OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

2026 City Council & School Committee Organizational Meeting - January 2

Meeting Portal — Friday, January 2, 2026
BodySomerville, Massachusetts
SessionMeeting Portal
DateFriday, January 2, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 32:10

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good morning, everyone, and happy new year.

0:02

My name is Matt McLaughlin.

0:04

I am the city councilor for Ward 1.

0:06

As some of you may remember, uh, it is usually the oldest city councillor who presides over this meeting until we elect a president.

0:13

Uh but now, due to our new city charter, we have chosen to have the most handsome person preside over the meeting.

0:20

Which also happens to be the longest tenured counselor, which is me.

0:24

So I'm here to uh preside over this meeting.

0:26

Uh new charter now designates the longest serving president to preside.

0:30

Um I hereby call this meeting of the 2026 organizational meeting of the city council to order on this the second day of January 2026.

0:39

In accordance with Massachusetts open meeting law, please note that video and audio of this meeting was being recorded and may be shown on live local cable access government channels and on the City Assemble website and local cable access government channels.

0:53

Pursuant to our Rule 31.

0:55

Let it be known that the City Council salutes the flag of the United States of America and let us recall our oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth to the best of our abilities and understand.

1:05

Madam Clerk, can you please call the roll?

1:07

This is roll call.

1:08

Councillor Link.

1:10

Councilor Mbaugh.

1:11

President.

1:12

Counselor Streso.

1:13

Present.

1:14

Counselor Wheeler.

1:15

Present.

1:15

Counselor McLaughlin.

1:17

Here.

1:17

Councillor Scott.

1:19

Council Ewan Campen.

1:20

Here.

1:20

Councillor Klingon.

1:22

Present.

1:22

Counselor Said.

1:23

Here.

1:24

Counselor Davis.

1:25

Here.

1:25

Counselor Hart.

1:26

Here.

1:27

With 10 counselors present and one absent, we have a quorum.

1:30

The next business of the city council will be the election of the president of the city council for 2026.

1:35

The floor is now open for nominations.

1:38

Council Bow.

1:40

And move to nominate Councillor Davies for President of the City Council.

1:44

Council Baum moves for Councillor Davis.

1:46

Second.

1:47

Second.

1:47

Council Ewan Campbell seconds.

1:49

Move to close nominations.

1:51

And nominations are now closed.

1:54

Yep.

1:55

The second.

1:56

Yeah.

1:56

Uh council camp in seconded and closed.

1:59

Councillor Cameron made the motion to close nominations.

2:02

Second.

2:02

There we go.

2:03

Second, thank you.

2:07

All right.

2:07

Let's take a vote on that.

2:08

Let's do a roll call vote.

2:10

All in favor?

2:11

There we go.

2:13

All right.

2:15

Counselor Davis, my work is done.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████77%
Elections█████████16%
School Facilities████7%
Summary of Proceedings

2026 City Council & School Committee Organizational Meeting - January 2

On January 2, 2026, the City Council and School Committee of Somerville convened to elect officers, administer oaths of office, and establish procedural rules and committee assignments for the 2026 fiscal year. The meetings were presided over by Councilor Matt McLaughlin and Superintendent Dr. Carmona (acting) before Councilor Davies assumed the presidency. Key outcomes included the election of Lance Davis as City Council President and Will Mbaugh as Vice President, followed by the election of Dr. Emily Ackman as School Committee Chair and Liron Pitone as Vice Chair.

Consent Calendar

  • Ratification of the November 4, 2025 city election results by the Election Commissioner.
  • Adoption of the 2026 Rules of the City Council (Dec 11, 2025 version).
  • Approval of bonds for the City Treasurer and Tax Collector.
  • Authorization for the City Treasurer to appoint deputy tax collectors.
  • Commitment of pending business from eliminated committees to updated standing committees.
  • Placement of 2026 standing committee assignments and commission appointments on file.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public testimony or comments were recorded in this transcript segment.

Discussion Items

  • Presiding Officer Protocol: Councilor Matt McLaughlin noted the new city charter designates the longest-serving counselor to preside, humorously referring to himself as the "most handsome person" and longest tenured counselor before passing the gavel to President-elect Davis.
  • Seating Assignments: The council engaged in drawing names for seating positions to determine horseshoe arrangements. Councilor Hart and Councilor Link were appointed to draw names and numbers. The resulting assignments were: Will Mbaugh (Seat 1), Ben Wheeler (Seat 2), JT Scott (Seat 3), Jesse Klingon (Seat 4), Kristen Strezzo (Seat 5), JT Scott (Seat 6, originally Seat 10, then moved), Matt McLaughlin (Seat 9), Emily Hart (Seat 8), Naima Seat (Seat 10), and Ben Ewan Campen (Seat 1).
  • School Committee Seating: The school committee determined seating assignments by drawing numbers: Lance Davis (Seat 1), Liz Eldridge (Seat 4), Andrea Green (Seat 5), Laura Pitone (Seat 2), Emma Stellman (Seat 9), Mayor Wilson (Seat 7), and Michelle Lippins (Seat 3). Seats 8 and 9 were reserved for the Chair and Vice Chair (finalized later as Dr. Ackman and Liron Pitone).
  • Committee Assignments: The School Committee established the following subcommittees:
    • Educational Programs and Instruction: Chaired by Ms. Pitone (Vice: Ms. Lippins), members include Ms. Lippins, Ms. Eldridge.
    • Finance and Facilities: Chaired by Mr. Green (Vice: Mr. Bitone), members include Mr. Green, Liron Bitone, Emma Stellman.
    • Rules Management: Chaired by Mr. Bitone (Vice: Dr. Stellman), members include Mr. Bitone, Dr. Stellman, Ms. Lippins.
    • Joint Building: Chaired by Mr. Bitone (Vice: Ms. Pitone), members include Mr. Bitone, Ms. Pitone, Ms. Eldridge.
    • Long-Range Planning: A subcommittee of the whole, with Chair/VP to be designated by the committee members.

Key Outcomes

  • City Council Officers:
    • President: Lance Davis was unanimously elected following a roll call vote where all 10 present councilors voted for him.
    • Vice President: Will Mbaugh was unanimously elected by a roll call vote of 11 counselors.
  • Oaths of Office: All elected officials (City Council and School Committee) took the three-part oath to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the U.S. Constitution before signing the books.
  • School Committee Officers:
    • Chair: Dr. Emily Ackman was unanimously elected by a roll call vote of all 9 members.
    • Vice Chair: Liron Pitone (spelled variously as Bitone/Pitone in transcript) was unanimously elected by a roll call vote of all 9 members.
  • Procedural Directives:
    • City Council President Davis directed the Clerk to update and post committee assignments online immediately.
    • The meeting adjourned with a note that addresses by elected officials will be delivered at inaugural ceremonies the following evening.
  • Discrepancy Note: The transcript contains inconsistencies regarding the spelling of names (e.g., "Mbaugh"/"Baum"/"Mbaba", "Pitone"/"Bitone"/"Baton") and seating assignments (e.g., JT Scott appearing to draw Seat 6 after initially failing to secure Seat 2, and conflicting seat numbers for President Davis). These discrepancies are preserved as stated in the source material without resolution.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning, everyone, and happy new year. My name is Matt McLaughlin. I am the city councilor for Ward 1. As some of you may remember, uh, it is usually the oldest city councillor who presides over this meeting until we elect a president. Uh but now, due to our new city charter, we have chosen to have the most handsome person preside over the meeting. Which also happens to be the longest tenured counselor, which is me. So I'm here to uh preside over this meeting. Uh new charter now designates the longest serving president to preside. Um I hereby call this meeting of the 2026 organizational meeting of the city council to order on this the second day of January 2026. In accordance with Massachusetts open meeting law, please note that video and audio of this meeting was being recorded and may be shown on live local cable access government channels and on the City Assemble website and local cable access government channels. Pursuant to our Rule 31. Let it be known that the City Council salutes the flag of the United States of America and let us recall our oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth to the best of our abilities and understand. Madam Clerk, can you please call the roll? This is roll call. Councillor Link. Councilor Mbaugh. President. Counselor Streso. Present. Counselor Wheeler. Present. Counselor McLaughlin. Here. Councillor Scott. Council Ewan Campen. Here. Councillor Klingon. Present. Counselor Said. Here. Counselor Davis. Here. Counselor Hart. Here. With 10 counselors present and one absent, we have a quorum. The next business of the city council will be the election of the president of the city council for 2026. The floor is now open for nominations. Council Bow. And move to nominate Councillor Davies for President of the City Council. Council Baum moves for Councillor Davis. Second. Second. Council Ewan Campbell seconds. Move to close nominations. And nominations are now closed. Yep. The second. Yeah. Uh council camp in seconded and closed. Councillor Cameron made the motion to close nominations.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com