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By Page Buldini
Thank you to Milva for speaking up. Alongside her piece, I want to share my perspective as a mother, an Emerge graduate, and a woman serving this community.
I’m raising my daughter to know that she has a place in leadership. That her voice matters. That she can ask questions, disagree, and stand up to bullies. She does not have to accept name-calling as the price of being heard.
That should apply in our City Council chamber, too.
Residents have every right to challenge the mayor and respond to statements they believe are inaccurate. Councilors have every right to question her actions. But they can do that without endorsing personal insults or adding to them.
After Mr. Kesselman’s statement, Council President Bears said, “I think actually what you said may have been the most important thing we heard all night.” I thought about the Hillside residents who came to discuss their neighborhood’s future and the firefighters who came with concerns about their work. I want our elected leaders to bring that same urgency to addressing those issues.
I don’t agree with every decision the mayor makes. I don’t have to agree with her to speak up about how she is being treated.
Our elected officials, political groups, and candidates need to hold themselves and the people working alongside them accountable for how they treat others. Sharing political goals is no excuse for looking the other way.
I hope other women in leadership, including those organizing and working on campaigns, will speak up, too. We encourage women to run, get involved, and take a seat at the table. We also need to pay attention to how they are treated once they get there, even when that means challenging someone we know or support.
We can disagree on policy and still agree that bullying, name-calling, and misogyny are unacceptable. Seeing this happen in politics does not make it something we should accept. We should expect better from our leaders and be willing to say so.
I want my daughter to see that women can lead, expect respect, and stand up for one another without agreeing on everything.
And I want her to see me doing exactly that.
Thank you.
Page Buldini is a Medford resident.
