By Adam Swift
The town council reached a stalemate on the vote to appoint a new Precinct 2 councilor to serve through the end of the year at last week’s meeting.
After the council evenly split 4-4 on two votes to appoint either Karin Chavis or Michael Kinlin to replace former Precinct 2 Councilor John Munson, Council President Jim Letterie said that for now, the position will go unfilled until the November municipal election, when the seat will be on the ballot.
As of this Tuesday morning, Letterie said it was undecided if the appointment would come back before the council on the agenda of its next meeting.
All the councilors praised the role Chavis has played in the town over the past decades, including her current position on the citizen’s advisory finance committee and her more than two dozen board and committee appointments over that time.
However, several of the councilors who voted in favor of Kinlin spoke of looking to the future and appointing a councilor who has children in the school system and a long-term vision for Winthrop.
Letterie and Councilors Pat Costigan, Suzanne Swope, and Rob DeMarco all backed Chavis in both votes, while Max Tassinari (who nominated Kinlin), John DaRos, Joseph Aiello, and Vice President Hannah Belcher all voted twice for Kinlin.
Between the debate over the Precinct 2 appointment and the vote on the planning board’s recommendation on MBTA 3A compliance, the council meeting on Tuesday, June 16 stretched over more than four hours.
During the nearly hour-long public speaking portion of the meeting, a number of residents, both within and without Precinct 2, spoke in favor of their preferred candidate to fill out the temporary six-month council appointment. While the vast majority spoke in favor of appointing Chavis, there was some support for Kinlin.
“I’m here in support of Karin Chavis,” said Todd Sacco. “This woman has been serving the town of Winthrop for 30-plus years. Collectively, on this council before us, there is only one person who can even come close to the knowledge of the workings of our community, and that’s Jim Letterie. No offense, but the rest of you combined, you’re just a fart in the wind compared to her.”
Aiello said the council had two great candidates to choose from giving it different choices.
“I have a deep appreciation for everything that Ms. Chavis has done over the years, that is not debatable at all,” he said. “I’m going to be supporting Mike Kinlin … part of it came out when he was talking about in terms of his commitment to the future. He has been coming regularly, and he is one of the people who stays behind after every council meeting and talks and asks questions and wants to know why.”
DeMarco also said he believed there were two candidates, but said he was supporting Chavis because she would not have to overcome the learning curve needed to get up to speed on the council.
DeMarco said he supported Kinlin’s efforts to run on the ballot in November to fill out the remaining two years of Munson’s term.
“I think that is a great idea, I am glad you got involved, but I cannot ignore Karin’s experience and the fact that she can step up on the council on day one like we never missed a councilor at all,” said DeMarco.
KInlin addressed the council and said he has lived in Winthrop for almost 13 years with his wife and seven-year-old daughter. Currently, he said he runs a high-end custom menswear showroom, and before that, worked as an English teacher for several years.
“I am in absolute awe of Ms. Chavis’s service, and I am not here as a competitor in any meaning whatsoever,” Kinlin said. “I am here simply throwing my hat because I am running for the seat. I felt that it would show my true intention, to do the work on this council and to fight for what I feel needs to be fought for.”
Chavis kept her remarks to the council brief.
“You guys all know me, I think you know what I have to offer,” she said.
Tassinari said there was no question about Chavis’s experience and what she brings to the table.
“It’s an absolute pleasure to work with her, drawing on her knowledge at all of those budget meetings that we just wrapped up,” he said. “When I look at the (council) table, I see a lot of experience here, and I see a whole lot of a lack of other parents of young children who carry that weight every day,” said Tassinari. “Parents of young children today are thinking about those next 30 years.”
Tassinari said the council has also suffered from a lack of foresight over the past several decades when it comes to things like the MWRA agreement and taking care of the town’s infrastructure.
“I’ve nominated Mike, I think he will be a great candidate for the interim; I think he will be a great candidate to represent Precinct 2 after the election,” he said.
Prior to the first vote on the appointment, Letterie noted that while there were two good people who put in their intentions for the council seat, there was only one good candidate.
“It seems like, by all accounts, I’ve met with Mr. Kinlin for coffee a handful of weeks back and it seems like we have two great people as candidates,” Letterie said. “Without any disrespect, we don’t have two great candidates, we have two great people, but not necessarily two great candidates at this time.”
Letterie said Chavis is the only member of the public who served on three town manager selection committees, and one of only two residents who served on ordinance review committee.
“Karin is a person with zero political agenda, the person with more integrity with anyone I know, a person who could step in day one and be the most knowledgeable councilor sitting up here,” Letterie said.
Letterie noted that Kinlin has never asked to get involved with another board or committee in the town. Like DeMarco, Letterie pointed to the learning curve that comes with being a new councilor.
“Many member of this council and many members of this council who are supporting Mr. Kinlin have stated at recent meetings that Precinct 2 deserves representation now,” said Letterie. “Well they do, but what they don’t deserve is a learning curve. We are not going to school here to learn in the next four months or the next five months how to be a councilor and give that councilor an edge in the next election at the expense of the residents of Precinct 2 in learning; it’s a hard job.”
After the first vote deadlocked at 4-4, Letterie called for a second vote that ended with the same result.
“I see somebody in Mr. Kinlin who could serve the town for a long, long time,” said DaRos. “He could be the next Karin Chavis, he could be the next Jim Letterie … so please, don’t discount the support that you see from some of us. This is a business owner, this is a former teacher, that I think offers us a lot as a potential council member.”
Letterie said there shouldn’t have been a debate on the gap in qualifications between the two candidates.
“This isn’t even a question; we don’t have two qualified candidates for this job at this time,” he said. “We have two good people, we have one qualified candidate.”
Letterie said it was shameful to the residents of Precinct 2 that there was a stalemate on the vote.
“At this point, we are going to declare an impasse, and this seat will be … vacated,” said Letterie following the second vote. “I tell you, I have been here for 20 years and this could be the biggest disgrace I have ever seen.”