Somerville Voices

I submitted the following letter on behalf of several individuals to the initial public comment period of the Somerville Charter Advisory Committee advocating the use of Instant Runoff Voting for municipal elections in Somerville.

Committee Urges Residents to Submit Comments on City Charter Beginning September 1st through September 8th; Comments Accepted Via Email, Mail and Voicemail

I attended another positive, constructive Charter Advisory Meeting this morning. Discussion focused on the Board of Aldermen structure (elections, terms, make up, selection of president).
Proportional representation and other changes that could increase participation and representation were discussed. All agreed that increased participation and representation are a top goal for any changes.

Attention Young Somerville,, Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and the City of Somerville’s Young Somerville Advisory Group announced today (7/31) that they are now accepting applications for all interested Somerville residents, ages 21-35, to serve on the Advisory Group for the 2008-2009 term.

My name is Greg Nadeau and I am serving as a resident representative on the Mayor’s Charter Advisory Committee. This committee will spend 6 months developing recommendations to change the city’s charter (base constitution). All changes would need to be ratified by the Aldermen, then Legislature,then voters.

One of the questions that is being considered is the structure of the Board of Aldermen.

I would be interested if anyone on this service has had experiences with our current Alderman structure that suggest improvements to the structure(at-large vs ward, terms, committees, public participation, etc).

In the first week of May 2008, Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone placed a “Welcome Desk” in the foyer of City Hall that utterly disregards MA Access Building Code. [snip] It seems that yesterday’s design standards are as tenacious as yesterday’s attitudes, even today: the 18th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

I certainly agree with Barry’s post of 7/15/08 in this SomervilleVoices blog entitled, “City’s Commission Staffing Plan Hurts Human Services.” Three questions seem particularly germane to this issue: 1. Are Somerville’s municipal resources distributed equally and fairly to all residents? 2. Are all residents offered equal participation within public programs, without regard to differences in age, income, birth culture, abilities, religions, race, gender, job status, or city address? 3. Do certain Somerville residents experience social and economic inequities that would support the fuller engagement and investigation of the specialized Human Rights Commissions?

I share Melissa McWhinney’s concerns about the impact of the Mayor’s new commission staffing reorganization on the quality of the city’s human services. The HRC and other commissions should not have to compete with each other for staff services as they now do under the new arrangement.

If a municipality’s Bus stops are unreachable and inaccessible, due to badly built street facilities, then its residents are restricted from accessing public transportation systems, etc..For some individuals, the challenges created by these issues cause them to be nearly or fully housebound.
Do you think such quality of life issues should continue to be put off until “tomorrow?” …

The National Council on Disability (NCD) is gathering public input for a study of emerging issues and trends affecting the lives of people with disabilities. Information gathered will be used in the development of NCD’s next annual progress report to the President and Congress, “National Disability Policy: A Progress Report,” which is required by Section 401(b) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

Somerville for IRV is a group I started for exploring the benefits of Instant Runoff Voting for local elections here in Somerville. In the coming weeks, I’ll begin a series of posts that highlight the many benefits of using IRV for our municipal races, but first, let me explain what in the world IRV is.

This would be a great way for the public to engage in a process that could impact Somerville in a big way. There are five resident seats on this committee, so I encourage you to apply and invite others who might be interested.