Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Legislative & Rules Committee Meeting – June 23, 2026: Appointments Commission Repeal Postponed, Reporting Ordinance Approved

Board of Representatives — Tuesday, June 23, 2026

BodyStamford, Connecticut

SessionBoard of Representatives

DateTuesday, June 23, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 37:43

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Alrighty, thank you everybody for your attendance this evening.

0:04

Uh this time I'm gonna call order this meeting of the legislative and rules committee of the board of representatives as of 701 pm, June 23rd, 2026.

0:13

And I note that I see in attendance, representatives uh blank, boudreau, vice chair camparelli, representative Hughes, Hyatt, Repine, myself, Weinberg, and ex official member, ex official representative Walston.

0:34

And also Majority Leader Morrison.

0:42

I will read those.

0:46

And committee Moore Stone.

0:49

Thank you.

0:50

Perfect.

0:50

And with that, we have all committee members in attendance.

0:53

So we do have a forum.

0:56

So tonight we've got two items on the agenda.

0:59

And we also have two public hearing schedules for the benefit of the public and to respect their time.

1:04

I think it you know makes sense to hold these public hearings together, early side by side.

1:09

I mean, um, and also just given the way we've approached these ordinances in the past to also consider item number two prior to item number one.

1:17

Uh so in that vein, I would appreciate a motion to suspend the rules in order to hear the public hearings together and consider item two before items.

1:28

Thank you very much.

1:29

I hear a motion, and a second.

1:31

Thank you very much.

1:32

Uh point of information, yes, yes.

1:39

So do I understand correctly that the order if this motion uh is passed, um that the order of tonight's meeting will be one public hearing, then a second public hearing.

1:56

I'm not sure if we first in which would be second.

1:59

Then the third item will be um taking up LR 32.017, and then the fourth item will be taking up LR32.1016.

2:12

That's correct.

2:13

Thank you.

2:14

Alrighty.

2:15

Uh, so we have a motion and a second.

2:17

Uh the question before the committee is a suspension of the rules as I have described.

2:22

Um, let's try it by voice vote.

2:25

Um, we're gonna see if that works.

2:27

Uh all those in favor, please say aye.

2:29

Aye.

2:30

Thank you.

2:30

Aye.

2:31

Aye.

2:32

All opposed.

2:35

Any abstentions?

2:39

Hearing none, the motion passes.

2:48

And point of information, yes.

2:50

Uh which public hearing will go first.

2:52

We're gonna do item number one first followed by item number two.

2:55

So so uh 32.016.

2:58

Correct, okay.

2:59

Yes, um, of course.

3:00

So uh with that, I'd like to open this up for public hearing on item one, LR 32.016 for those members of the public that are speaking on this item.

3:09

Please keep your comments limited to this ordinance, which is a repeal of the appointments commission.

3:14

Um, of course, you are you know welcome to speak on the second public hearing, which will be with respect to LR 32.017, which is the ordinance establishing reporting requirements on the office of May.

3:28

So, with that being said, I have a couple of members of the public who have signed up to speak, first of which is Miss Halpern, which I believe is in attendance from only.

3:41

So I should have more than that.

3:49

Alrighty, Miss Alburn, you've got three minutes to share your remarks.

3:53

Hi, good evening.

3:55

Thank you for this opportunity to speak.

3:58

Um as it appears the appointments commission will be eliminated.

4:04

I sincerely appreciate this ordinance to add affirmative reporting in the boards and commission's report.

4:11

In my opinion, there should be further language added based on my experience applying for a position on HPAC, the historic preservation advisory commission.

4:22

Apologies to interrupt.

4:23

I just wanted to remind you that if you have comments on the reporting ordinance, we're gonna have another public hearing this evening, immediately afterwards, and you'll have an opportunity to speak on that.

4:32

But if you have any comments on the repeal itself, now would be the time for those.

4:36

No, I wait.

4:37

Thank you very much.

4:38

Not a problem.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Pending Litigation█████████████████████████████████████████████47%

Procedural█████████████████████████████30%

Community Engagement█████████████████18%

Racial Equity█████5%

Summary of Proceedings

Legislative & Rules Committee Meeting – June 23, 2026

The Legislative & Rules Committee of the Stamford Board of Representatives met on June 23, 2026, from 7:01 PM to 7:39 PM to conduct public hearings and consider two ordinances: LR32.016 to repeal the Appointments Commission and LR32.017 to establish reporting requirements on mayoral appointments. The committee approved an amendment to LR32.017 and voted to advance it to a second public hearing, while postponing LR32.016 indefinitely.

Public Comments & Testimony

On LR32.016 (Repeal of Appointments Commission):

Ms. Halpern (via Zoom) initially began comments on the reporting ordinance but was redirected to the repeal; she had no further comment on the repeal.
Mr. Adams (in person) opposed the repeal, calling it a "bait and switch" and urged caution, stating that the Board should secure the reporting ordinance before abolishing the commission. He expressed concern about relying on Corporation Counsel opinions based on past experiences.
Ms. Calabries (remote) opposed the repeal, arguing it was submitted by the mayor to eliminate a check on executive power. She noted the Appointments Commission was never allowed to function due to mayoral inaction and stressed the need for independent oversight.

On LR32.017 (Reporting Requirements):

Ms. Halpern supported the ordinance but recommended adding language requiring that appointments reflect the diversity and geographic areas of the city, citing her own experience applying for HPAC (Historic Preservation Advisory Commission) and being overlooked despite qualifications.
Mr. Adams supported the ordinance as a step forward but felt it did not go far enough, particularly regarding public disclosure of applicant names. He urged the committee to consider future generations.
Ms. Calabries supported the ordinance as preserving a "strand" of the Appointments Commission. She highlighted alarming statistics: 76% of board/commission members are Caucasian in a majority-minority city, and only 29% are female. She urged the Board to override any mayoral veto.

Discussion Items

LR32.017 – Amendment and Approval:

Chair McKeown introduced an amendment to change the reporting cadence from monthly to quarterly, based on feedback from the Mayor's Office about administrative burden. The amendment was approved by unanimous voice vote (9-0-0).
Rep. Blank expressed frustration that the request for quarterly reporting and a legal opinion from Corporation Counsel came last minute, suggesting it seemed like "games" to delay the ordinance.
Rep. Weinberg opposed the ordinance, arguing that the reporting requirement would not solve recruitment problems and that a one-time review of applications would suffice. He also noted that the administrative burden of monthly reporting was an unfunded mandate.
Rep. Camporeale (Vice Chair) supported the ordinance, stating "information is power" and that data could help improve board composition. She inquired about adding a diversity statement and making applicant names public optionally.
Rep. Stone (likely the speaker) responded to Rep. Weinberg, arguing that the ordinance provides structural transparency for the public and future boards, not just this one, and that data will inform recruitment efforts.

LR32.016 – Postponement:

After discussion, Chair McKeown noted that many members' support for repeal was contingent on passage of the reporting ordinance. He moved to postpone LR32.016 definitely to a future meeting. This was approved by unanimous voice vote (9-0-0).

Key Outcomes

LR32.016 (Repeal of Appointments Commission): Postponed definitely by a vote of 9-0-0. No further action.
LR32.017 (Reporting Requirements): Amended to change reporting from monthly to quarterly (9-0-0). Approved as amended for a second public hearing by a roll call vote of 8-1-0 (Rep. Weinberg opposed).
The committee will hold a second public hearing on LR32.017 at a future date before final adoption.

Meeting Transcript

Alrighty, thank you everybody for your attendance this evening. Uh this time I'm gonna call order this meeting of the legislative and rules committee of the board of representatives as of 701 pm, June 23rd, 2026. And I note that I see in attendance, representatives uh blank, boudreau, vice chair camparelli, representative Hughes, Hyatt, Repine, myself, Weinberg, and ex official member, ex official representative Walston. And also Majority Leader Morrison. I will read those. And committee Moore Stone. Thank you. Perfect. And with that, we have all committee members in attendance. So we do have a forum. So tonight we've got two items on the agenda. And we also have two public hearing schedules for the benefit of the public and to respect their time. I think it you know makes sense to hold these public hearings together, early side by side. I mean, um, and also just given the way we've approached these ordinances in the past to also consider item number two prior to item number one. Uh so in that vein, I would appreciate a motion to suspend the rules in order to hear the public hearings together and consider item two before items. Thank you very much. I hear a motion, and a second. Thank you very much. Uh point of information, yes, yes. So do I understand correctly that the order if this motion uh is passed, um that the order of tonight's meeting will be one public hearing, then a second public hearing. I'm not sure if we first in which would be second. Then the third item will be um taking up LR 32.017, and then the fourth item will be taking up LR32.1016. That's correct. Thank you. Alrighty. Uh, so we have a motion and a second. Uh the question before the committee is a suspension of the rules as I have described. Um, let's try it by voice vote. Um, we're gonna see if that works. Uh all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Thank you. Aye. Aye. All opposed. Any abstentions? Hearing none, the motion passes. And point of information, yes. Uh which public hearing will go first. We're gonna do item number one first followed by item number two. So so uh 32.016. Correct, okay. Yes, um, of course. So uh with that, I'd like to open this up for public hearing on item one, LR 32.016 for those members of the public that are speaking on this item. Please keep your comments limited to this ordinance, which is a repeal of the appointments commission. Um, of course, you are you know welcome to speak on the second public hearing, which will be with respect to LR 32.017, which is the ordinance establishing reporting requirements on the office of May. So, with that being said, I have a couple of members of the public who have signed up to speak, first of which is Miss Halpern, which I believe is in attendance from only. So I should have more than that. Alrighty, Miss Alburn, you've got three minutes to share your remarks. Hi, good evening.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com