By David Fortier
Come Sunday morning, Mary and I will have celebrated the firstborn’s birthday at a family gathering that brought together his in-laws, siblings and significant others, including two grandchildren and one great-grandparent.
Even though it was his birthday, the day really belonged to all of us, especially the babies, who heard their good share of greetings, commands and demands—smile, come here, bring daddy this, bring mommy that, have some watermelon, try some cheeseburger, how about a potato chip.
The aging 10-year-old plus dashund chihuahua sausage dog puffed out his chest and chased squirrels from the party, settling back in a newly planted flower bed, sunshine warming his old bones, until the next challenge.
Following the most recent C.D.C. guidelines, all the adults, having been fully vaccinated, met outside, breathing and talking freely, maskless.
Earlier in the week, the city council held its regular monthly meeting. I watched from my perch at home. Virtual meetings make it so easy to attend. I half expected public participation to include term limits, a preoccupation of the Republicans in town, but that issue was addressed later in a public hearing on Thursday.
Council meetings, I have come to appreciate over time. They are always informative. Each one is a lesson in civics. Sitting in on them involves a learning curve—there are rules in place about how to proceed, who can speak when, how to make motions, what constitutes a discussion, when a vote is in order. Democracy can be messy and meetings are necessary. They carve, out of chaos, order.
In addition, there is always information. For instance, one thing that comes to mind this time around is the mayor establishing a bipartisan task force to discuss how to handle stimulus funds coming to the city from both the federal government and the state.
Another is how the city in partnership with United Way has handed out, as part of the Farms to Families program, 25,245 boxes of food in 17 events since June, with another one coming May 22.
There was also a bunch of information about vaccinations, and where to get one. Much of this is published on the City of Bristol website.
Two days later, on Thursday, the council met for a public hearing on Charter Revision Commission recommendations, also in the city chambers and available online. The big issue, term limits, drew around 40 protesters outside the meeting, but only a couple of public participants who addressed the issue, either in-person or by letter, in the meeting, which lasted less than half an hour.
An update regarding term limits: no one running on this year’s ballot is subject to the limits, (in an earlier report, TBE mentioned that there might be a few). I remind people that as things stand, term limits, as instituted in Bristol, are unenforceable, according to an attorney who is an expert in city charter’s in Connecticut, because the city never received a special act from the state legislature, to add them to the 2013 ballot. The issue is all about how to correct the record, not to get rid of term limits. The Democrats are figuring out how to resolve the issue. Republicans are trying to frame the issue in such a way that make is look as if the Democrats are trying to overturn term limits.
At the moment, the Charter Revision Commission, a volunteer board representing the interests of the rest of us, recommended that the issue be placed on this year’s ballot because it appeared that was their only recourse to set the record straight. There may be other avenues of action available.
The rub: people voted in favor of term limits, but the vehicle is toothless. So, if Bristol wants term limits, our state legislators will have to take up the issue at the Capitol, get their colleagues to pass a special act for Bristol—giving the vote some teeth.
For political buffs and nerds (or geeks) like me, the city council and Charter Revision Commission will be meeting on May 25 to discuss all the recommendations, including term limits. From that point, commissioners may decide to meet again to revise their recommendations—or not.
In addition, prior to this meeting on the 25th, the city council and finance board will join for the Joint Meeting to vote on this year’s budget.
In response to last week’s column, a reader posted that he was happy to see TBE calling out the Republicans and their attempt to pin the term limits debacle on the Democrats. At the same time, he expressed the opinion that we should treat the Democrats in town the same way.
Be assured that when there is something to report we will. At the same time, a reminder: our resources are limited. It will not always be that way, but it is now.
Regarding the big picture, here are some podcasts that will inform and challenge you: On the Media and Ezra Klein. On the Media covers Pittsburgh over the years from its revered years as a producer of steel through today and the plight of its medical workers. Ezra Klein interviews the controversial Noam Chomsky, who at 92 still rankles with his talk of power and who holds it and how it plays out in American society and the world.
Looking at my weather app, this coming week looks promising. Good weather or not, make the most of things!
Peace!
PS: If you would like to set up a TBE icon on your smartphone for easy access to our pages, try this: in your browser, go to bristoledition.org, tap the share button (the one with the arrow), scroll down the pop-up menu until “Add to Home Screen” appears and tap on it, click on “Add,” and voila. The blue TBE icon will now appear with all your other icons.
Tap and read!
“Come Sunday morning” is intended to be a weekly review, a recounting of the past week and an anticipation of week to come. Among its features will be reviews of old and new books, sharing of favorite podcasts, some family news, Bristol events and happenings and issues surrounding education, work and community journalism. He can be reached at dfortier@bristoledition.org.