Session 2 OKs Domestic Partnerships, Remote-Participation Study

Arlington MA

02 May, 2021

4:52 PM

Description

Your Arlington Last Updated: 29 April 2021 Written by Christian Klein, town website UPDATED, April 29: "This was kind of a slow night," Precinct 10 member Christian Klein wrote in his meeting notes about session two of the 2021 annual Town Meeting. "These were very important articles, but we only got to 2 1/2 of them." Returning to Article 7 (rock removal), the meeting on Wednesday, April 28, learned that 10 permits were taken out for blasting for seven sites in the last 10 years. A move to end debate debate failed to reach a two-thirds' vote, 134-86. After further discussion, including choice words from John Worden (8), the article failed, 62-172. Debate about Article 15 (domestic partnerships) was lengthier. (Articles 8 through 14 were dealt with April 26 under the consent agenda.) Select Board Chairman Stephen DeCourcey (2) said the board recommends limiting partnerships to two people, fearing the attorney general's concern about plural arrangements. Amos Meeks (3) introduced the proposal with a video, noting he has two long-term domestic partners. Speakers raised a number of issues, among them that this is a civil-rights issue for some. Former Select Board member Dan Dunn (21) supported the motion and amendment, citing the protections he now has as a gay man, and he feels it is time to extend those protections further. The amendment was adopted, 192-37. The amended main motion passed, 221-11. Article 20 (studying remote meeting participation in meetings after Covid) met with an amendment from Adam Auster (3), asking how information from public boards can be better provided. Elizabeth Dray (8) had two amendments, which received support. [See Klein's notes for details.] After debate ended, 186-46, votes were: Auster's approved, 207-19; Dray's first amendment, approved, 197-37; second failed, 98-131; Gordon Jamieson's (12) approved, 118-106. The final vote on the original motion as amended passed, 230-6. At 10:57 p.m., Moderator John Leone called for notices of reconsideration and a motion to adjourn. It was held up by a point of order. John Worden reported he had received a database error message multiple times. He said his votes had not been recorded. Leone indicated that the town IT people will research the issue and report back at the third session, Monday, May 3. For details, read Christian Klein, a Precinct 10 meeting member, who takes note about each session. They are his opinions and observations; they are not authoritative. For an unbiased presentation, see the videos at ACMi.tv. Session No. 2 >> Session 1: Debate tops action as one article OK'd plus the consent agenda The first session of the 2021 annual Town Meeting slowed to a crawl on Monday, April 26, as members managed to vote on one article during the three-hour session. Democracy favors a variety of voices, and that was the case. On Article 6 (term limits for the Community Preservation Act Committee), the discussion from a number of members, some connected to Arlington Fights Racism, favored limits. The vote on the main motion to eliminate term limits was approved, 164-70. Article 7 (regulating rock excavation), debated at length, went unresolved, and discussion was to continue Wednesday, April 28. To be fair, 48 articles were managed via the consent agenda (routine items). For details, read Christian Klein, a Precinct 10 meeting member, who takes note about each session. They are his opinions and observations; they are not authoritative. For an unbiased presentation, see the videos at ACMi.tv. Session No. 1 >> Main town website Town Meeting link (read all reports) >> YourArlington.com has provided news and opinion about Arlington, Mass., since 2006. Publisher Bob Sprague is a former editor at The Boston Globe, Boston Herald and Arlington Advocate. Read more at https://www.yourarlington.com/about.