The annual swearing in of the Everett City government Tuesday evening had significance like no other in the history of the city.
After this inauguration, there will likely never again be another 2 year mayor or bicameral government in Everett.
When the next inaugural comes around, everything about government will have changed here – and the change has come about by the will of the people of this city.
The people of Everett last year voted to change the City Charter – and so it was done.
The next mayoral term will be for 4 years instead of two.
The Common Council will become a thing of the past and a reinvigorated Board of Aldermen will take its place.
By themselves, these two significant changes are a smaller version of a wholesale political revolution for the people of this city and for its elected public officials.
From the 1890’s to the present, the bicameral government here has been one of the highlights of government in Everett – or anywhere else in this state – as Everett is the only city run by a bicameral government in Massachusetts.
However, doing away with the Common Council is sound business not that there is anything wrong with the Common Council.
It is sound business because cities like Everett don’t need a two-branch government when there is a strong mayor at the head of it.
Everett will remain a strong mayor city as a result of the Charter.
The new Board of Aldermen in and of itself will be a stronger body than the Common Council and the present Board together could ever be.
What is really coming to an end, and this is sad, is the opportunity for many, many people to place their name on the ballot and to actually get elected in smaller ward races.
If there is a negative to doing away with the Common Council it is that the Board of Aldermen will become a much more exclusive place where it will take a real effort to get elected to that Board.
Charter Review was inevitable. Changing the Charter was a fait accompli as soon as Charter Review got the go ahead.
What will never change is the desire of so many Everett residents to serve their community and to go into battle in the political arena.
In this respect, Everett will always remain a place where awakening is considered a political activity.