EDITORIAL: In a historic year, Malden City Council makes some history of its own with charter change reform

It is already a historic year, as America celebrates the 250th Anniversary of “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” – the start of the American Revolution in 1775. On Tuesday night, the Malden City Council made some history of its own when the members unanimously approved a series of ordinances that seeks to bring the city’s charter into the 21st century and beyond.

The final product, voted on by the passage of a motion by Ward 6 Councillor Stephen Winslow to ordain charter change ordinances addressing a number of organizational and other changes in the municipal structure, will now be sent to the state legislature for its approval. This action will be in the form of a home rule petition, the substance of which was also approved by a City Council vote Tuesday night. It is expected the state legislature will ultimately accept and approve Malden’s home rule petition sometime this fall, thus putting the new charter change reform package into effect before the end of the end of this calendar year.

This City Council deserves praise and a Malden-sized “thank you” from its citizens and also the city’s municipal workforce for its diligence and its veritable stick-to-itiveness in its journey toward Tuesday’s resulting charter reform package.

This action toward Malden’s city charter modernization and, in spots, streamlining, did not transpire overnight. It began close to a decade ago, as Councillors pointed out Tuesday. Lots of City Councillors, past and present, took up the torch of charter reform at various times over the past decade, notably Councillor-at-Large Craig Spadafora, Paul Condon (Ward 2) and Jadeane Sica (Ward 8) in the past. Most notably, recently, were the efforts of the members of the ad hoc Charter Review Committee, which included Ward 7 Councillor Chris Simonelli, Vice Chairperson Ryan O’Malley (Ward 4) and Chairperson Stephen Winslow (Ward 6). Also serving as ex-officio members of the committee were Malden City Clerk Carol Ann Desiderio and Malden Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Ron Hogan. The Council’s Rules and Ordinance Committee, chaired by Winslow and including Councillors Amanda Linehan (Vice Chair, Ward 3), Peg Crowe (Ward 1), O’Malley and Ari Taylor (Ward 5), also was in the midst of many meetings held for discussion of the particulars of this task.

The detailed and multi-leveled collaboration between the various branches of city government, including the City Clerk’s Office, the Mayor’s Office and of course, the City Councillors, was superb, professional, efficient and ultimately, productive and successful. Special notice goes to City Council President O’Malley, who was vigilant until the end when it came to sorting out the myriad points of order – both municipally legislative and simply managerial – in shepherding this process toward Tuesday’s finish line.

Our 33rd President, Harry S. Truman, once said, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” This remark is indeed a snapshot of what has taken place in Malden over much of the past decade as city charter reform has progressed slowly and has now become a reality.

For the 2024-2025 Malden City Council, this historic achievement will certainly become a signature point of its legacy.