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ďƒš Vol. 20, No. 4
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City Council agrees on executive session reforms By Barbara Taormina he City Council is tightening up its rules on executive sessions, the closed-door meetings held to discuss sensitive city business. Councillor-at-Large Craig Spadafora introduced several reforms this week that would keep records of executive sessions updated and require the council to regularly review meeting minutes to determine what information could be released to the public. Spadafora’s proposals come in the wake of a heated debate among councillors over how the city handles records from executive sessions. While most city business is discussed at open meetings, the council can hold executive sessions on personnel matters, contract negotiations, le-
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gal strategies and other issues where the need for confidentiality trumps the public’s right to know and the goal of a transparent city government. Spadafora has proposed a timetable that requires councillors to approve minutes from executive sessions within 15 days of the meetings. Councillors would also be required to review those minutes in May and November to decide if confidentiality is still needed and if the records can be made public. The reforms were referred to the Rules & Ordinance Committee for review. The proposals would cover all records from executive sessions moving forward but doesn’t address years of records that have never been released. Back in September 2017, the council unanimously approved an order sponsored by Ward 4 Councillor Ryan O’Malley that requires the city clerk to provide an updated evaluation on executive session records to see if secrecy is still warranted. Despite the support for that measure, there is still a considerable backlog of executive session minutes that have not been reviewed or released. Although councillors acknowledged that some executive session records are no longer familiar and are from years when other residents were serving on the City Council, they agreed to address the backlog. Despite problems with the past, they supported adopting the proposed reforms to avoid any future conflicts. As Councillor-at-Large Debbie DeMaria put it, “This is fantastic.�
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Malden Honors Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s Legacy
HONORING DR. KING’S LEGACY: Pictured during the annual MLK Luncheon at Anthony’s in Malden were: Ward 1 Councillor Peg Crowe, Councillor At Large Craig Spadafora, Ward 7 Councillor Neal Anderson, Councillor At Large Stephen Winslow, Councillor At Large Debbie DeMaria, Keynote Speaker Honorable Benjamin C. Barnes, Ward 8 Councillor Jadeane Sica, NSBW Assn. VP Marion Desmond, Ward 5 Councillor Barbara Murphy, Mayor Gary Christenson, Lesa Cline Ransome, Allen Levine, NSBW Assn. President Iodiah Henry, and Scholarship Recipient Timothy Johnson. See more photo highlights on page 4. (Advocate photo by Ross Scabin)
City, state officials and guests honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at annual North Shore Black Women’s Assoc. Event By Tara Vocino osted by the North Shore Black Women’s Association, Inc., Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated before Saturday’s ice storm during the 26thannual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon at Anthony’s of Malden. An American Baptist pastor, the activist became the most visible spokesperson in the Civil Rights Movement from 1954 until his assassination in 1968. North Shore Black Women’s Association President Iodiah Henry said the nonprofit organiza-
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tion strives to embody Dr. King’s principles and to evidence their mission that “involvement makes a difference.� Currently, an unprecedented number of women serve as members of Congress, mayors of large cities and as state officials. “In many ways, the Civil Rights Movement was a training ground for the Women’s Movement, and women have traditionally played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement,� said Master of Ceremonies Neal Anderson, who is also Malden’s Ward 7 Councillor. Anderson said Rosa Parks’s refusal to give up her seat on a
City tracks lead pipe replacements By Barbara Taormina
7D Licensed School Bus Driver T Malden Trans is looking for reliable 7D Drivers. Applicant preferable lives local (Malden, Everett, Revere). Part time positions available and based on AM & PM school hours...15-20 hours per week with potential for more.
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he city has made progress with the program to replace lead water pipes, but there are still thousands of lines that need upgrades. Mayor Gary Christenson’s assistant, Maria Luise, was at the City Council meeting this week with a stack of numbers on lead pipe replacements from the last two years. Malden is under a 10-year consent order from the Massachu-
setts Department of Environmental Protection to replace at least 150 lead pipe service lines each year. Replacements must include both the pipes in the street and those on private property to be counted in the annual total. Over the past two years, 407 full-service line replacements have been completed. That leaves 2,615 city lead pipes left in the ground, under the
PIPE | SEE PAGE 10
Montgomery bus in 1955 helped to propel Dr. King into the national spotlight as an organizer
MLK | SEE PAGE 11 Our 80th Year
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