MEDFORD — The Medford City Council voted 5–1 during its meeting on Tuesday, August 5, to advance the first reading of a sweeping divestment ordinance that would prohibit the city from investing public funds in companies tied to fossil fuels, prisons, weapons manufacturers, and alleged human rights abuses — making Medford the first city in Massachusetts to pass such a measure.
Dozens of residents packed City Hall for the meeting, speaking during more than three hours of public comment largely in support of the proposal. Council President Zac Bears, who sponsored the ordinance, called it “a proactive approach to ensure that municipal resources contribute to the public good and not to major forms of harm will become a trend.”
“We are in a new era where taxpayers are not just concerned with the services they receive as part of a city and town, but also how city and town resources are impacting global issues,” City Council President Bears said in a statement issued following the meeting.
The Values-Aligned Local Investments Ordinance, if passed on two additional readings, would direct city funds — such as reserves, stabilization funds, and free cash — away from investments in industries and corporations that Bears and supporters say are incompatible with the city’s values.
While the ordinance would not apply to the city’s retirement system investments, its supporters emphasized the symbolic and political importance of municipal divestment.
Public testimony included support from local residents, attorneys, healthcare workers, and members of the Medford Energy & Environment Committee, as well as advocates for immigrant rights and climate justice. Many linked their remarks to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and broader national issues of public spending priorities.
During the public comment session, Medford resident Roni Simcha Miller, who introduced himself as “a young disabled person,” a Jew, and a trans individual, spoke passionately in support of the ordinance.
“I want to push back against the idea that this is all talk, that it’s empty, that it’s virtue signaling,” Miller said. “Divestment is very actionable. It’s practical. It has a tangible material effect and we’re able to do it here locally.”
Miller emphasized the interconnectedness of injustice, noting, “You can’t divest from fossil fuels without also divesting from weapons. You can’t divest from prisons without divesting from war crimes.” Miller concluded with a pointed question: “Why do our dollars have to go into harming our planet? Why do our dollars have to go to putting people in prisons when we’re seeing our neighbors be kidnapped off the street in broad daylight?”
Micah-Shalom Kesselman, a Medford resident and attorney, said the ordinance was about reclaiming the public purpose of tax dollars.
“There is expanding clarity among the American public about how they want public money to be used and not used,” Kesselman said in the press release. “That includes not just tax dollars but also investment dollars that stem from taxes.”
Dina Alami, a Medford resident and healthcare worker, said, “This ordinance is one small step in making sure our tax dollars serve the interests of people rather than billionaires.”
Anna Meyer, a local teacher and immigrant rights advocate, emphasized that the ordinance helps ensure city resources are not invested in companies profiting from immigration detention. “ICE is detaining students, tearing apart families, and detaining our neighbors in for-profit facilities where they are subject to medical neglect and lack of due process,” Meyer said in the release.
The Energy & Environment Committee submitted a letter of support, stating the ordinance’s “divestment from the fossil fuel industry is clearly in line with that appointed mission and the goals of our Climate Action & Adaptation Plan.”
The ordinance passed its first reading with a 5–1 vote, with one councilor absent. The ordinance must be heard two more times before it can be enacted, but the initial 5–1 vote already surpasses the threshold needed to override a potential mayoral veto.
If enacted, the ordinance would make Medford part of a growing national movement that includes cities such as Dearborn, Michigan, and Portland, Maine, which enacted comparable divestment ordinances.
