New Medford charter will be on the ballot

It’s been over a decade in the making, but Medford’s proposed new city Charter will be on the ballot for this November’s election.

“It took over 10 years just to get a charter review,” said Milva McDonald, who chaired the Charter Study Committee and is now on a committee that is advocating for passage of the new document. “A lot of the work that had been done up until a few years ago wasn’t actually reviewing the charter, it was just trying to get the charter to be reviewed.”

With early voting starting in just a few days, here is a look at how the new Charter differs from the current one, which was enacted 40 years ago.

Makeup of the City Council

The current City Council has 7 at-large members. The new Charter changes the council to 11 members, with eight seats representing the city’s wards and 3 seats at-large.

Mayor’s term and role on the School Committee

The mayor currently serves two-year terms with no limits on the number of terms, and the mayor automatically serves as the chair of the School Committee.

Under the new Charter, the mayor’s term would increase to four years, but the position would have a limit of four consecutive terms.

Also, under the new Charter, the mayor would be a voting member of the School Committee but would not automatically be assigned the role of chair.

Where candidates appear on the ballot

As can be seen on the sample ballot for the November election, the incumbents are listed first, and the challengers then appear in alphabetical order. Under the new Charter, a random drawing would determine where each candidate is listed on the ballot.

Charter review process

The current Charter contains no provision for review of the document. Under the new Charter, the document would have its first review within five years and then regular reviews every 10 years.

For Milva McDonald, the addition of a schedule for regular charter reviews was critical. The 40-year-old Charter, she said, really needed updating.

“People have been waiting a long time for the opportunity to vote a new Charter in, and I think that the regular Charter review is really important,” she said. “If we pass this Charter, we will never have to worry about that again because it enshrines regular Charter review.”

The new Charter will also enable Medford residents to collect signatures to:

• put measures on the ballot
• put measures on the City Council agenda  
• overturn a measure
• recall the mayor

The new Charter wound its way through the state legislative system and then was signed by the governor in September.

The Ballot Question Committee was formed to advocate for the measure.

“It’s to educate people, make sure people know the question is on the ballot, and advocate for passage of the measure,” McDonald said. 

Information about the process, the current Charter, and the proposed new Charter is available on the committee's website at https://www.medfordcharternow.com/ and on the city’s website at https://www.medfordma.org/boards-commissions/charter-study-committee medfordcharternow.com.

Early voting location and dates

Early voting will be in the Alden Memorial Chambers at Medford City Hall:

• Saturday, Oct. 25: 8:30am – 2:30pm
• Sunday, Oct. 26: 8:30am – 2:30pm
• Monday, Oct. 27: 8:30am – 4:30pm
• Tuesday, Oct. 28: 8:30am – 4:30pm
• Wednesday, Oct. 29: 8:30am – 7:30pm
• Thursday, Oct. 30: 8:30am – 4:30pm
• Friday, Oct. 31: 8:30am – 12:30pm