To the Editor:
Stamford has a big problem. I know some of the following information may seem dull but the residents of Stamford really need to get educated about the state of their local government. I encourage you to read on.
Stamford has over 15 various boards and commissions, which consist of Stamford residents (appointed by the mayor and approved by the Board of Representatives), and these boards and commissions make very important decisions for the city. For example, the land use boards (zoning and planning boards) create zoning regulations that regulate land use decisions such as what gets built, where it’s built, and how big it is. Another example is the Parks Commission which oversees creation of park regulations and provides guidance on the operations of our parks. The people on these boards serve three-year terms after they have been approved by the Board of Representatives. When their term ends, the mayor can either renominate them or nominate someone else. The Board of Representatives interviews the nominee and then either approves or rejects them. Stamford’s City Charter (our city’s equivalent of a constitution) requires that the members of boards and commissions be up-to-date and explicitly states that “[t]he term of each appointive Board or Commission member or relevant position shall expire on December first of the final year of the term, subject to continuance in office for a period of six (6) months or until a successor has been approved by the Board of Representatives, whichever occurs first.” (Sec. C6-00-4(a.)
Unfortunately, that is not what happens here in Stamford. Our current and past mayors have chosen to ignore our city’s constitution, even though there is no legal basis for the mayor’s office to ignore or invalidate any section of our city charter. Despite this fact, we have many people now serving well past the expiration of their terms. When I say “well past,” I mean YEARS. The chair of the most important land use board in the city, the zoning board, is currently seven years expired. You read that right. This is not a joke, Stamford. This means that our city government is broken and unaccountable.
Case in point – this past July, the mayor reappointed a member of the planning board to another three-year term. The Board of Representatives interviewed and rejected this person, meaning we did not approve her to serve another three-year term. What does our charter say about appointments that get rejected by the Board of Representatives? It states that “[i]n the event the Board of Representatives rejects a nomination, the Mayor shall submit a new nomination or resubmit the rejected nomination to the Board of Representatives at its next regular meeting, provided that the Mayor may not submit the same name more than two times” (Sec. C6-00-3(b) Did the mayor “submit a new nomination or resubmit the rejected nomination” to the Board of Representatives? No. Instead, the mayor’s office and the planning board have completely ignored our rejection, and have kept this individual on the planning board, where she is making weekly decisions about the future of our neighborhoods. The planning board even promoted her to vice chair AFTER being rejected!
Although egregious, it has become routine practice in Stamford for expired and rejected members of boards and commissions to serve as chairs and vice chairs, meaning they have a lot of power. If you think that this doesn’t really affect your life, think again. The city’s 10-year land use master plan is being created right now and many of the people making decisions for what can be built next to your home are no longer accountable to you.
Alas, there is hope! Last night was a step in the right direction. Representative Jeffery Stella and I have written an ordinance (a law) that would close the loopholes in our city charter that allow this practice to continue. Last night, the Board of Representatives Appointments Committee bravely and unanimously recommended the ordinance for approval at our next full board meeting on Monday December 2nd.
Generally, this is what the ordinance will do. First, it would establish an order in which appointments shall be filled to boards and commissions. For example, the mayor would first have to appoint someone to replace any member who has been rejected by the Board of Representatives. Second, the mayor would have to replace any member who has been expired for more than six months. Third, any vacant seat would have to be filled and finally any member that has been expired for less than six months would also have to be replaced. The ordinance would also prevent expired or rejected members from serving as committee officers of their board or commission, meaning they could not be a chair or vice chair. Additionally, the ordinance would only allow expired or rejected members to participate in a meeting if their presence was needed to fill the quorum requirements of the board or commission. Lastly, the ordinance gives the mayor four months from the time of passage to make nominations to boards and commissions for all the rejected, expired, and vacant positions so that the city of Stamford can FINALLY have our appointed boards and commissions filled with people who are up-to-date and accountable.
The full Board of Representatives will consider this ordinance for passage on Monday December 2nd at 8pm. I will do everything in my power to get this passed between now and then because it is critical to the health of our democracy and because, believe it or not, the individuals who sit on these boards and commissions directly affect the everyday life of the people I took an oath to serve.
Nina Sherwood
Stamford, CT
Sherwood is the Majority Leader of the Stamford Board of Representatives but writing only for herself in this op-ed