Councilor Gerly Adrien was quick to reject a measure at the first Council meeting on Monday night that did not have enough supporting information, shocking everyone as she cast a ‘no’ vote on a routine grant from Exxon Mobil for the Everett Police.
“I didn’t approve it because I didn’t get any information about where it is going and what it was to support,” she said after the meeting. “If no one has the information, I’m not approving it.”
The grant was a $2,500 gift from Exxon Mobil Corporation, which has a terminal in Everett on Beacham Street. The grant is to support the Everett Police and goes into their donations account.
Adrien’s vote quickly sparked a lot of questions and assumptions about why the new councilor would reject a routine, annual grant to the Everett Police.
She said that Councilor John Hanlon originally requested more information at Monday’s meeting, and she also got a text from a constituent about why Exxon was giving the City money.
Hanlon was very specific about wanting to know more about where the money was to go, and Adrien said she completely agreed with him. It was a question she said she also intended to ask.
However, Hanlon was told there wasn’t much supporting information, and at the moment, no specifics were available.
While Hanlon let the matter go, Adrien said she isn’t going to make a habit of voting on something she knows nothing about. “For me, I wanted more information and didn’t get it,” she said. “That’s all it was about.”