City Council Quorum

City Council Quorum

[This letter was published in the Cambridge Chronicle print and online.]

After years and months of complaints about the Council violating their own
rules and Robert's Rules of Order, there is still no will to correct their
unlawful ways. (Erin Smith, "Clerks grapple to keep councilors in the room,"
Cambridge Chronicle, April 25, 2007)
It is not enough for the City Clerk to know the rules. All Councilors must
know them. That is the idea behind a point of order. Any Councilor can raise
that point which must be recognized immediately.
If only the clerk or even if the chairman knows the rules the rest of the
council remains in a coma if there are any violations. For too many years this
council ran its meetings without any rules. It is one certain indication of the
lawlessness of this one-party city.
The vigor with which officials retaliate against citizens who criticize
their lawlessness makes other citizens fearful of participating in the
governmental process. The councilors continue to be clueless about why young
people refuse to cooperate with the police. Clueless is as clueless does.

Roy Bercaw, Editor ENOUGH ROOM

Clerks grapple to keep councilors in the room
By Erin Smith/Chronicle Staff
Cambridge Chronicle
Wed Apr 25, 2007, 09:58 AM EDT

Cambridge -

As a teary-eyed City Councilor Marjorie Decker continued her weekly tradition of
reading the names of the military dead in Iraq, only three other city councilors
remained in the room: Tim Toomey, Craig Kelley and Anthony Galluccio.

Toomey, who was chairing the City Council meeting, appeared confused when Deputy
City Clerk Donna Lopez told him there were not enough city councilors in the
room.
So, Lopez held up four fingers for emphasis.

As Lopez and Toomey continued to discuss what to do about the absent councilors,
City Councilor Denise Simmons walked back into the room to create a meeting
quorum.

A quorum, or majority of city councilors, is needed for all official votes,
according to the City Council's rules. That means at least five city councilors
must be present at meetings to take a vote.

Later in the evening, as discussions of the City Council policy orders began,
there were only four city councilors in the room: Denise Simmons, Anthony
Galluccio, Craig Kelley and Ken Reeves. City Clerk Margaret Drury quietly
stepped into the green room to motion more councilors into the room.

The green room is an off-limits-to-the-public space adjacent to the City Council
chambers where city councilors go to relax, have private discussions or eat a
catered dinner.

When Drury emerged from the green room a few moments later, she looked toward
the doorframe expectantly, but no one followed her into the council chambers.

Drury breathed a noticeable sigh of relief as City Councilor Henrietta Davis
exited the green room just seconds before a vote ended.

Last week, after a Chronicle report that only three city councilors were present
for a recent vote, Drury said she tries to monitor the green room when she
notices that not enough city councilors are present in the meeting chambers.

Drury told the Chronicle two weeks ago, "I can look in that room quickly and say
'Come back in here.�'"