The Newton City Council will hear public comment on a petition to impeach Donald Trump next Wednesday June 7 at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The citizen’s petition will first be debated by the Programs and Services Committee and, if approved, there would be another night of debate before the full city 24 member council.
Does the council have to debate a citizen’s petition? Anybody know how that works?
Do you mean could they approve it without discussion?
Excuse my French, but WTF? Isn’t there some minimum standard for a petition to be eligible for discussion?
GROAN. What a waste of time. Let Newton citizens beseech their US Senators if they want this. Let’s work on Newton stuff.
I don’t think they have a choice, relevant snippet from the current charter:
“The city council or the school committee shall hold a public hearing and act with respect to every petition
which is addressed to it, which is signed by at least 50 voters, and which seeks the passage of a measure. ”
Glossed over the proposed charter and the signature count is increased to 100 before a public hearing is held.
I’m no fan of President Trump, but not sure where this gets us. Better to focus on flipping Congress, or turning more state houses blue. It is important to pick your battles.
But hey, free country and all that for the petitioner. You be you.
Why not discuss the 8 months of investigations into the no evidence of Russian Collusion?
If anyone is curious as to why people are abandoning the Democrat party you need not look any further.
My health care premiums alone cost me $24,000.00 last year thanks to Obama care and all I’m hearing from Democrat politicians is talk about Russia. Where is the leadership?
Is this what we send people to city hall for? Is this what we send people to Washington for? Shameful and embarrassing. If this is the best way for the council to spend its time then we should make the job a no pay no
benefits affair. Permanently.
Sad!
As Patrick pointed out, the authority for a citizen provision is a function of our city charter and not the size of the City Council.
According to our charter, 50 citizens sign a petition to demand action of the City Council, regardless of the size of the City Council, and the City Council must act on it.
I don’t know who dreams these issues up, while I support the intent of the petition, let’s live in todays world. This doesn’t belong in front of the Councilors.
Lets have a drinking game, everytime someone says the word impeach lets all chug a beer.
What does this petition have to do with the size of the council?
@Tricia – nothing
Fignewtonville and Bernie Sanders are right. Forget this nonsense. Focus all efforts on winning back Congress, state legislatures and gubernatorial races. It’s far too early to even think of impeachment, or indeed if it is even warranted. Thinking of Trump brings to mind a turkey cooking in the oven. it’s not cooked until you can stick a fork in it. We’re not there yet.
Every citizen should always feel free to petition their government for any cause in which they believe. Of course it would be helpful to the process if these actions were forwarded to the appropriate level governmental body designed by law to deal with the petition. Once the City Council, as in this case, receives the petition it is then the Council’s responsibility to the residents of Newton to address the issue only if it is appropriate to municipal government. This is where the disconnect occurs, which then frustrates residents, such as in the case of the impeachment petition. We are not the appropriate body, and if the City Councilor’s on the initial receiving committee addressed this as “no action necessary,” then the petitioners could then walk down the street and talk with Rep Joe K’s staff.
One last comment, is that some City Councilor’s may feel a topic has merit and if so then they should, using their knowledge of government, go along with the citizens and take the action to the appropriate level of government. Of course they can send any type of personal letter of support that they desire to send.
In the Marines we called this Mission Creep.
Are any of our Councilor on the petitioner list? It would seem as Councilor Cote stated something that should have been sent to Congress not the City Council.
I am just curious if any councilor are for this – and if they think it is a positive way to spend their Committee and Full Council time?
What Jerry said.
Nationwide, since Trump was elected, millions of newcomers to political organizing have come forward to be involved at all level of government.
This is true in Newton – the Newton Dems have seen an incredible upsurge in our membership. Before Trump, perhaps 50 people would attend our regular business meetings. Now, 150 to 200 show up. We scramble to find large enough spaces. We are busier now than in campaign years.
In March, we hosted an activism training – over 600 people attended.
All over Newton, following the Women’s Marches in Boston and DC, “living room” groups of 20 to hundreds of activists have banded together to to push issues and work on campaigns. This resolution before City Hall is a result of the efforts of one of these new groups which also secured passage of the resolution recently in Brookline.
Regardless of how our talented municipal elected officials may feel personally about this type of ‘national’ issue resolution, it is worthwhile to note; this is probably a high priority for newly awakened Newton voters who want to see Trump resisted at every level of government.
So by doing this – What exactly will be accomplished by the Newton City Councilors?
Less time talking about the bad condition of our streets and what they should do to fix them? Less time figuring out about how to increase commercial Property tax instead of more taxes on the Newton Homeowners who pretty soon will not be able to afford to stay in Newton?
I’m breaking my own rule here to respond to an anonymous poster because in this case, I happen to know Joanne’s full name.
@Joanne: Sorry, the horrible condition of the roads and traffic and other immediate concerns of the city will have to take a temporary back seat to the festivities tonight. My takeaway from the post above your post is that this is largely being used as a recruiting device. Which is fine with me if that’s how my fellow citizens wish to spend their evening. I hope other concerns will be taken up soon next time.
@Shawn Fitzgibbons: Your activities on behalf of the growth of your party are commendable and can only lead to more active voters participating in our democracy. Important to note, however, that your goals of party growth, and the City Councils , role in Municipal governance are quite different. The City Council has to respect the needs of all residents and deliver a quality city government focused within our area of responsibility.
What Councilor Cote Said.
I’ve received many emails exhorting me to vote in favor of the petition. This is how I have replied:
“You have each written me to request that I vote in favor of the petition to recommend the impeachment of Trump. We agree that he is a threat to the republic and to the Constitution; even if there were not grounds for impeachment, there is growing evidence for removal under the 25th Amendment.
We do not agree, however, on the nature of federalism as it relates to the resistance to Trump. You seek to synchronize local and state governments to the national political debate, so as to leverage the institutional credibility of these organs. It’s a sound political strategy, but I don’t believe that it is in the best interests of the republic.
Federalism provides for stability and progress when state and local governments are not polarized according to national political questions – when Republican and Democratic city councilors, for example, can work together on zoning reform, or pavement management, or economic development, without reference to their vote for president. With the relentless geographic self-sorting of the past four decades, there are already too few opportunities for people to interact in person with those with whom they disagree. Non-ideological local government helps mend that fraying civic fabric.
Stable and progressive governance by states and cities – in marked contrast to the federal executive – is the best way for their elected bodies to resist Trump.”
I just want to clarify one bit of frequent legal confusion. Impeachment is not the same thing as removal. Impeachment is the first step of the process, akin to indictment, only suggesting that we have enough evidence to move the proceeding forward, not that the person is guilty.
As such, the city council is only being asked to call on Congress to begin these proceedings, not to pass judgement on whether the President is guilty of the charges.
@ Jim Cote and Jake Auchincoloss said. I’m shocked that councilors are receiving emails encouraging them to deal with an issue that belongs in the realm of Joe Kennedy, Elizabeth Warren, and Ed Markey.
The charter allows for citizen petitions as it should, but does not require councilors to sponsor the petition. If the Newton Dems are experiencing a renewed interest in political activism, then the leadership should provide some guidance to new members about how to use their time and energy effectively – whom do you contact when in order to advocate for the many issues of our time.
For a variety of reasons, I’ve not followed local politics closely in the last month. A quick scan of the headlines led me to believe that several councilors had sponsored a measure, only to learn that it’s a citizen’s petition. I hope that the city council maintains its focus on local issues during these turbulent times and that the newly engaged citizens direct their energy to the appropriate level of government.
Jane and Jake and Jim–right on.
Impeachment is a serious national issue and Trump seems well-positioned to be impeached. That being said, any councilor who votes for this silliness makes a mockery of council.
I agree with Jane, Jake, Jim , Jeff and Joanne.
Back to the actual topic: @bryan barash it’s a sad commentary that after 1.5 years on the Charter Commission, with the purpose of improving city government, that first you advocate to reduce local representation, and then completely whiff on the duties and responsibilities of the Council. The 24 member City Council is extremely busy handling municipal matters coming off of 2 months of budget work, now overloaded major committee agendas, and end of term business that the City Council has to stick to the City’s business. My guess is that with work, family commitments, and running for reelection, that most of the City Council is at workload capacity.
The current 24 City Councilors are on a tight schedule, working many hours to complete a myriad of tasks; so can you imagine what the Council will do with fewer members?
I’m one of the Newton residents working to get this resolution passed. I understand the concerns of everyone here, and in normal times I would share them.
My understanding is that there is precedent for the Council (once the Board of Aldermen) to address national or even international issues. There have been resolutions about Vietnam and Darfur, among others. In Brookline, there were resolutions passed to impeach George W. Bush (not just open an investigation, like ours!) and to condemn the Iraq War. So, while not common, this kind of petition isn’t unheard of.
There is more than ample evidence to open an impeachment investigation in the House, and yet, out of 435 reps, only 24 have even mentioned it. On both sides, for political reasons, MoCs refuse to acknowledge the truth, which is that our democracy and Constitution are being eroded every day by an administration that’s so far beyond the pale it’s hard for us to even process it. Personally, I think that’s where a lot of pushback comes from: we want to think of our hometown as separate from the unbelievable ugliness and dysfunction we’re seeing in D.C. I absolutely understand that impulse. But I think it’s shortsighted.
As Massachusetts residents, we don’t have to fight the battles residents of other states do: we don’t have to fight crazy bathroom bills, or “religious freedom” laws, or reps voting for a health care bill that would decimate people’s lives and pocketbooks. We have a little breathing room. I look on that as a responsibility. We can do things like lead the way on impeachment.
How do local resolutions help? Well, after Brookline became the 10th town to pass one, last week, there was coverage not only in the Globe and Herald but, for the first time, significant national coverage in Politico, Newsweek, and others, and even abroad. And representatives–both Ds and Rs–are starting to edge, very cautiously, closer to the position of the country, 43% of which favors impeaching Trump–up five points just from last week. That national coverage is a valuable bit of extra pressure. Also, a rep has to pay attention if his or her district is calling for impeachment. It gives them both political cover and motivation.
If Newton passes this resolution, it will be the 11th U.S. municipality to do so. There have been five others in MA, one in VT, and four in CA, including Los Angeles. Petitions are in progress in Boston and Chicago. They are a legitimate and effective tool for citizens to make their voices heard when Congress refuses to listen to any other method. (And believe me, we’ve called and had meetings multiple times with MoCs on this issue.)
I received Jake’s response earlier this evening, and while I respect the spirit behind it, it suffers from a basic misunderstanding, which is the assumption that this is a partisan effort. That’s the most depressing thing of all to me–that defending the Constitution is now seen as partisan, and that, on top of that, irrelevant to local politics. I think the vast majority of regular folks realize that’s not the case. Stop and think about what the founders of this country would have said about “staying out of national politics,” when our very national norms and rule of law are on the line.
Those are all reasons I feel very comfortable advocating for Newton’s passage of the Impeachment Investigation resolution.
And one last thought: I absolutely agree that we can’t look on impeachment, if it ever happens, as a silver bullet. That will be just the beginning. None of us involved in this effort think this will fix everything. That’s why I’m also a Newton Dems convention delegate, and involved in several groups organizing for the 2018 midterms, plus a group working to get big money out of politics. My fellow activists are similarly engaged. This is not tilting at windmills and wasting the valuable time of our city councilors. We are working, on many fronts, to leave a functioning world for our children. I hope to God they will be able to worry only about schools and roads and stoplights.
@Shawn Fitzgibbons
I am so very impressed by the “organizing”, ” resisting”, and
activism you speak of, but really what is the Democrat party actually doing?
Anything of consequence? Anything but making a lot of noise?
Anything at all? When does the carping about Russia stop? What exactly are Newton Dems doing to address the punitive, confiscatory, ACA premiums paid by small business people like myself? My Tufts health care premium has risen between 8-13 percent every year and until last year or the year before, Tufts CEO was James C. Roosevelt Jr. The James C. Roosevelt Jr.
that was a member of the Democratic Senatorial Committee and hard core Democrat “activist”, not a Trump or Reagan stooge. When are Democrats going to start acting like the “big tent, party of the people”? Honestly Shawn,
the Democrat party has done more financial damage to my family than any group of Republicans have and thats a fact!
I am confident that the city councilors can decide whether or not to pursue this petition on their own. It seems the main objective is to raise awareness nationally – fine by me. At this point getting the impeachment ball rolling requires republican MoC to care.
Holly, thank you for commenting here about the background and purpose of the petition.
Activism takes many forms. I became an activist the moment I talked with Jack Kennedy as a girl in Tennessee. Growing up in the 60’s I learned that if you want people to listen, you have to get the word out there most any way you can. We are again in turbulent times and I commend all of our new activists for finding ways to get the word out and maybe moving the Democratic Party farther to the left.
Paul Green says, “When does the carping about Russia stop?” When the Russia connection to this administration is sorted out.
The ACA isn’t perfect but Trumpcare would be disastrous. Activists are pushing for Medicare for all – single payer healthcare.
@holly LeCraw: Great response but again to the wrong level of government. The streets around Joe K’s office are quiet, yet I would stress that is where the rallies and petitions should be directed.
We have the Peoples Business in the City to attend to.
Thank you
@Jim Cote: Sorry, I’m confused, what are you even responding to? I was clarifying the role that impeachment plays in the federal process and the question before you. I made no comment on how you should vote.
I do find it interesting that you think it’s a waste of the council’s time to take up a citizen petition that a group of our residents feel passionate about.
@Jim Cote: While I respect your opinion, given my understanding of your party affiliation I’m a bit leery of your recommendations regarding how we should approach a Democratic MoC.
Those of us supporting this resolution who are also Democrats have no interest in shaming Joe or antagonizing him. He’s walking a fine political line, and we get that.
On the other hand, cities and towns in Joe’s district, by passing this resolution, send a very strong message, believe me. It’s a completely legitimate form of political speech that provides another way for constituents to be heard and to express their support for moves a MoC hopefully will make in the future.
As I said in my earlier comment, I don’t think this local resolution method is something that should be utilized often. But we are in extraordinary times, and the notion that a constitutional crisis, with rights being eroded daily, doesn’t affect us at the local level is simply blind. I continue to find it amazing when people refuse to acknowledge how dire our circumstances are.
@bryan barash: Nice play on words, but I believe it’s a poor use of the citizens time to petition a body that does not have any place in the discussion. My comment was focused on your role in tying up a busy City Council with petitions that are for some other body. Possibly you could approach the folks at the state house, or the federal elected officials.
As you know I am a Marine Corps veteran and a strong defender in the individuals right to address their government.
@holly leclaw: As others have mentioned in this string, the great thing of working in municipal government is that we don’t have to play the party game. Should you want to check out our level of activity in city work you are welcome to attend an upcoming Land Use Committee meeting.
That’s all I have on this topic.
@Marti Bowen-
Most of my questions were rhetorical in nature, except for the questions about the
ACA. Yourself, Shawn Fitzgibbons, myself and many others appear to be hitting our activist, resisting strides at the same time. Everyone has their own form of activism. My favorite is economic activism. If the product or service is lousy or unsustainable you take that business elsewhere. Everyone remembers the expression “Money talks Bull—
walks”, right? I am currently in the process of investigating the process of separating as many of my health care dollars as possible from the ACA system as it is currently organized until politicians and arrogant, indifferent ” Democrat activists” figure out what their next step is. Will the solution be single payer? Who knows, but i am going to allow “organizers & “resisters” the time to organize and the safe space to resist until someone, anyone, gets it done, without having access to spending my hard earned earnings like Monopoly money. I will not continue to pour money into a broken system “that isn’t perfect” that has no plan or intention of providing relief to small businesses.
I can afford the penalties that the state or feds will levy ($800.00 per person x 4), and there appear to be many non traditional forms of coverage- concierge, catastrophic etc. New viable options are becoming available the longer the ACA, as enacted by the Obama Administration goes on. My guess is the $2, 000 i spend per month on premiums will find a good home and i will find excellent health care coverage based on the coverage that i need and want, without being gouged by a system that has no respect for my dollars or health. In addition, i will share any information about products, services or providers that i can glean with as many people as possible who are in the same situation as i am so that we may create an “economic resistance”
against the broken current system. Maybe a 501C3 would be appropriate?
Please do let me know how all the Russia collusion kerfuffle unwinds…
Unless you’ve had a relative whose life has been saved by the ACA, then it may be difficult to understand its significance. Paul, I do understand the difficult circumstances that health insurance/care imposes on businesses, but I hope you understand that it saves lives.
As a health Care Provider- Paul is right. The “drama” that ACA saves lives – If a person is that sick/critically ill – they can go to a hospital and are treated for FREE. How do you think all the Undocumented Immigrants who cannot legally get insurance get treated?? FREE CARE – Subsidized by the Federal Government. This has been in place prior to ACA . The only people benefiting from the ACA are the Insurance Company’s. The ACA – has charged members more – as happened to Paul, pays doctors and Hospitals less, and the profits go to the Insurance CEO’s . That is how it now works in the Real World of Health Care after the establishment of Obamacare. And Paul – Check out Neighborhood Health Care – you might be able to reasonable prices with them.
@Jane-
The economic “survival “‘of my OWN family is my #1 priority.
I won’t be guilted or shamed about that. I’m the provider. That’s my job and I take it very seriously. My own family’s needs come first. Sorry! I’ve more than paid my fair share. As a sole proprietor, not only am I gouged on my health care, I also pay a higher share of state and federal taxes. I’m one of the people that makes up the difference for the people who can’t afford to pay and the corporations, let’s say Apple or GE
who exploit overseas workers then hide their money in offshore accounts thereby minimizing or avoiding paying their “fair share”.
With all due respect, and I do respect your view, with your 30-40
years in the education system, my guess is although you probably haven’t gotten rich, your health care needs, and those of your significant others is mostly set – for life. Yes? Care to share what your monthly premiums and doctor co-pays are? What amount would YOU be willing to pay per month , year after year, to insure that the ACA continues to
“Save lives”? $2,000 a month maybe? Not a chance. Does the complexion of the situation change? Darn right it does. It’s very easy
to provide a solution for someone else- that we ourselves don’t have to pay for. I didn’t design the system or set the rules Jane, I’m just trying to
survive within the parameters that have been created and yes I’m angry.
The power to take your business and money elsewhere is a powerful tool
and unlike organizing or resisting, it gets people’s attention pretty darn quickly.
@Joanne-
Yes. According to their own records, the state of Massachusetts spent upwards of 36 million to provide health care for people that did not qualify for it under governor deval Patrick. I’ll let others figure out on whom those expenditures were made, but that’s a lot of “leakage” in a state that is approaching dire straits in incoming tax revenues.
To your second point, the dirty little secret that will have everyone calling me a bigot, racist, zenophobe etc etc is under some plans,
and coverage, including the Neighborhood Health Care,
YOU CANNOT KEEP YOUR DOCTORS!! More hyperbole from me?
how would I know? Because I called them SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
My wife and I called all of our health care providers and EVERY SINGLE
ONE OF THEM SAID THEY DONT ACCEPT THAT PLAN/PROVIDER!
Let’s put it this way, for all of the “we are in this together”
nonsense , if you told Jane and her colleagues tomorrow that
their coverage is being changed to the Neighborhood Health Plan to spread out and share the cost of “life saving care”, there would be a picket line of teachers outside of every school before the end of the day bell rang!
Oh, please. Sure, if you get hit by a bus in this country, the ambulance will take you to a hospital and you will receive emergency care, regardless of insurance status. But you know as well as I do that after that, the uninsured don’t receive the same quality care as the privately insured. An uninsured person with cancer has a much lower chance of survival than a privately insured one, because they are generally diagnosed later, after the disease is more advanced, and they don’t have access to the same doctors and hospitals. Those with chronic conditions have equally poor outcomes, as they require frequent visits with multiple providers, but generally only have access to already overwhelmed free clinics. The ACA is far from perfect, and don’t get me started about insurance companies. But the idea that not having insurance isn’t a huge impediment to care is ridiculous.
@Jim Cote: What are you talking about? My role in tying up the city council? I’ve never worked on a citizen petition to the city council. Unless you’re referring to the Welcoming City Ordinance, which was introduced by your fellow councilors, was incredibly important to the city, and which you ultimately voted for despite expressing consistent opposition on this blog.
If that’s what you’re referring to, I hope you’ll make it clear to the people of Newton where you stand on it when you run for re-election. I think you’ll find the overwhelming majority of my fellow citizens agree it wasn’t a waste of your time.
@ Tricia- Maybe you can speak to a few ER nurse who works in the hospitals in Boston. They can tell you all about how non US citizens show up at the Hospital after getting off a plane at Logan – with no insurance, no status and get not only free care for them, their unborn child and their family and also get social work assistance in getting into public housing. It is NOT just emergency care that is covered. You can get physicals, eye exams etc. It is amazing what Free Care and Medicaid Insurance cover in these cases. Again – our tax dollars at work. A great benefit! Too bad that those like Paul are required to Pay Thousands of Dollars a month for Insurance are forced into the ACA . But that is how we can keep those tax dollars to pay for all those that cannot afford or are not eligible legally for ACA.
And Paul you are so right – They had a fit when they thought that they were going to have to leave Tufts and go into GIC. Which actually is a very good plan as I have family members on it.
And Paul – I have a great idea – Run for City Council- if you win you will also get Health Care for Life! 🙂
@ Tricia said.
If the economic survival of your family is your number one priority, then you should consider yourself lucky. For many, plain old survival is the priority and that can only happen if health insurance provides for good healthcare.
This has nothing to do with the citizen’s petition which I hope the city council does not approve, though I’m in agreement with the sentiment.
Paul Green, I’m not sure where your anger is directed.
Is it the at the city council for wasting time calling for impeachment proceedings? Is it the ACA in particular, the piece of it putting too much strain on small businesses, the mandated coverage or the broken healthcare system in general? Is it the insurance industry as a whole or the powerful healthcare providers in the Boston area?Is it the coverage of the “Russia kerfuffle?” Is it it the weight on your shoulders caused by being your family’s provider and protector in harsh economic times? Or all of the above – makes sense.
The thing is you have the prerogative and money to choose. You can choose not to be insured except for catastrophic coverage, pay the $3200/year penalty, and use concierge doctors. If that’s the route you want to go, go for it.
Your choice isn’t available to many families, which is why we need activists working toward a solution be it universal healthcare or plugging the holes in the ACA.
In fact in this area, it’s hard to find good doctors who aren’t in concierge practices (who most cannot afford), who take Medicare or who are accepting new patients – and evidently who take Neighborhood Health Plan.
The healthcare system is broken. There certainly needs to be a fix for small businesses and for the millions in the middle left out.
In the Boston metro area Partners and Lahey are battling to be the largest healthcare providers. With the recent merger proceedings between Lahey and both Beth Israel and NE Baptist, Lahey will be the largest for now. With (almost) monopolies they can control the cost to patients. They make deals with health insurance providers. And one of my pet peeves is patients being required to see a psychopharmacologist for 5 minutes to get medication while seeing a therapist.
while they’re at it, perhaps we could bring some Gitmo detainees to the homeless encampments
http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/our-programs/advocacy/legal-victories/protecting-the-legal-right-to-shelter/
As for the ACA’s individual mandate and your not wanting to pay for insurance for others less fortunate, as I’m sure you know, that’s just the way the insurance industry works. If healthy people don’t buy insurance, then the sick won’t be able to. As for emergency room visits for the uninsured, we taxpayers foot most of that expense too and the patient receives a whopping bill to boot.
Some categories of immigration status are allowed to have some healthcare.
“To qualify for comprehensive MassHealth benefits (not just emergency services) and to qualify to purchase insurance through the Massachusetts Health Connector, people must satisfy several financial and non-financial eligibility criteria. Among the non-financial criteria is a requirement that individuals be U.S. citizens or non-citizens who have an eligible immigration status.”
“non-citizens must have an immigration status of “Lawfully Present.” Refugees and asylumnees are included in lawfully present.
-50 signatures, easy peasy, we’re circulating a petition to build a wall between Brookline & Newton, Brookline of course paying for it..
I have decided to support this resolution. Here’s the letter I sent this morning to the council:
I understand that some of you are hesitant about supporting the impeachment resolution, as was I when I heard it would be coming before you. I have come to believe that it is imperative that Newton supports this resolution. I hope you will vote in favor.
The resolution would come on the heels of successful resolutions in Cambridge and Brookline which garnered significant media coverage. A failure to pass this in Newton could curb that momentum and would assuredly garner media attention, in my view, in the wrong direction.
The citizens’ request is also well thought out and modest. It is only calling for an investigation of impeachment, not that the President actually be impeached. In normal times I would not support such a thing, but we must continue to remind ourselves that these are not normal times. The President of the United States has made public statements which on their face appear to strongly suggest he committed, at the very least, the crime of obstruction of justice. He has also publicly flouted the emoluments clause of the constitution.
I would not wish you to pass judgment, however, calling for an investigation is a proper and appropriate response. Please support a resolution calling for an investigation.
At 7:20am this morning, @Bryan writes: “@Jim Cote: What are you talking about? My role in tying up the city council? I’ve never worked on a citizen petition to the city council.” In a feeble attempt at political spin, he then tries to change the topic to the Welcoming City Ordnance.
At 10:42am this morning, @Bryan writes: “I have decided to support this resolution.” He then goes on to write four paragraphs about how it’s “imperative” that Newton supports the impeachment resolution.
@Bryan, Councilor Cote’s point is simple: the Newton City Council has a very limited amount of time and resources to address local issues. By usurping this time and effort with petitions such as the very one you all of a sudden believe is “imperative,” our City Council has less time to do its actual job of addressing local issues.
At a time when Newton is facing issues such as the 142% increase in opioid related deaths, this shift of focus is dangerous. Councilor Cote clearly understands this, as do many others. When it comes to local governance, I’m grateful for those who aren’t distracted by political partisanship.
Since when is it partisan to believe in the constitution and the rule of law? The President is required to follow the laws of the land. If he doesn’t, and if Congress refuses to hold him accountable, it is the job of every representative of the people to stand up and be counted.
You’re running for city council Tom, so I hope you’ll explain to your would-be constituents why you don’t think it’s important to take a stand.
@Bryan: We’re 100% in agreement about holding leadership accountable, which I have a track record of doing. Perhaps it’s because you’ve never actually been successful in doing it, but you seem to misunderstand that holding one accountable means changing that individuals behavior; This goes further to the point that Councilor Cote and others are making about the Newton City Council not being an appropriate forum for this debate.
However, the institution which could hold the President accountable is Congress. As such, have you drafted a letter to Rep. Kennedy and/or Sen. Warren or Markey about all this?
Tom Davis- Are you running for City Council? If so which ward and are you running for Ward Council or At Large?
Tom Davis, I’m generally in agreement you on the issues you are passionate about but I wouldn’t vote for a City Councilor who uses sarcasm and other methods to attack residents. It seems to me you’re statements are mostly made in anger at someone or at someone’s handling of an issue. Where is your positive vision for Newton?
Joe Kennedy, who recently moved to Newton and whom I spoke with earlier today, and our Senators are working tirelessly to combat Trump’s policies. They also welcome local action, both in cities and states, to back them up.
@Joanne: I don’t currently have plans on running for City Council. I’ll add that I’m impressed with some of the new candidates who’ve gotten into the game over the past few weeks and months.
@Marti: As I hope you know, I’ve got a lot of respect for you and your perspective on things. If I do run for office, I can promise you here and now that I’ll put on the table a positive vision for Newton.
It’s only a start, but I recently wrote a post on Newton Forum, which you can read here: http://newtonforum.org/tom-davis-challenging-mayor-warren-put-money-mouth.
I’ll be writing additional articles that further articulate my vision about how we should tackle economic inequality, the opioid epidemic, and other key issues in Newton.
Bugek, local governments, states and cities, industries and universities are getting involved in joining the Paris Accord.
“Representatives of American cities, states and companies are preparing to submit a plan to the United Nations pledging to meet the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions targets under the Paris climate accord, despite President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the agreement.”
“The unnamed group — which, so far, includes 30 mayors, three governors, more than 80 university presidents and more than 100 businesses — is negotiating with the United Nations to have its submission accepted alongside contributions to the Paris climate deal by other nations.”
“We’re going to do everything America would have done if it had stayed committed,” Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor who is coordinating the effort, said in an interview.” He also pledged to donate the $14 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies to cover the US contribution if needed.
“Mayors of cities including Los Angeles, Atlanta and Salt Lake City have signed on — along with Pittsburgh, which Mr. Trump mentioned in his speech announcing the withdrawal — as have Hewlett-Packard, Mars and dozens of other companies.
Eighty-two presidents and chancellors of universities including Emory & Henry College, Brandeis and Wesleyan are also participating, the organizers said.”
“On Twitter, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh wrote that despite Trump’s pledge to pull out of the agreement, signed by 195 nations, “Boston will do no such thing.”
In a statement, Walsh joined more than 50 other mayors in calling on cities to adopt the Paris agreement through local resolutions and by coordinating their environmental policies.”
“Even Charlie Baker said in a statement. “In Massachusetts and around the world, climate change is a shared reality and our ability to rise and respond to this challenge will shape future generations.”
“He pledged the state would continue “aggressively working to exceed the goals of the Paris agreement on the state level, while growing our economy through clean energy innovation and environmental stewardship.”
“The commonwealth is committed to working with our partners around the nation and world to reduce carbon emissions,” Baker said in a statement.
NYTimes: Bucking Trump, These Cities, States and Companies Commit to Paris Accord
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/06/01/after-trump-decision-cities-and-states-vow-step-honor-pledge-curb-emissions/kvY73Y9mX2doELrSdMeDkN/story.html?s_campaign=todaysheadlines:newsletter
My bet is that the Jane’s, Tricia’s,
Marti’s and dozens of other Democrat “activists ” could afford to pay more, much more, and they should. Being an
“activist” doesn’t inoculate one from the responsibility to pay for a system that they created, promoted and foisted upon others while they blithely tip toe around the collateral damage on their way to better systems of coverage for themselves. Democrats all love to talk about social contracts and moral imperatives, so put your money where your mouths are instead of playing the zero sum game where in order for others to benefit, some must(over) $acrifice.
It all comes down to answering one simple question:
If you all believe in the system as fervently as you do, and want it to survive, HOW MUCH ARE YOU PERSONALLY WILLING TO PAY OF YOUR OWN MONEY TO INSURE THAT THE SYSTEM SURVIVES?
What are you willing sacrifice/pay each month?
Cue the crickets…..
I am calling on our City Council and our Mayor to join cities from around the country to continue to uphold our end of the Paris accord and do our part – locally – to reduce carbon emissions and invest in sustainable energy sources and sustainable planning. Reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, move our fleet to electric vehicles, eliminate organics from our waste stream and reduce, reuse, and recycle whenever we can!!! If we all do our part, we can help save our planet!!
@Amy: Thank you, it is critically important that we join in a commitment to honoring the Paris accords. There’s also a statewide effort to do so, by joining the United States Climate Alliance, formed by California, New York, and Washington to uphold the Paris accords in the states. If you or anyone else wants to help, please call the Governor and ask him to join the alliance, he can do so today if he wanted to.
FYI, I found a really interesting article in the Newton North High School paper calling for us to pass this resolution: http://thenewtonite.com/column-newton-should-encourage-impeachment-investigation-of-president-trump/
I’d like to thank the thoughtful commenters on here.
Those who are telling us to contact our MoCs: we are. Impeachment starts in the House, so the point person for Newton is Joe Kennedy. We have contacted his office and his staff. The resolutions in Brookline and Newton are another way to send a very strong message about his constituents’ wishes.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. If you think Trump has violated his oath of office–to “faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and to the best of his ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”–then you think there are grounds for impeachment. The only way to get it to happen is to push for it.
@Bryan — Councilor Cote makes great points. You are spamming the entire city council with email which you expect them to read thoughtfully and I imagine are encouraging others to do so. You expect them to spend an indeterminate amount of very limited committee and full council meeting time remaining before summer holidays kick in.
This petition bears no resemblance to the Welcoming City Ordinance, which was squarely in their purview and involved legislating tangible city policy.
Having Newton support a petition such as this is not a newsworthy “man bites dog” story. The only thing newsworthy would be an extended debate over it, which I expect is possible, as this diverse council is not going to go lockstep on anything without discussion.
Trump won’t be impeached or “25th amendmented” until his base support falls below 25%, and an outcry from Newton City Council is not going to accelerate that.