← City Council · 2022-08-15 · City Council Regular Meeting
ORDER-2022-152 : Appointment of Julie Delillo, 13 Circuit Street, to the Board of Registrars of Voters for a three-year term; said term to expire on the last day of February 2025
Agenda original PDF
Minutes original PDF
ORDER-2022-152 Appointment Appointment of Julie Delillo, 13 Circuit Street, to the Board of Registrars of Voters for a three-year term; said term to expire on the last day of February 2025 Defeated
Transcript
▶ 1:24:17 Speaker 1: McMaster. Yes. Counsela. Migliorelli. Yes
▶ 1:24:22 Speaker 2: counselor. Opbremski. Yes counselor Stewart. Yes counselor Williams Yes president sonella. Yes 11. Yes.
▶ 1:24:30 Speaker 3: order 2022-152 Appointment of Julie delilo 13th circuit Street to the board of registrars of Voters for a three year term. Said term to expire in the last day of February 2025.
▶ 1:24:43 Speaker 2: Council is your Melody.
▶ 1:24:46 Maya Jamaleddine: Mr. President disorder comes from the finance committee with that recommendation of Passage and at this time I move for Passage.
▶ 1:24:54 Christopher Cinella: Motion for passage made by Council jamalogy and seconded by constantly garapay any discussion Mr. President.
▶ 1:25:00 Leila Migliorelli: I'd like to take opportunity to I don't I didn't see this in iqm too. But motion to add correspondence from the mayor and the Secretary of State to the order the email dated August.
▶ 1:25:11 Speaker 2: 12
▶ 1:25:13 Speaker 7: second
▶ 1:25:14 Christopher Cinella: Well, we have a motion on the floor. So if we I could okay do that suppose of that then motion to put that on.
▶ 1:25:22 Leila Migliorelli: Attached to the order. Okay, then I do have comments about this. So I just wanted to comment on my vote at the finance committee. As I said during then that meeting in July. We typically do not wait into partisan Waters in the chamber and certainly not when deliberating the candidaciva resident to a border commission position, but however, this appointment is in fact a political partisan appointment. Based on the information that the mayor received from the secret Secretary of State's office. Although he believed that he had to appoint a republican to fill the vacancy left by another Republican on this Committee. Just last week in this email that I've been a subsequently asked to be attached the order the Secretary of State's office confirmed that we do not need to fill that vacancy with a member of the same party. Therefore. I just can't in good conscious support a republican nominee to this position as a composition of the board would then not accurately reflect the composition of the electric it electorate two Republicans one Democrat and one unenrolled hardly seems like an accurate representation of our City's electric, which is 8% Republican 33% Democrat in 59% independent. Secondarily. Well, I know that the candidate Express that she would not let her own political values influence her decisions. I respect that you can't leave your personal political beliefs at the door. When you're in charge of running a political process. This is an appointment to the planning board or the Liquor Commission elections are inherently political. Just because someone has a d or an R. After their name doesn't mean that they espouse all of the beliefs of their political party. However, one should feel comfortable and confident to State what they do and do not personally support and one of those things is a safety of our elections. Which are under attack today across the country. Safe and fair elections at the Cornerstone of a functioning democracy and we need people the people who are in charge of certifying our electoral results to believe in the Integrity of our elections last month in the nominee indicated. She would support the law. But in the event the Judgment calls need to be made it's unclear where she would stand. As we all know the law is not black and white and is open to interpretation. We need to know what the guiding principles of an appointee would be when they're called upon to interpret the law or when election results may be called into question. I also want to address the remarks made in public comment regarding this being unpresented unprecedented partisan questioning process. When I was appointed to the Human Rights Commission back in early 2018 councilor. Medeiros asked some of the appointees to clarify their personal beliefs and lack of support for president Trump that questioning went on for for a little bit of time and caught all of the appointees by surprise because as we were preparing for that committee line of questioning we were told that this is just be sort of, you know, a quick question of Our intention to serve on that committee and not a grilling of our political stance. So this is in fact not the first time this has happened in this chamber. So given the recent information from the secretary state's office and my further reflection the nominees comments in the last meeting. I will no longer be supporting the mayor's recommendation for the appointment.
▶ 1:28:34 Speaker 2: Thank you, Mr. President. Anyone else under discussion? counselor Eccles
▶ 1:28:38 Jack Eccles: yep, you know back and forth on this a little bit and I don't want to talk too long because it's getting late, but I don't particularly object to a new Republican serving or two or one or any mix but I think that you know, the relevant questions to be asked during for a nominee of this position is about voting rights and situational questions about how you approach certain scenarios. For partisan appointment to a board of register our voters questions are intentionally different than a typical job interview in their value-based questions are just about enfranchisement and voting personally. I don't think this is like past nominations. I also agree with anyone's right? To file suit, but at this time the state Republican party is suing to stop mail and voting and it is very important to me that anyone on the board of registraris does not support that and I did not hear an answer to that question or questions of the like so I'll be voting now this evening as well.
▶ 1:29:43 Speaker 2: Anyone else on a discussion? How's Grandma Jenny?
▶ 1:29:48 Manjula Karamcheti: First I just wanted to say Mr. Little thank you for coming back. I think it was incredibly brave for you to do. So and I apologize if you felt treated unfairly. I was a no vote. I continue to be a no vote, but truthfully it isn't because you were a republican. It isn't about political party for me. I just wanted an honest answer and I wanted to believe that you care deeply about making sure that voter rights were respected and I just didn't get that answer from you. I know you would follow the law. I know that. You know, you shared your professional background, but I just I didn't hear what I needed to hear to be confident in my vote and it didn't have anything to do with your political party. It just had to do with like fit for for the board, but I do appreciate you coming before us and being interested.
▶ 1:30:47 Speaker 2: Counselors your Melody, do you have a question? or comment
▶ 1:30:53 Maya Jamaleddine: Thank you, Mr. President. I wanted to Echo my colleagues and their comments but most importantly I would like to share my concern about comments made tonight during public comments. I'm traveling to hear the Republicans are trying to change their affiliation on papers due to the pressure and fear.
▶ 1:31:11 Speaker 1: They are facing. as a person who has judged on their
▶ 1:31:19 Maya Jamaleddine: appearance on or on their identity. I know exactly how that feels and I wanted to encourage anyone who feels that pressure to to come to any of us and I'm sure me and my colleague will be At the first advocate for them we would not want anyone to change their values or their beliefs because of pressure or fear. Our questions
▶ 1:31:47 Speaker 1: did not come were not questioned would not
▶ 1:31:55 Maya Jamaleddine: because of the affiliation as much as because of the importance of the position that misses the little will be holding. I also wanted to add a previous accentines were asked questions. I was if the record is, you know, the public record is there and we can go back and I did ask about consolidation and and other questions to Mrs. the budget Everson so please don't take this personal as much as have open mind and know that our questions are coming as
▶ 1:32:49 Speaker 1: the responsibility that we are holding and because of the importance of this position and appointment that we are voting on. Thank you.
▶ 1:33:02 Speaker 2: counselor McMaster Thank you, Mr. President.
▶ 1:33:07 Shawn M. MacMaster: While some of Mr. Lilo's answers may have given me pause when she appeared before us on the last occasion. She does remain before us tonight as mayor broders nominee for this position after having been recommended favorably by the finance committee. She was vetted by the committee that is vested with that responsibility. Now between the last meeting and tonight the mayor could have withdrawn the lilo's nomination if he was concerned about her performance before the finance committee. He could have also withdrawn her name after Secretary of State's office issued. Its ruling if he wanted to go in another Direction. He could have even encouraged Mr. Lilo to withdraw her own name if he sensed that she was not going to be approved tonight rather than have her nomination failed before the full Council which by the way would be the first time in my five years on the council that that has happened. None of that though happened. So that tells me that mayor that Mr. Lilo retains the full support and confidence of Mayor Broder and also tells me that he has no qualms the Democrat and having two Republicans on the board of registers and perhaps like formal council Maderos indicated the mayor may very likely see some benefit in having two Republicans on the board. My own preference for this position would be an unenrolled voter that would be that would bring true balance and parity to the board of registers and I say that as a registered Democrat myself. But it's the function of the executive branch. To nominate candidates to boards and commissions and multiple member bodies. In barring something in a person's background or performance before this body. That would be completely disqualifying. I approached these appointments with a high degree of deference to the executive branch and it's for those reasons that I plan to support. The mayor's nominee tonight and Mr. Lilo, I'd like to thank you for remaining interested in this position.
▶ 1:35:16 Speaker 2: Thank you, Mr. President. Anybody else cancel Stewart?
▶ 1:35:19 Robb Stewart: Thank you, Mr. President. I'm one of the few consoles that actually know as Mr. Little she's in my ward. She's a constituent of mine. We've communicate a few times over the years when I was running for this office. She spent 45 minutes grilling me over an ice cream and you know, we had some of the same views some of the differing views, but what impressed me was the Integrity of her questions. And the conviction that she wanted to make sure that I was a good candidate. and the other times that she's approached me has been about Ward issues one was the the continued embarrassment of the the tea where the train was the bells would be running late at night for a month just to warn people for no reason and the other one was a stop sign. There was political Influence There Is No Agenda. There is nothing that I could see that would. Try to influence me based on her political affiliation. And based on what she said based on her background based on her family based on the interactions. I see no reason why she would commit any form of fraud sedition. Concern about the voter. I think she would uphold the law as it is written. And for that reason. I'll be supporting musalu. Thank you, Mr. President.
▶ 1:36:57 Speaker 2: Anybody else under discussion?
▶ 1:37:01 Jen Grigoraitis: Council here, I just thank you Mr. President. I'll just join in since my colleagues are also speaking. I came to the finance. Committee meeting which I'm not a member of fully expecting to support Ms. Delilah because based on what I do know about her that she's politically engaged. I know she's been involved in several campaigns that she's a lawyer that she holds High positions in HR that she was going to speak very compellingly to her dedication to supporting. Fair and impartial elections to expanded voting to all of the things that I really see as core to sitting on the board of registrars. I did not walk away from that meeting feeling like those questions had been sufficiently answered. It actually flipped me from being in support to not being in support. I agree with councilor McMaster that these are the Mayors appointments to make and it is our job to say yes or no. I remained unsure after the email we received from mayor Broder about the with information from the Secretary of State if that meant that he continued to support Ms. Delilah with this information that he had the ability to consider other candidates or not. That was my own confusion. I fail to reach out to the mayor for his clarification, but I felt like we just received an email with updated information from the Secretary of State's office and nothing else. So I feel like at this time. This is not the right appointment. I am not Opposed to other Republicans. I hope the Republican City committee puts other nominees down as is their right under the state law, but I really feel like needing to understand people's commitment to protecting the Integrity of voting and expanding access to that is core to this position.
▶ 1:38:30 Speaker 1: Thank you.
▶ 1:38:32 Speaker 2: Anybody else?
▶ 1:38:35 Speaker 2: Adam Clark, please call the roll counselor Eccles. No counselor
▶ 1:38:38 Speaker 1: garapay. Yes Council Grigoraitis.
▶ 1:38:42 Speaker 1: No councilor maladene.
▶ 1:38:46 Speaker 2: Council caramshady no counselor McMaster. Yes
▶ 1:38:52 Speaker 2: counselor. Migliorelli. No consulate o'brimski. Yes counselor Stewart.
▶ 1:38:57 Speaker 1: Yes counselor Williams
▶ 1:39:01 Speaker 2: No president. Sonella. Yes.
▶ 1:39:04 Speaker 1: Six, no. The order does not pass.
▶ 1:39:07 Speaker 2: okay, and to counselor, maybe they're allies.
▶ 1:39:14 Christopher Cinella: Motion I believe under our rules everything gets attached. To the record under our revised rules.