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Defending our Democracy

Liberty 135 | Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island

On Wednesday, February 16, 2022, LWVN, and its co-sponsor the Charles River Regional Chamber (CRRC), gathered for a virtual presentation by the Leadership Now Project (LNP) on the state of our democracy nationally and in Massachusetts, followed by a robust conversation on the state of our democracy and the role business and associations can play in helping to uphold it.

We thank Sarah Rahman (LWVN, CRRC, and LNP member), and Zak Smith (Strategy and Program Manager for LNP) for a wonderful meeting.

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LWVN Supports An Act Promoting Community Immunity

The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts has endorsed and testified in support of S.1517/H.2271, An Act Promoting Community Immunity.

This bill is currently in jeopardy of being killed off by the house.  Please send emails to Chairs Marjorie Decker and Jo Comerford of the Joint Committee on Public Health, Senate President Karen Spilka, and House Speaker Ron Marino, urging them to move the bill out favorably. Their emails are as follows:

For your convenience, here is a template email you can use:

“Dear Speaker Mariano, Senate President Spilka, Chair Decker, and Chair Comerford:

I urge you in the strongest possible terms to release the Community Immunity Act from the Public Health Committee today and send it to the Senate for speedy consideration. We are quite literally living through the consequences of our state’s drastic flaws in infectious disease prevention infrastructure. This bill, carefully crafted with input from experts in both public health and government administration, provides the infrastructure we desperately and obviously need. In the 2019-2020 school year, nearly 100 kindergarten programs throughout the state had 10% or more of their students missing vaccines and also missing an exemption form; that is an infrastructure problem. In the same school year, more than 2,000 school and daycare programs failed to report any vaccination or immunization data to the Department of Public Health; that is an infrastructure problem. We have no statutory support for DPH to do concerted and targeted education and outreach in communities at an elevated risk for the spread of infectious disease; that is an infrastructure problem. We have no notification to parents and caregivers when programs their children attend drop below herd immunity rates for measles, whooping cough, polio, or any other vaccine-preventable infectious disease; that is an infrastructure problem.We have serious immunization infrastructure problems and we need a serious immunization infrastructure bill to fix it. The Community Immunity Act is that bill. Failing to advance and enact this bill will be failing all of us throughout Massachusetts, and particularly the communities hardest hit by COVID-19.Thank you in advance for your support.

Respectfully,”

The League Presents: A Conversation with Three New School Committee Members

In the November 2021 municipal election, there were three School Committee candidates who were unopposed, Rajeev Parlikar (Ward 1), Chris Brezski (Ward 2), and Cove Davis (Ward 8).

According to League policies, unopposed candidates are not permitted to participate in our candidate forums.  Therefore,  the LWVN thought it important to invite these new School Committee members to The League Presents so that Newton can begin to get to know them, their thoughts, and priorities relative to the Newton Public School System.

Our conversation focused on the following three areas:

  1. Their highest priority for the 2022-23 term of office
  2. Their thoughts on how the NPS is and should be addressing the social-emotional health of students, at all grade levels.
  3. Given the strains that Covid-19 is putting on students, families, educators, and all staff, their thoughts as the changes should be done to mitigate/alleviate these strains?

Please join me in wishing them great success in the 2022-23 term.

Marcia Johnson

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Getting Newton to Zero Waste

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Thank you to  Karen Slote and Sunwoo Kahng of the Newton Sustainable Materials Management Commission for their impactful presentation on February 3, 2022. Karen and Sunwoo shared recommendations being made by the Commission to set Newton on the path towards zero waste (including measurable goals, variable size carts, ‘less cost for less trash’ programs, and citywide organics collection), and then answered over 20 questions posed by webinar attendees.

We encourage our members and the community to look over the Commission’s Report (Fall, 2021).  Questions can be sent to:  newtonsmmc@gmail.com.

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Newton City Council President Susan Albright: Inauguration Address — January 2022

Good afternoon, Mayor, City Council and School Committee Colleagues, and invited guests.  I’m excited to start a new term and honored to be able to guide our Council through it.  We had no idea what was in store for us two years ago today.  The pandemic forced us to isolate and lock-down and when we all thought the pandemic was behind us, along came raging omicron.

I was, recently asked by a constituent, what keeps me up at night?   You might be surprised by my answer.  I told him that it was the disappearance of empathy and the complimentary lack of compassion.  Can we walk in another’s shoes? Can we solve problems with compassion?

First I need to say Newton is a generous and giving community.  We support charities locally and around the world. But the tone of political discourse in Newton is worrisome.   Conversations on local issues –roads, trash collection, schools, zoning, parking, street lights, have often devolved into the us versus the “other”.  Often evil intent is ascribed to “the other”.  Some say the former federal administration used anxiety and fear as motivators rather than empathy and compassion. Has this trickled down into Newton conversations?

Can we address the winter parking ban, zoning, or just a missed trash pick-up with empathy and compassion? With these we can seek balanced solutions for the resident with no driveway, the family that gets priced out of Newton, the disabled adult child living with aging parents for lack of affordable options, or even the trash collection company who can’t stay staffed up because of COVID.  I believe empathy and compassion can change the tone of our discourse.

The pandemic’s rules for social interaction force us to only see each other virtually on computer screens.  These rules are here to stay for a while.  Vaccines, testing, masking and social distancing keep us physically healthy.  Empathy and compassion can help us stay mentally healthy as we try to get to yes on so many controversial issues. I will work harder to listen carefully and work on compassionate solutions taking everyone’s needs into account.   I ask that of all of us, elected officials and residents alike try the same.

Before I conclude I want to note that this council stayed intact from the last council which will enable us to hit the ground running as we serve this city.  We will make government as transparent as possible. Join us on zoom even after we go back to city hall (hopefully sooner rather than later).  Soon the docket tracking database will be released and help everyone track our progress.   It is my hope to create a new Council Climate Action Mitigation Committee to address related docket items – and give them the attention that they need and deserve.

Finally, I thank you for attending inauguration – a fresh start to get to yes on so many things.  I wish you, your family and friends a happy, healthy and solution-filled New Year.