Mayor Warren sent the following in a letter to City Clerk David Olson today
Dear Mr. Olson:
In my capacity as Mayor, I am hereby vetoing the measure passed by the City Council for docket item 313-17 for the reasons set forth in the attached written statement.
In the event the City Council chooses to override my veto, the measure will still not proceed to the state legislature because my affirmation is required by the state constitution, and I am not providing such affirmation. See Opinion of the Justices to the Senate, 429 Mass.1201 {1999). A copy of this case by the Supreme Judicial Court is also attached for reference.
Setti D. Warren
Mayor
Thank you Mayor Warren.
And scene.
I look forward to debating this in full next year.
Village 14 – Do you have the attached statement?
While a downsizing configuration that includes Ward Councilors elected solely by a ward’s voters has yet to be offered to the Newton electorate, it is heartening that a sitting City Council has shown its willingness to be non-self-serving by offering this configuration as a possible voting choice. Since there seems to be no convincing the “Power That Is” to sign on to this Home Rule Petition, I hope that the newly elected City Council will re-introduce it and honestly and openly debate the pros and cons of this particular 8 ward plus 8 at-large design, while recognizing that anything less than 8 ward Councilors will dilute the voices of grassroots voters and create a real barrier to entry for new candidates by generating large non-walkable districts! I hope also that our newly elected Mayor will listen closely to what people have said several times at the voting booth. Then, after all the debate about how we can downsize is finished, I hope we will also debate the consequences of downsizing from 24 on the Council’s Committee structure. Do we want to hire more permanent staff to replace the volunteer work done by the City Council? Do we want non-elected appointees to adjudicate positions that are, by their nature, political, and who would not be accountable to the public at the ballot box? When all the arguments are finished, we may find out and be able to explain clearly to our voting public that 24 Councilors are a blessing and the awakened voters may choose to keep them all around with a bit more respect for what they do for us! Then…let the voters choose what they want.
Len Gentile confirmed the Mayor’s intent the other night in the chamber. Setti Warren continually fails Newton’s electorate by pushing his own personal agenda for the city. What a mistake!
How can he believe in his viability as a future politician? He has been blinded by his enormous hubris. The NO vote results has sent an important message for Newton’s future. The voters expect their leaders to listen. RuthAnne please take note. The success of your leadership is at stake now as the battle lines have clearly been drawn.
It’s trivial to be “non-self-serving” when the Mayor’s veto is assured.
Thank you Mayor Warren. Hopefully Mayor Fuller will continue your vigilance in this area. Anyone capable of conscious thought knows full well that Newton’s long term success varies inversely with the ability of local partisans to hold the rest of the city hostage to their selfish and petty interests.
It’s a mistake to assume that NO voters blindly endorse radically changing Council configuration to a ward/at-large split, as opposed to the current 1/3 ward/2/3 at-large split. That’s why the option that makes the most sense is the 8 at-large/4 double-ward district option. The Fahey proposal cutting the Council in half to maintain the current at-large/ward split is a compromise that would achieve the goal of cutting the council without altering current makeup. Enough with the grousing about Mayor Warren’s decision, let’s move forward to discussion of alternative(s) that might actually make some sense and not be a waste of everybody’s time!
I added a link to the opinion. Worth reading in full.
It was a no-brainer for Mayor Warren to reinforce his already stated position that the council’s lack of following established process and lack of allowing for enough public participation.
Hopefully the city council will move forward to docket the reduction of its numbers by reviewing the various compositions that are equitable to all.