UpdatedWed, Apr 14, 2021 at 9:12 am ET
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Outgoing Brookline Town Meeting Moderator Sandy Gadsby stands next to his podium as he listens to testimony of students during a Town Meeting in 2019. (Jenna Fisher/ Patch)
BROOKLINE, MA Brookline s Town Meeting Moderator Sandy Gadsby, the man who has presided over the town s legislative body for nearly three decades, is stepping down, he told Town Meeting members Friday. I have made this decision with some ambivalence, Gadbsy said in an email to Town Meeting members. Being your moderator has consumed a significant part of my life during the past 27 years and it has had its rewards, although I confess that the rewards have diminished as the tribulations of the office have increased in the past few years.
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Mark Kaplan
Background and experience:
I practiced law for 48 years specializing in public sector law in many cities, towns and school districts in Massachusetts. I was a Town Meeting Member for approximately 10 years until having to resign upon being elected as Town Moderator in March 2019. I served on the Advisory Committee for three years, two as vice-chair. I was also a member of the Human Resources Board until my election as moderator. Since then, I have presided at two annual Town Meetings (one actual and one remote) as well as at three special Town Meeting (two actual and one remote).
Will Brookline Town Meeting stay remote in 2021?
Wicked Local
Brookline’s first forays into remote Town Meetings proved largely successful: The spring and fall sessions saw no Zoom-bombings, minimal technical difficulties and a higher level of participation, even as the nights wore on.
Now, Town Meeting Moderator Sandy Gadsby is hoping to keep the momentum going.
In a memo to the Select Board, Gadsby requests the upcoming May 18 annual Town Meeting be held remotely, a change permitted by state laws expanding remote participation in municipal meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I have determined that it is necessary and in the best interests of the Town, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, that these Town Meetings be held through remote participation of the Town Meeting Members and other participants rather than as in-person meetings,” wrote Gadsby, who is also up for re-election May 4.
Guest Column
As Town Meeting Members and residents, we urge our neighbors and the Transportation Board to support the bus lanes proposed for the Gateway East project near our neighborhoods, Brookline Village and High Street Hill.
Gateway East was once the bustling center of Brookline Village known as Village Square, with trolley lines stretching in every direction. Today, Boylston Street at three intersections (High Street, Walnut Street and Brookline Avenue) is among the most congested spots in the region. That’s no accident. Over decades, removing the tracks and trees and narrowing sidewalks to make more room for cars succeeded in turning it into a highway.