AJQ September 15 update
Featuring: A recap of the legendary Nine Nine rally, “Open Forum” vote at school committee is part of a disturbing pattern, A look towards November 2025--the next city election in Quincy
The Nine Nine rally went well!
The Nine Nine rally was a big success. If the mayor and city councilors thought that the people of Quincy would cool off during the hot summer months and move on from Salarygate, they were mistaken. Over 100 people showed up to let the city council know that we are still here, and we are still angry.
Joe Murphy wrote a recap for the AJQ blog, with video from the actual night. We also had coverage from three different newspapers. You can catch up on that in AJQ’s press page.
A heads-up: For some reason, the upcoming city council meetings are not scheduled in the typical every other week configuration. Though we just had a meeting this past week, there is another meeting tomorrow night, Monday, 9/16/2024. Anyone who is available to attend this meeting (and bring their signs) is encouraged to do so. Susan Yuang and Kathy Nason are organizing a Sit-In/Sit-Out Protest Tomorrow, 6 p.m. at City Hall Plaza.
The published agenda is very light:
[The ordinance amending the laws on sex offenders updates monetary fines and adds the language in between asterisks in two sections below:
A Registered Sex Offender is prohibited from entering upon the premises of an elderly housing facility unless previously authorized in writing by the on-site manager of the elderly housing facility, **after notifying all building residents, and seeking permission and acquiring approval from the City of Quincy’s Police Chief**. In the case of those dwellings under the ownership, administration, or operation to the Quincy Housing Authority a Registered Sex Offender is prohibited from entering upon the premises thereof unless previously authorized in writing by the executive director of the Quincy Housing Authority, **after notifying all building residents, and seeking permission and acquiring approval from the City of Quincy’s Police Chief. Any elderly housing facility manager or executive director of the Quincy Housing Authority who does not comply with this section will be assessed penalties in accordance with Section C**.]
Democracy dims a bit further in Quincy:
Last Wednesday, the Quincy School Committee changed the rules for the "Open Forum" portion of their public meetings, where members of the community can share their thoughts on school-related issues (read Peter Blandino’s article in the Patriot Ledger). Previously, each speaker was allotted four minutes to share their thoughts, but that time has now been cut to three. Additionally, the committee will no longer read letters from the community aloud, a practice introduced during the COVID lockdowns when meetings were held on Zoom.
In response to criticism of these changes, the mayor argued that committee members are accessible between meetings, so there is no need to wait until the meetings to communicate. However, what the mayor may overlook – or perhaps fully understands – is that speaking during the open forum is far more impactful for several reasons:
Public Influence: Addressing your concerns in front of other constituents means sharing your perspective not just with officials but with the broader community, helping to build collective support for your views.
Accountability: The community can witness school committee members’ reactions to comments firsthand. For example, in 2020, current school committee member Paul Bregoli said "blah blah blah blah blah" when a letter about equity, diversity, and inclusion was being read out during Open Forum. That critical piece of information would have been lost if community letters were simply posted on a website for committee members to read on their own.
Public Pressure: Confronting representatives in an open forum empowers the public, as elected officials are often motivated to avoid appearing unresponsive or indifferent in front of their constituents.
I would have hoped that the school committee would have observed the criticism the city council and mayor’s office is taking over Salarygate and decided not to curtail the public’s ability to express themselves. Instead, they seem to agree with the mayor and council that the less they hear from the public, the better.
Forming a new slate of city council candidates for Quincy:
It is reasonable to surmise that the loss of democracy in Quincy can be traced back to entrenched incumbency and a lack of competitive elections. This is a classic "chicken or the egg" scenario. Quincy needs to chip away at incumbency and make our representatives accountable to the people once again. A Just Quincy is committed to achieving this by supporting a new slate of candidates who are ready, willing, and able to run and hold office, and who are committed to AJQ’s mission: making Quincy more just, accountable, and transparent.
To that end, we want to hear from you. Email info@ajustquincy.com if you are interested in discussing the candidacy of yourself or someone you think we should approach.
It’s time to prepare to prepare.