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Medford officials urge committee to clear home‑rule charter so voters can decide ward council model
Summary
Medford leaders and a broad local delegation told the committee they finalized a multi‑year charter review and seek a favorable report to allow a November ballot vote that would replace the city’s at‑large council with ward representation and other governance updates.
Medford officials and civic leaders asked the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government to report favorably on a home‑rule petition that would adopt a new city charter and move Medford from a fully at‑large council to an eight‑ward council plus three at‑large councilors.
Brianna Lungu Kern, the mayor of Medford, told the committee the city’s charter “has not been updated for almost 4 decades” and that the proposed rewrite reflects extensive public outreach and recommendations from a charter study committee and the Collins Center for Public Management at UMass Boston. The mayor asked the committee to advance House Bill 4,146 so the charter can appear on the November ballot.
Leader Donato and members of Medford’s delegation described a multiyear review process. Leader Donato said the new charter would lengthen the mayoral term to four years, convert council elections to a mixed ward/at‑large model and preserve an at‑large school committee. He told the committee the plan was approved by the city council “overwhelmingly” after a two‑year public review. Milva McDonald, chair of the charter study committee, said the panel conducted about 50 open meetings, listening sessions, surveys in multiple languages and more than two dozen interviews with current and former city officials before finalizing recommendations.
Supporters emphasized that the draft charter includes an early five‑year review and subsequent 10‑year reviews to allow adjustments. Medford witnesses told the committee the changes aim to improve local representation and clarify responsibilities across city offices. Jamie Thompson, a former zoning board member and Medford Chamber board member, described the ward model as providing “better local representation” and urged the committee to allow Medford voters to decide.
The committee took testimony from the mayor, state and city delegation members and civic volunteers; no formal committee vote was recorded at the hearing. Witnesses asked legislators to act so the city can place the charter before voters in November.
