Dear Billy T and Somerville/Medford News Weekly Speakup Line,

FUNDING THE POLICE PETITION FIASCO
Collecting names for a Petition on any issue is certainly an arduous task. It requires much time, energy, patience and ability to condense knowledgeable particulars of an issue into short, impactful verbal sentences.

When approaching residents to sign a Petition, it’s a good idea to be friendly, smile, exercise patience, but don’t become overly friendly. Why? Many residents do become enthused and grateful about the process and purpose of signing a petition; essentially another good opportunity for their voice to be heard. Residents enjoy expressing their opinions and experiences relating to the issue. It’s certainly uplifting and validating to build comraderie and rapport with like-minded people. Yet, the longer the individual conversations, the fewer amount of total signatures collected. I’m not prepared to collect signatures
24/7, but it still has to come down to arranging signups at mutually convenient times.
All these many random appointments, aside from impromtu on-the-street signature collecting, does make a dent in one’s personal life.
Due to the often uncivil, bullying and meanspirited tactics of the opposition to The Fund The Police Issue, I made the hard decision not to make a request of Billy Tauro to publish the details of this Petition or my phone number in his newspaper. This put the petition signing process at a definite disadvantage. If published, like-minded Somerville residents can easily call and arrange meeting places to sign the petition. We could have easily accumulated triple the amount of required signatures if I published the Petition information in
The Somerville/Medford News Weekly.
Unfortunately, I must set boundaries with City-Soul- Sucking-Anti-
Police-Hating Zombies potentially telephoning me, doingin-my-face screaming, encircling me on the street anywhere, anytime…yikes.
We all have limits…lol♡
I decided to conserve my energy and patience to deal with these malcontents at what we thought would transpire to be a scheduled hearing.
Janell Hodgkins, my trusted dear friend and assistant, most often accompanies me during city hall business.
Finally, after being steered in the wrong direction and office (the “mayor’s” unwelcoming CLOSED office,) we were finally pointed to the City Clerk’s Office by a random encounter with Michael Glavin, Ex. Director of OSPCD Trans.Dept.
Our purpose was to submit The Fund The Police Petition, along with numerous letters signed by residents.
Ms. Kimberly M. Wells, City Clerk, Somerville City Clerk’s Office, informed Janell and I that the Petition was inadmissible for consideration of a City Council Hearing due to the ill-advised, incorrect deadline date of Tues. June 20, 2023, told to us by a city councillor during a meeting.
PASSED THE DUE DATE to submit the Petition?? What!?
A city council member, a man with authority, had stated to us June 20, 2023 as the correct date and protocol to submit the petition and letters!
The Clerk’s proceeded to explain that only our signed letters would be admissable to the City council for review, but the Petition, way past its correct deadline date, was inadmissible.
Petitions do have a certain, exact calendar date/schedule to be submitted weeks in advance, compatible with City council meetings.
You can obtain the correct, precise information of the number of days in advance of a potential hearing by the city council, by directly contacting Ms. Kimberly Wells, The City Clerk.
This particular city councillor, inadvertently. gave me and others, during a committee meeting, detrimental misinformation.
We were truly blindsided to be informed of this deadline misinformation:
WRONG Information, INCORRECT information!
No matter how unintentional on his part, the consequences of his MISINFORMA-
TION essentially squashed our
hopes for a hearing prior to the city council vote on this VITAL issue.
Let’s add insult to injury. I left two, short, pleasant voicemail for this city councillor about a week prior to our trip to City Hall. I needed to ask some quick, petition-related questions. My calls were never returned!
Well, now I correctly know, due to this outrageous setback (FIASCO!)…that Ms. Kimberly Wells, City Clerk, is the go-to city employee to receive the exact date, time and place relative to all City Council Procedure, petition deadlines and otherwise.
Ms. Wells bluntly stated that city council members should not offer procedural information to residents. If the members choose to do so, they should always inform the resident(s) to double check their instructions with her office, the office of the city clerk!
My personal mistake was to rely on this city councillor. In the future, I will not rely on any city councillor, public official or any person otherwise, for accuracy of procedural information.
I would like to apologize to well over the required one-hundred residents who enthusiastically signed this vital Petition. The majority of these residents stated they would gladly attend and support a city council hearing for the purpose of funding our Brave and Heroic Police Force.
I emphatically promise next time to do my own due diligence concerning all city related matters.
Important Update: On June 21, 2023, The Somerville City Council, aside from NOT receiving the Petition, DID receive countless e-mails, letters and well-informed articles written by residents expressing YES! FUND the Police. The MAJORITY of the city council members instead voted additional funds $$$$$$$$$$$ in favor of The Care Not Cops Lobbyists!
Now, during domestic violence disputes, the scared victims can expect a sweet, understanding, mellow unarmed social worker to appear on the scene. This social worker has zero authority to either arrest or send a volitile abuser to jail or a phych ward.
The grossly inadequately prepared social worker now will illogically replace skilled police intervention. Police who could have been additionally trained by proper funding to skillfully and most importantly, SAFELY, difuse frequently potential additional violence by the abuser!
#fund
Police
Issue
Ideally on
Nov.Ballot!
#GodBless
The Somer-
ville Police
Force
#VoTeBilly
Tauro
ForMayor
2023
#VoteBilly
Taurofor
PublicSafety
#VoTeBilly
Taurofor
PeaceofMind!

Karen Glover