A plea for peace

There’s a lot to unpack from the last couple of weeks, and it might take me a while to write up everything I’d like to say. But for now, I wanted to send along some comments I had written ahead of Monday’s council meeting, where we discussed a $2.6 million bond request from the administration for three sets of gear for firefighters (a request we approved unanimously, with amendments stipulating that the bond be paid off as quickly as possible).

I didn’t end up making these comments at the meeting because we had a lot to get through in a short span of time, but I wanted to share them with you. Here’s what I was going to say on Monday:

Good evening, friends and neighbors. Thank you all for coming out for this important discussion.

I have heard from so many folks with loved ones in the fire department who live with the “quiet, constant fear” that they could lose them – either in the line of duty or through cancer, as a result of their exposure to toxic chemicals. The idea that the very gear meant to protect them from these dangers could add to their health risk is understandably upsetting. 

And the idea, widely shared online, that the city council would callously deny them safer alternatives, understandably enraging. That fury was palpable at the last council meeting, and in messages delivered to the council online, by phone, and in person – including at least two incidents of profane and aggressive harassment in front of my home, with my understandably concerned 10-year-old inside. [I’ve since learned that the police are doing periodic checks of my house to make sure that everything is OK – a fact I find both comforting and sad. In any case, I’m grateful.]

At the same time, I’ve heard from residents who not only want firefighters to have safe gear but also want purchasing decisions to be thoughtful and strategic. And that’s the charge before this council: to make sure our firefighters have what they need while fulfilling our duty to govern carefully and responsibly.

This is a highly charged topic, and a highly combustible online environment.

Tonight, I’m hoping we can lower the temperature and truly listen to what each other has to say. To assume good intentions and discuss the issue in good faith.

Because, despite what has been said about us, the council does care very much about our first responders’ health and safety. We never voted to deny firefighters new gear. We voted to continue discussing the issue for a second meeting, a week after the first. 

Whether or not you agree that more discussion – or any discussion – was needed, the council is a deliberative body. City law dictates that the council make “appropriate decisions in a manner which encourages full and open discussion.” This system of government, with a legislative body that considers and debates the issues that come before it, has a long and proud history in Quincy, as does the notion of free speech and critical thought more broadly. Our own John Adams, buried steps from where we sit tonight, urged: “Let us tenderly and kindly cherish therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.”

Quincy’s own John Adams (center, with hand on hip) and four other founding fathers deliver their draft of the Declaration of Independence to Congress in this painting by artist John Trumbull (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

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Fortunately, Monday’s meeting featured good discussion and a calmer atmosphere than the previous week, and I was impressed with the time and thought that folks put into their open forum comments. I hope for the sake of our community and democracy that this trend will continue, and that we will all approach each other with open hearts and curious minds.

Upcoming events and reminders

• Coming weeks: Fill out and mail back your city census!

• By Friday, March 27: Share thoughts about the mayor’s proposed purchase of the Eastern Nazarene College campus and/or ideas for its future uses at quincyma.gov/enc or by emailing ENCfeedback@quincyma.gov.

• Saturday, March 28, 10 am: Resident council meeting. Fill out this form to work with other residents on issues you care about. Open to residents of any ward. I will send out an email with meeting details to folks who sign up!

• Saturday, March 28, 11 am – 12:30 pm @ Hancock Adams Common: No Kings rally.

• Saturday, March 28, 12 – 2 pm @ Quincy High School (100 Coddington Street): Remember the Ladies award ceremony honoring school nurses; reception to follow.

• Wednesday, April 1: Deadline to apply for a property tax exemption. 

• Wednesday, April 1, 7:30 pm @ Old City Hall, first floor (1305 Hancock): Conservation Commission meeting. Agenda includes two City proposals in Ward 5: a 10-foot-by-15-foot deck with seating at Sailors Home Pond (0 Franklin Ave); and intersection, bridge, mobility, and traffic signal improvements at Merrymount & Furnace Brook parkways.

• Monday, April 6: City council meeting. Details TBD.

• Saturday, April 11, 9 am – 12 pm @ Kennedy Center (440 East Squantum): Lions Club free vision screening van, no appointment needed. Feel free to bring any unused eyeglasses to donate. Call 6176396372 for more information.

• Thursday, April 30, 5 pm: Deadline to send comments about National Grid’s proposed rate hike to state oversight agency. Email dpu.efiling@mass.gov and DPU2650.GridRateCase@mass.gov. Comments, including email addresses, will be posted unredacted.

Resources and ways to plug in

• Anyone interested in serving as a volunteer on a city board or commission can send a note with your interest and background to the mayor’s chief of staff, Chris Walker, at cwalker@quincyma.gov. Please cc me at mmckee@quincyma.gov if you’d like me to follow up on your application.

• To receive future newsletters by email, please sign up here. 

• To sign up for a resident council, fill out this form.

• To learn about local organizations you can join and volunteer with, go here (and feel free to add any that are missing!).

• Report a pothole: Call 617-376-1914 or email potholehotline@quincyma.gov.

• Report streetlight outages: Call 617-376-1478

• The City’s Department of Elder Services offers FREE transportation to medical appointments for Quincy adults aged 60 and over. Call 617-376-1242 to register and schedule rides.

• Free legal help: Lawyers Clearinghouse offers three legal clinics to help connect people with free legal help: (1) low-income and homeless clinic (they take a variety of cases but not immigration or family law); (2) record sealing and expungement (since people's records often keep them out of jobs and housing); (3) tax lien foreclosure (for people who are facing foreclosure by the city because they haven't paid their property taxes). If you or anyone you know could use their help, please contact Sean Thekkeparayil (sthekkeparayil@lawyersclearinghouse.org).

• If you see federal agents in Quincy, please stay a safe distance away and call LUCE Immigrant Justice Network of Massachusetts with as much information as you can so they can verify the sightings: (617) 370-5023.