1,569,722 all-time page views @ 12:15 PM
A Joe Viglione Essay
At
the Tuesday March 10, 2020 city council meeting in Medford you could
tell the seasoned public speakers from those approaching the council for
the first time. Both young and older individuals seem to find
speaking a daunting task. And they probably aren't thinking about the
3,000 or so estimated viewers on the cable TV. In Medford, the city
council has reigned as the #1 cable TV show in town, despite legislative
moments full of paperwork that doesn't make for great TV, it is the
appearance of the public and their point of view that is always
compelling.
People come
up to the podium and some feel they are talking to Oz, the great and
powerful. That's - perhaps - because they hear their voice through the
loudspeakers and the echo of Alden Chambers.
So
what are the rules of the city council? Thankfully, you can find them
on the first city council page on the MedfordMA.org website http://www.medfordma.org/city-council-2/city-council-rules/ Front
and center you can see how local government works by looking at how the
rules organize it. What is not on the website, and perhaps should be, is the almighty Robert's Rules of Order. A site called Boardeffect
dot com notes: "Robert's Rules of Order is a manual of parliamentary
procedure that governs most organizations with boards of directors. In
1876, Henry Martyn Robert adapted the rules and practices of Congress to
the needs of non-legislative bodies and wrote them in his book, which
is still in use today."
Former
councilor Robert A. Maiocco, Jr. dubbed Medford's council "The people's
forum." To Mr. Maiocco's credit some woman waltzed in with a large
tripod and camera and decided to thrash the former councilor. He took
his punishment politely and smiling and, though the woman didn't add
much to any discussion other than going after Mr. Maiocco, it is long
forgotten, she got her 10 minutes of fame (people are limited to ten
minutes) and her videotape is probably erased over or getting dust on a
cellar shelf.
What
amazes me is that the rules of the council, and more especially Robert's
Rules of Order, are not taught in school. Starting around eighth grade
young citizens should be learning fundamentals of life - balancing a
checkbook, how local government operates, field trips to the library,
city or town hall, reading about how the place where they live actually
operates. As a child of the 1960s (though born in the 50's) it is
interesting what we have to learn via life experience when these
important issues should be mandatory schooling.
Pursuant
to Rule 2 of the current Medford City Council Rules "all meetings of
the City Council, and of Committee thereof shall be open to the public
and to the press, and the City Council shall provide that the citizens
and employees of the City shall have reasonable opportunity to be heard
at any such meeting in regard to any matter considered thereat."
And
that, Rule 2, sums it up, your First Amendment right to speak -
especially in any city or town in the region surrounding where you live.
We'll
discuss more council rules in the coming months. This is from Medford's
rule book. Let's look at and explore Somerville next.
