Town Council President James Letterie has offered a clarification on the Council membership proposal that was submitted by the Ordinance Review Committee (ORC) at the Aug. 2 Council meeting.
Letterie said that he understands the ORC’s likely reasoning for recommending the changing of the composition of the Town Council from six precinct councilors and two at-large councilors – which is the current alignment – to six at-large councilors. The Council President would be the seventh member of the Town Council.
Letterie also explained why the earliest a town-wide election for a six-councilor-at-large/one council president Council could take place is November, 2025.
Council Would Consist of Seven Members
Basically, if the ORC recommendation is passed by the Town Council, the state legislature (on a home-rule petition) and town residents in a town-wide election, the Winthrop Town Council would be reduced from nine members to seven members: six at-large councilors and a town council president.
Letterie has done his homework on past elections (since the town changed its form of government in 2005) and determined that more than 83 percent of all precinct races have been unopposed. He also researched and found out that Winthrop School Committee and councilor-at-large races have attracted many more candidates over the past 17 years.
“I think the thought of the Ordinance Review is to get more contested elections and more people involved in local government,†reasoned Letterie.
Letterie said one negative for eliminating precinct councilor positions would be that the potential would exist that “some neighborhoods would not be represented on the Council.â€
“I can understand a few of the concerns and I really appreciate the thought of getting more people involved,†said Letterie. “I do believe the ORC’s recommendation to reduce the length of terms from four years to two years would encourage more people to consider running for office because they would be able to commit for a shorter period of time.â€
New Proposal Will Be Discussed at October Meeting
Residents will have multiple forums to express their opinions about the ORC’s proposal for a seven-member Council.
“The proposal will go before the Council sometime in late October,†said Letterie. “It will require six votes for passage. It would then go to the State Legislature for a home-rule petition. Then in November, 2023, residents would cast the final vote on the ordinance. Any charter change must be voted on during a regularly scheduled town election. We could not have a special election to try to get it passed quicker.â€
What it all means that if everything goes according to ORC’s recommended change, the first town election for the six at-large seats would be in November, 2025, and the six councillors-at-large would take office on the newly aligned Town Council in January, 2026.