Waltham 2020 Municipal Inauguration Could Be More Inclusive

WALTHAM, MA — Each January Waltham's elected officials raise their right hands and swear to uphold their duties as representatives of the community for the new year. Often they share the stage at Kennedy Middle School with a pastor or a Catholic priest or a rabbi, to represent the faiths present.

But two city councilors say with so many faiths and beliefs in the community, the city council's ceremonies should better represent the people the council body is meant to represent.

Councilors Kristine Mackin and George Darcy are asking the city council to consider ensuring that everyone in the community has equal representation for the 2020 municipal inauguration and at other city council - led ceremonies throughout the year. Something she sees as a constitutional requirement.

"As a representative body of the community, it's the city council's job to make sure everyone in the community feels represented during public ceremonies," said City Councilor Kristine Mackin, after reading the First Amendment of the Constitution out loud and pointing to the council's constitutional duty at a recent council meeting.

In the past the inauguration has included Catholic priests, or a rabbi, said Mackin.

"However, this limited inclusion of representatives of only a few faiths is not true inclusion but merely tokenism. "To be truly inclusive," she said, "the council should make sure every faith, belief, every practice represented in the community is represented on that stage."

Mackin said she and Darcy are working on compiling a list of faith leaders and bodies to invite to the ceremony.

"It's important that we as elected representatives of Waltham ensure that we are actively reaching out to everyone in Waltham," said Darcy noting the city's sizable communities from Uganda, Guatemala, Haiti, Armenia, Russia, India and Brazil.

"We welcome all of them to Waltham, and we welcome them to the induction of officials," he said calling the local government "where the rubber hits the road."

Mackin asked that the clerk come up with a program representative of the community and bring it to the council to approve.

The proposal was brought up to the city council in the November 25 meeting and the council will discuss the details in the Committee on the Whole and then vote on it by the end of the year.

Last year, when she was sworn into office, Mackin chose to make a secular affirmation during the inauguration rather than swear the traditional oath of office, which invokes God.

Instead of saying "I do solemnly swear," The Ward 7 councilor chose to say "I do solemnly affirm" instead. In place of "So help me God," she said "I do so under the pains and penalties of perjury."

Mackin told Patch that the proposal comes from her experience.

" From my perspective as a self identifying queer woman, I'm bisexual, the previous inauguration to me did not feel inclusive and welcoming," she told Patch. "I understand that faith is part of a number of councilor's experience and I wouldn't want anyone to feel excluded because we're limiting the number of representatives on the stage."

Inauguration will be at 1 p.m. in the auditorium at Kennedy Middle School Sunday, January 5. The ceremony is public and anyone can attend.

Previously:

Waltham Councilor Takes Path Less Traveled On Inauguration Day ...

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).