LEOMINSTER — The Leominster City Council on March 23 took up Petition 37-26, submitted by Ward 5 Councilor Carrie Noseworthy, requesting the council “establish a human rights commission for the city of Leominster.”
When Petition 37-26 came before the council, Pauline Cormier, chairperson of the Legal Affairs Committee, said Legal Affairs had met on the proposal the week before and that Ways and Means had also reviewed it during a joint subcommittee meeting. Cormier said it was “the position of the Legal Affairs Committee to not grant 37-26.” David Cormier, chairperson of the Ways & Means & Veterans Affairs Committee, then said his committee’s recommendation, though not unanimous, was “to give 37-26 leave to withdraw without prejudice.”
After the recommendations were stated, Noseworthy said she had “seven emails” for the clerk to add to the record and noted that two were from high school students. She then said she had planned to address “corrections of the record” from the subcommittee meeting the week prior, where she felt she had not been allowed to finish. Noseworthy said, “it would be appreciated if something is shared and allowed to be stated during a subcommittee meeting that the petitioner have the time to address those concerns.”
Leominster City Council President Claire Freda responded, stating that, “in the spirit of fairness,” the prior dialogue had gone on “for quite some time back and forth.”
“So, I think everybody had adequate time to speak,” Freda said. Adding, “That’s all I am adding to that, it was a long time…You weren’t cut off, I don’t want to give anyone the impression that you didn’t have a chance to speak.”
Noseworthy replied that she “respectfully disagree[d]” and added, “if someone is given time to speak, that the petitioner be given time to respond to that.”
Councilor At Large Susan Chalifoux Zephir then argued against withdrawing the petition.
“I know that there’s some questions and concerns about language, or how it was crafted, or whatever, but I looked at it, again, as a working document and as an initial proposal that a working group could have taken over and worked with in the community to make something that was truly something that Leominster residents and people could be really proud of.”
Later in the discussion, Freda said, “I don’t think there was anybody on this council that didn’t think we should have a human rights commission. I think it was the wording. I think it was the way it was presented…So, I still believe, and I said it from the beginning, that I think this should be with the public first and then bring it to the council after all the involved people get together and sit around the table and talk to each other and present something at that point.” Freda had proposed at an earlier meeting that individuals from every faction that could theoretically be represented by a human rights commission in the city, such as religious, class, racial or ethnic groups, among others, come together and discuss the petition before its approval.
The council first voted on the Legal Affairs Committee’s recommendation to give the petition leave to withdraw without prejudice, which passed 6-3. After a point of order, the council then voted separately on the Ways and Means recommendation, which was also to give the petition leave to withdraw without prejudice. That motion passed 6-3, and Petition 37-26 was withdrawn without prejudice.