in fact appoint the members which I think about a third of whom must be up every year and would be subject to our approval the

▶ 1:33:55 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: appointees thank you thank you mr. president I I disagree with the I the idea of sending this back to committee I do feel it was brought to committee it was discussed in committee there was a lot of discussion and it was recommended for passage it was also then subject to a very dynamic and active public hearing on the issue and so you know that's that's actually more debate than we've had on many issues that come before this body I don't however feel comfortable forcing any aldermen to vote on something they don't feel ready for so in order to allow for a vote on sending this back to committee I want this board to obviously have the chance to make that choice I will withdraw my motion in

▶ 1:34:42 Speaker 2: order to allow a vote for that alderman lemmerman wishes to withdraw her motion alderman's work Odie withdraw your second yeah hey there is no motion

▶ 1:34:51 Speaker 2: before the board at this point in time the order is before you what is your

▶ 1:34:57 Scott M. Forbes: pleasure Alderman Forbes I would like to extend my appreciation to Alderman Lemmerman for withdrawing your motion I would like to motion to send this back

▶ 1:35:05 Speaker 2: to committee to have further dialogue Alderman Forbes moves to return the order to committee second second by Alderman Medeiros is there discussion relative to the motion to return the order to committee all those in favor of returning the order to committee indicate by saying aye aye all those opposed okay can I see a show of hands on the opposed please okay the motion

▶ 1:35:34 Speaker 2: fails motion for passage mr. president Alderman Lemmerman moves for passage second motion is seconded by Alderman McAteer-Margolis is there further discussion on the motion for passage Ms. O'Shea could you call the roll

▶ 1:35:47 Speaker 5: please. Alderman Boisselle. Yes. Yes. Alderman Forbes. No. No. Alderman Inferna. Yes. Yes. Alderman Lemmerman. Yes. Yes. Alderman McAteer-Margolis. Yes. Yes. Alderman Medeiros. Yes. Yes. Alderman Mortimer. Yes. Yes. Alderman Tramontozzi. Yes. Yes. Alderman Knight. Yes. Yes. Alderman Zwirko. Yes. Yes. President Kahn. Yes. Yes. 10 yes. The order passes. That concludes the business of the