Engaged Citizen Corner: How to increase voting in Brookline
League of Women Voters of Brookline, Diana McClure
Warrant Article 35 aims to increase voting in Brookline by making it easier for people to vote by mail, to register to vote and ultimately to become engaged, active members of the community. Submitted as a resolution for Brookline’s town meeting starting May 19, one of the petitioners, Kate Silbaugh, explained the rationale and content at a virtual Friday Conversation on April 30, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Brookline.
This warrant article is grounded in the reality that in the 2020 high interest presidential election, Brookline scored 276 for voter turnout among the 351 Massachusetts municipalities! In municipal elections we fare a bit better, but never near the top. One hypothesis is that Brookline’s population is 50% renters, and nationally 52% of homeowners vote while just 29% of renters do.
Engaged Citizen Corner: FY22 – The Recovery Budget
League of Women Voters of Brookline, Diana McClure
Finances are always on our minds, and it’s no different for the town as it considers its FY22 budget in the midst of multiple COVID impacts. Town Administrator Mel Kleckner and Deputy Town Administrator Melissa Goff followed up on their Brookline Budget Forum held for the general public on Jan. 14 with a presentation on the impacts of COVID on the FY22 budget, presented on March 19 as a League of Women Voters of Brookline Friday conversation.
The Feb. 8 Engaged Citizen Corner article What about the Money? summarizes Brookline’s budgetary process. The emphasis here is on the impacts of COVID and the anticipated benefits that the estimated $34.2 million from the American Rescue Act, signed into law March 11, will bring to Brookline.
Engaged Citizen Corner: Brookline’s sustainability path
League of Women Voters of Brookline, Diana McClure with Felina Silver Robinson
The 13th of 17 goals listed in the United Nations 2020 Sustainable Goals Report calls for “urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts,” with much scientific evidence to support this imperative.
The good news is that the United States, the commonwealth of Massachusetts, the town of Brookline and its residents take the issue seriously. Federal and state climate law and policy are crucial to Brookline’s law and policy, the focus of this article.
The Biden administration recognizes the scope of climate change, re-engaging the U.S. with the Paris Climate Accord and vowing to propose legislation to meet its climate and sustainability goals.
Engaged Citizen Corner: ‘Warn’ the Town
League of Women Voters of Brookline, Diana McClure with Felina Silver Robinson
The opening of the warrant which “warns the town” that town meeting is coming up and what Warrant Articles/subjects, both legislation and budget recommendations, will come before it were the topic of discussion at the League of Women Voters of Brookline 2nd Friday virtual event Feb. 12. As Brookline’s legislative body, our representative town meeting has sole authority to create, repeal or amend the town’s bylaws and to make budgetary decisions.
Two long-time town meeting and advisory committee members, Neil Gordon and Sean Lynn-Jones, explained the writing and processing of warrant articles before town meeting convenes and Town Counsel Joslin Murphy discussed assistance her office provides in reviewing such draft legislation. The discussion focused on how a Brookline resident can transform the seed of an idea into legislation a warrant article