Nuclear Disarmament Resolution
Defeated by City Council in a 5 to 4 Vote.
We are sorry to have to share the disappointing news that the Nuclear Disarmament Resolution was rejected by the City Council at its February 10 meeting. The vote was 5 against and 4 in favor.
Voting for the Resolution were Councilors John Gannon, Theo Offei, Caroline Bays and Tony Palomba. The remarks by Councilor Gannon were passionate and moving. Councilor Theo, who is a first time councilor, offered a strong message of support building on quotes from President Obama and Dr. Martin Luther King.
Voting against the Resolution were City Council President Mark Sideris, Councilor Vincent Piccirilli, Councilor Lisa Feltner, Councilor Emily Izzo, and Councilor Nicole Gardner. The members of the Nuclear Disarmament Committee, who had met with eight of the nine councilors prior to the meeting, anticipated that a number of the councilors would vote against the Resolution, but they were surprised by others who opposed it.
We hope that you would take a moment to contact those Councilors who supported the Resolution to express your thanks for their vote. The email addresses for all City employees is the first letter of their first name, then their last name followed by @watertown-ma.gov. For example the email address for Mary Smith would be msmith@watertown-ma.gov.
The full Resolution was read into the record by City Councilor President Mark Sideris. He then opened the floor to residents who wished to speak on the Resolution. Per the City Council rulers, anyone who wishes to speak must limit their presentation to two minutes.
Members of the ND Committee were amazing as was Watertown resident, Dr. Joseph Gerson! They spoke about why nuclear disarmament is so important now, the fallacy of the deterrence, the cost to maintain existing and to build a new generation of weapons, the lives lost immediately and in the long term of a nuclear exchange, the number of accidents and the history of nuclear exchanges that were fortunately averted, and, most importantly, why nuclear disarmament is a local issue and why Watertown should join the 21 other diverse cities and towns in the Commonwealth by voting in favor of the Resolution. There were a number of Watertown residents, including Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin, the President of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment, who attended the meeting to show their support for the Resolution, some of whom rose to speak and share their reasons why the Councilors should pass the Resolution.
As you know, the effort to put a Nuclear Disarmament Resolution in front of the City Council spanned more than a year and a half and was made possible by following the Citizen Petition option in Watertown’s City Charter. This message would be too long if we mentioned what the members of the Nuclear Disarmament Committee did from when the effort was initiated until Tuesday, February 10. Suffice it to say that they ran an amazing campaign, and though the Resolution was defeated, they educated many Watertown residents about the dangers of nuclear war and the need to pursue, with all possible urgency, nuclear disarmament.
There are many folks to thank, including Dr. Ira Helfand, Co-President of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Maria Udalova from Students for Nuclear Disarmament, Anna Linakis, the Executive Director of Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the aforementioned Dr. Joseph Gerson, Executive Director of The Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security.
Of course, we should not forget to thank the members of Watertown Citizens’ working groups for their support during the last year and a half.
However, the folks who deserve the biggest THANK YOU are the members of the Nuclear Disarmament Committee. We owe a debt of gratitude to them for their deep and unwavering commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons.
Thank you Diana Barlow, Millie Engisch, Tod Gross, Jacqui Gross, Lillian Koizumi, Jeanne Trubek, Susan Nye, Stephanie Tirella, and David Fram.
After a bit of time to reflect and regroup, the Committee will consider how best to build on the Resolution effort, reach more Watertown residents, and contribute to the national movement for nuclear disarmament. |
