West Springfield City Council OK’s mayor’s declaration on racisim in split vote

Feb. 16, 2021 | Ryan Feyre
rfeyre@thewestfieldnewsgroup.com

After a divisive debate, the City Council ultimately decided to approve Mayor William Reichelt’s declaration of racism being a public health crisis.
Screen capture from West Springfield Media

WEST SPRINGFIELD – By a narrow 4-3 margin, the West Springfield City Council supported Mayor William Reichelt’s executive order that declares racism a public health crisis.

The resolution, which was unanimously accepted by the Board of Health and School Committee in January, caused much debate between council members over the course of a Jan. 25 study session, as well as during the Feb. 8 council meeting. The study session in particular gave council members a chance to discuss any amendments they would like to make to the document, since many members found the language to be “inflammatory.”

“I did hear from people that have faced some of these covert racist actions in town, and are thankful that we’re doing this,” said Reichelt during the study session. “I think if one person in a community of 30,000 feels that way, then it is important for us to take a stand for this.”

Prior to the study session however, the Board of Health had already accepted the draft as is, which means that if any change were to be made language-wise, the updated document would have to be revisited by the Board of Health and the Mayor’s Office.

“We can work on this and work on this, and change the language and change the language, and then this whole thing is going to get delayed,” said Councilor Nathan Bech, who supported the resolution throughout both the study session, and the Feb. 8 meeting.

The resolution, as written now, will allow the city to establish a working group that discusses racial inequities, and reports any changes to policy that the mayor could consider with regard to systemic racism.

“Racism does affect public health in a lot of different facets,” said Bech, during the council meeting. “[The resolution] is not saying that West Springfield is some terrible place to live. It’s just making a statement of a general problem in America.”

Councilor Ed Sullivan reluctantly voted yes for the resolution, despite still finding the language to be inflammatory.

“For future resolutions, maybe we can acknowledge some of the positives,” said Sullivan, who explained that 44 different languages are present within the community of West Springfield. “Ultimately I understand the goal for the resolution, but I do think maybe can look at the language that is inflammatory.”

Councilors Michael Eger, Daniel O’Brien, and George Kelly all voted against the resolution. O’Brien argued that the wording does not pertain to West Springfield, and misses the ball when it comes to explaining specific racist policies within the city.

“It would be better to have the study group identify the issues, then formulate a resolution that fits this town,” said O’Brien, who claimed that amendments to the resolution were not allowed to be made after the study session. “This is the equivalent of indicting someone, then doing the investigation to substantiate the indictment.”

O’Brien added that nepotism and cronyism are the two main causes that bar equal opportunity through employment. “These practices have denied more opportunities to minorities than any other policy,” he said. “They continue as we speak.”

For Eger, the resolution acts as a “distraction” from improvements the city could correct with regard to systemic racism. He indicated that he felt that the best course of action is hiring more people of color for powerful positions throughout the city.

“My gut is telling me that this is nothing more than a shallow virtue signaling that will result in no actual reform,” said Eger. “It is my hope that my ‘no’ vote prompts a deep dive into West Springfield equal employment opportunity reports.”

Despite the divisiveness surrounding the document’s language, the resolution will stand as is, and a working group will be set into motion over the course of the coming weeks or months.

“I am 100 percent for starting a working group,” said Bech. “I believe that this working group can get together and discuss, ‘do we have a problem of systemic racism in West Springfield?’ It’s a general problem in America, but to what extent is it a problem in West Springfield?”

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