At-large Springfield, Massachusetts City Councilor Jesse Lederman is the new president of the legislative body.
As the former vice president of the Council, he automatically assumed the duties of president Tuesday when Marcus Williams resigned his seat on the Council.
Now in his third term on the Council, Lederman said he is “wholly prepared, honored, and humbled” to assume the duties of City Council President.
Lederman spoke with WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill.
Jesse Lederman
I want to be abundantly clear to the people of Springfield that my top priority right now is the continuity of our local government and we are going to continue to execute the duties and responsibilities of the city council with no delay. So we expect fully that our fiscal year budget review will stay on track. The next piece obviously also will be the need to fill the vacancy in the ward five seat that is created, we want to make sure that the people of Ward five are not without a representative on the city council for as little time as possible. And currently, the responsibility to fill that seat still rests with the remaining city councilors. So we will be announcing as soon as possible, a process very similar to the process that was carried out to fill the ward one seat that was previously vacated by Senator Adam Gomez. And we will be replicating that process to fill the seat in Ward five.
Paul Tuthill
There were there were concerns voiced by by members of the council about the not so much the process that was used to fill the ward one vacancy last year, but just the fact that they had that they were the ones responsible for appointing someone to represent people. And that feeling was that there should be a special election. Now I realized there can't be because the city charter wasn't changed. But what what are your thoughts about how the council is gonna go about, you know, picking someone to represent Ward five residents on the council.
I share that concern. I was one of the councillors who raised concerns about that, when we had to fill the ward one seat. And certainly the council took steps following that the necessary steps to set in motion a change in that law. You know, unfortunately, it requires what is known as Home Rule legislation, which not only must be passed by the city council, which has actually passed it multiple times over the years, including prior to the board one vacancy, but it must also be passed through the general court of the Commonwealth. And while we did pass this last year, it has not yet been approved by the general court. And so there is no choice but to appoint the successor. I hope that you know this will once again raise this issue up among the Springfield delegation, and we will be able to see it move swiftly through the general court. But at this time, I've consulted with the clerk and the city solicitor and it is clear that right now, the duty remains that of the city council to fill the replacement. What I can guarantee the people of Ward five and the people of the entire city of Springfield is that it will be a fair, open and transparent process. We will be voting in public we will be reviewing candidates in public and all eligible candidates will have an opportunity to step forward and be considered and make their case as to why they would like to fulfill the remainder of what was council president Williams term as the ward five counselor.
Paul Tuthill
The council presidency terms are for one year. So your your your stint in filling in for or in filling the unexpired term of, of counselor Williams as council president will end at the end of this calendar year do you plan to seek another term as council president on your own in January?
Jesse Lederman
I do and I had intended to seek the presidency. Prior to learning that council president Williams intended to resign. I had intended to seek the presidency for the upcoming legislative year and had been speaking with colleagues about that intention, I am confident that we do have the votes to continue in a full term as president next year. And you know, we'll look forward to discussing you know what, what my vision for our work on the city council and in the city of Springfield really looks like more? Once we have had the opportunity again, to just ensure the continuity of government in this short term
Paul Tuthill
As council president now, do you have any plans to return to in person meetings?
Jesse Lederman
Well, certainly we are going to be obligated very shortly I expect to return to in person meetings. I have already reached out to our partners at Focus Springfield, who helped to administer our live meetings currently that are virtual and that will then be responsible for broadcasting and live streaming our meetings that will eventually in the near future return to in person. We know that there are some steps that need to be taken to fully outfit the chamber once again. and to be prepared for that type of live broadcast, but it is essential as an essential part of government that we take those steps. And so I'm going to be meeting with them this week to discuss what needs to be done. And we'll reach out at that point to the administration and the management of building maintenance at City Hall to make sure that we are able to get that accomplished. I do want to, you know, also be talking with our state legislative delegation and state partners relative to how we can continue to incorporate some level of remote participation, especially for residents and individuals who may be interested in participating in committee meetings. Committee meetings are an integral part of our work on the city council. But they often sometimes take place during the day, during the normal course of the work day, or take place at times it can be difficult for residents to tune in and participate in so I do want to understand better within the confines of the state law as it exists or as what might be planned in terms of changes to state law, how we can utilize the technological component that has become so familiar over the course of the pandemic, to really continue to become more accessible to folks in the future. But to put it simply, we will be in the near future returning to in person meetings as as obligated by Open Meeting Law.
