By Nuria Chantre

The Ward 6 alderman spoke at The Somerville News contributors‚Äô meeting held Feb. 8 at Davis Square’s Mr. Crepe shop.

“Ever since I saw the movie ‘An inconvenient truth,’ I’ve been talking excessively about the environment, what we can do on the local level to make change and to address this problem that inches closer toward a crisis,” said Rebekah L. Gewirtz, Ward 6 alderman.

Gewirtz said she agrees with the film’s consensus that people go from disbelief to despair once they understand global warming, but never stop to take action. One of her goals, as alderman is to counteract this attitude of discouragement and to promote engagement in environmental issues, she said.

In January, the city joined over a 100 other communities across the country in a nationwide green-cast to discuss ways to address environmental concerns, she said.

‚ÄúI‚Äôm very happy that the president of the board of aldermen decided to convene a committee on environment and energy and appointed me to that committee,‚Äù Gewirtz said.  ‚ÄúI‚Äôm looking forward to the follow-up from the meeting.‚Äù

As the budget session approaches, Gerwitz said the environment is not the only issue she is concerned about. 

She is enthusiastic about the changes in Davis Square, including the construction of the new building at 1 Davis Sq., which will house a CVS and a Boston Sports Authority, in addition to the non-profit organizations formerly located at this address, she said.

Gewirtz said she plans to support Marty Martinez in the upcoming special elections for the position of alderman-at-large.

“Marty Martinez is a tremendous asset to the city of Somerville. He
is committed to values I care about, that I share. I would be glad to
have him as a colleague on the board of alderman.”

Gewirtz said she favors locally owned and operated businesses. “I’ve made my position clear from the very beginning that I don’t think we should turn Davis Square into an outdoor mall or into some generic place where everything is a chain.”

Presently, Gewirtz said she is focusing on a home rule petition before the board of alderman, concerning the removal of the civil service designation from the positions of assistant supervisor custodian and supervisor custodian, she said.

She opposes this revocation, which would limit the potential for career advancement in this field, she said.

‚ÄúMy concern is that civil service was set up for a reason.  It was set up to retain employees, to give people a career ladder.  They are positions that are there frankly to prevent patronage,‚Äù she said.

Proponents of the home rule petition argue that civil service doesn‚Äôt work, and that the city has not hosted the civil service test for this position in years, she said.  ‚ÄúBut when you delve into the issue and you see why we have civil service, it‚Äôs not so much about the test it is about the day-to-day.‚Äù

‚ÄúI want people to feel, in the city of Somerville, that they have the opportunity to advance and civil service is one way of assuring that,‚Äù said Gewirtz.   Ultimately, the proposal will have to be approved by the state, she said. 

Meanwhile, Gewirtz said she is also working with her colleagues to help address the city‚Äôs rising debt, which may reach its highest point in the city‚Äôs history by 2009. 

‚ÄúThat‚Äôs something I talked about when we were voting to bond the 2.3 million dollars.  If we don‚Äôt have a better picture of what‚Äôs going on, I don‚Äôt feel as comfortable approving bonds,‚Äù she said.