Council Leadership Unchanged for 2024

Report on the Special Meeting of the Amherst Town Council January 2, 202

This meeting was held in hybrid format (both in-person in the Town room of Town Hall and over Zoom) as was recorded. The recording can be viewed here. 

Present
Mandi Jo Hanneke, Andy Steinberg, Ellisha Walker (at large), Freke Ete and Cathy Schoen (District 1), Lynn Griesemer and Pat DeAngelis (District 2), Hala Lord and George Ryan (District 3), Pam Rooney and Jennifer Taub (District 4), Ana Devlin Gauthier and Bob Hegner (District 5)

Staff: Paul Bockelman (Town Manager) and Athena O’Keeffe (Clerk of the Council)

The meeting was also attended by State Representative Mindy Domb. Spectators filled the Town Room.

Griesemer Chosen as Council President Again
George Ryan (District 3) nominated Lynn Griesemer (District 2) for president. Ana Devlin Gauthier (District 5) nominated Mandi Jo Hanneke (at large).

Griesemer, who has served as president since the council replaced Town Meeting in January 2018, said, “I look forward to taking a hard look at our charter, our rules of procedure, and the role of the president and vice president. My list includes ways to have the role of the president be more manageable, how to effectively evaluate and prioritize issues as they are introduced to the Town Council, and subsequently how to increase greater understanding of the issues by the public [and] the actions that the council may or may not take, and the consequences of those actions…. Some requests I have for all of the councilors are that you join us for agenda setting for an entire month, so you get to see the flow of issues and how they get discussed in agenda setting, and that you look at how you can contribute to shortening meetings […] And finally, that you let me know how you are doing and how I can best assist you in achieving your goals as a town councilor.“

Hanneke said, “I am running for president because I believe the council needs a real choice in its leadership and has not had one since 2021. Having spoken to many of you, I have heard both the desire for change and that two terms is long enough for a leader. […] If elected, I will not only bring positive change to the role of the president, but I will also ensure that the vice president is ready to assume the role. My term as president would be marked by our values of promoting a healthy balance, teamwork, and transparency, because I will ensure that more councilors are included. […]. I will ensure that the presidency is doable by any councilor, not just those that don’t have full-time jobs. I will distribute the representative duties among all councilors. Let’s share these opportunities together and help achieve a healthy balance for the role of president, encourage more teamwork, and provide opportunities for more councilors to flourish in leadership and advocacy.

“You heard these same promises from Lynn tonight and three years ago because she made them in 2021, when she was last challenged for president. To quote her speech from three years ago, ‘I will delegate opportunities to represent and lead the council at other events and meetings.’ Yet, in the three terms since [she made that] promise, the role of the president has not changed. Other councilors have not been provided opportunities to represent and lead. And the president has not ensured that the vice president is ready to succeed as a leader. In her time as president, Lynn has not lived up to her promises regarding the role of the president.  I will. Choice is good and change is healthy. If you want a person who lives up to the promises she makes regarding the presidency, a president who will ensure that the vice president is ready to assume the role in one year and, as Lynn said in 2021, a presidential role that is ‘more doable, more transparent for those who follow,’ I ask you to vote for me.”

In support of Griesemer, Cathy Schoen (District 1) said, “I don’t think change alone is of value. I think Lynn has grown with the role. She’s gotten much fairer and more able to scan the room, and she really does an amazing job juggling what is often an exhausting agenda. I totally agree with what Mandi said (and we’ve all been saying) [which] is the agendas just need to be less packed. But so far, Lynn’s been able to end exhausting meetings with a smile and an even temper. That said, as we look to this coming year [we need] to be more inclusive, sharing tasks, sharing representation, and much more extensive involvement in agenda setting. I would like the president not to be on more than one council committee and to be ex officio on the others.”

George Ryan (District 3) agreed, saying, “I think the challenge Lynn has faced is how to get 13 people to work together and to some common goal. And while I can understand the desire for change, I think that Lynn is the right person at this time to continue to try to get 13 ‘mayors’ to find some kind of common direction.” 

Griesemer was reelected for a sixth one-year term as council president by a vote of 10-1-2. Ellisha Walker (at large) voted for Hanneke and Devlin-Gauthier and Hanneke abstained. Griesemer was sworn in by Council Clerk Athena O’Keeffe.

Devlin Gauthier Reelected as Council Vice President
Pam Rooney (District 4) nominated Devlin Gauthier for council vice president, and Hala Lord (District 3) nominated Walker.

Devlin Gauthier, who has served as vice president for the past two years, said, “I have learned a great amount about what it means to be part of the leadership of this council. I have built a foundation of trust with our state legislators. I have learned how to support councilors in bringing forward their ideas and visions. And I have worked with the president to push our individual understandings and ensure diversity of thought. My ideas for the coming term include increased work as a liaison to our state and federal legislative bodies. I will track the bills that Amherst has submitted and those which the council may have an interest in supporting. I have shown my ability to work in this way in the past two years. I believe that the council should have someone specifically designated to do that work, given the responsibilities already on the plates of the committee chairs. It would be an appropriate duty for vice president.

“Perhaps the strongest attribute I bring to the role of vice president is my ability to both support the council and productively challenge the process in order to advance it. I am constantly asking why things happen the way they do and pushing us to consider how we might change processes in order to be more inclusive and disrupt the systems of power that are inherent in government.”

In her statement, Walker stressed the need for  different voices in leadership of the council, and  that although Devlin Gauthier has been an “amazing“ vice president, she said,  “I believe a great deal in sharing leadership and power sharing, and I think that our council and our town would greatly benefit from having different voices, different leadership, and changes [in leadership] a lot more often than we have seen. I think we need choice. I think it’s healthy for us to have options, and I would like to step up at this time because I believe that for me personally, this is an opportunity for growth and an opportunity for learning. I have learned a lot about government and how things work. I have also spent a lot of time asking questions, and I will continue to do so if elected as vice president. I promise to be a leader that listens and learns, and I think we should look into trying new things. So, I will be somebody who is willing to think outside the box, to think about how things can be changed, to be more accommodating to those who may not have had positions of leadership in the past. I want this council to be a place where we can lead by example, where we can support and uphold each other, and I think that includes allowing other people to step into positions of leadership.”

Lord, supporting her nomination of Walker, said, “I adore you, Ana [Devlin Gauthier], and I thank you for your service, but I’m also thinking about our community. I’m thinking about the fact that people of color on this council are about 23%. I don’t know everybody’s lived experience, but I’m also thinking that about 1.5 of us are living in apartments. I hope that we uplift, in a different way, lived experience so that we can represent all of Amherst in a new, wholly authentic, and loving way.”

Devlin Gauthier was elected as vice president by a vote of 9-3-1. Lord, Jennifer Taub (District 4), and Walker voted for Walker. Griesemer abstained. Devlin Gauthier was sworn in by Council Clerk Athena O’Keeffe.

Upcoming Council Business
By the January 8 meeting, Griesemer must appoint councilors to the four council committees, trying to accommodate their preferences. The council must have a new representative to the Jones Library Building Committee because the previous representative, Anika Lopes, was not reelected. Representatives to the Budget Coordinating Committee, Joint Capital Planning Committee, and Four Towns Committee will be selected by votes of the council later in January. Liaisons to various town committees will also be chosen by the president later in the month.

The council also has 45 days to fill the two vacancies on the Amherst Housing Authority. Write-in candidate Kevin Collins declined the appointment. Helena Donovan, John Hornik, Ellisha Walker, and Vince O’Connor each received four write-in votes, so there was no winner for the two remaining seats. Applicants will be selected by the council and three current members of the Housing Authority through an interview process, similar to the one used to appoint three school committee members in September. Housing Authority appointees will serve a full two-year term.

The first regular council meeting of this term is scheduled for January 8. Griesemer asked for input on future agenda items. Schoen suggested considering having non-councilors on council committees, as is the case with the Finance Committee. Rooney suggested a discussion around the roles of councilor liaisons to town committees. Hanneke wanted to review the Town Manager goals recently approved and prioritize which of those goals are most important to the councilors. Ryan felt a full review of the goals was important, especially for the newly elected councilors. Griesemer said the council will hold a retreat in February.

Elected Officials Sworn in by Town Clerk
Several elected officials were sworn in by Town Clerk Sue Audette. These included School Committee member Deb Leonard; Jones Library Trustees Bob Pam, Farah Ameen, and Eugene Goffredo; and Oliver Smith Will Elector Judith Souweine. 

Refreshments followed the meeting.

Correction: in a previous version of this article, the listing of the distribution of votes for Council President was incorrect.