By Alderman At-Large William A. White Jr.

In this year of 2018, I have thought long and hard about whether the name “Board of Aldermen” should be changed to “City Council.” Folks have commented that “Board of Aldermen” is an outdated name which is non-inclusive. Many newer residents and folks from other communities do not even know what an alderman is. Other people say that the City of Somerville has had a Board of Aldermen since our City was established in 1872 and that we should keep it for the sake of our history. The name “alderman” is an old English word that actually means old wise man or patriarch. “Boards of Aldermen” originated in English municipal law and many cities in our country adopted the term, long before women had the right to vote. As of today, women outnumber men in Somerville and the median age of our residents is 31 years, while the median for the entire state is 39. By population, we are one of the youngest communities in Massachusetts. So, in a city which has a majority of women with one of the youngest populations in the State, does it still make sense to name our legislative body after a word that means wise old man?

In Massachusetts city government, originally there was a common council and a board of aldermen. The common council was like the House of Representatives, which had more members, and the board of aldermen was like the Senate. So it seems that the intent was that a board of old wise men would oversee city government. When Somerville became a City in 1872, it simply established a Board of Aldermen because all cities in Massachusetts at that time did. It had nothing to do with Somerville in particular. In 1889, Somerville decided to abolish the Common Council and kept the name Board of Aldermen for its legislative body. Other cities around us did the opposite with regard to the name, including Cambridge and Boston, which both took the name City Council after they abolished their common councils. England, where the term “board of aldermen” originated, abolished their boards of aldermen in 1972, except for London. In 2011, Everett took the name City Council. Most recently, Newton changed from a Board of Aldermen to City Council in 2016.

In reality, Somerville only uses the name “Board of Aldermen” because of a decision made in 1899, which we haven’t revisited in over 100 years. To me, it seems that the time has come to revisit that decision. Because of the reasons mentioned in this article, I believe that it is time for a change. As such, I have proposed a charter change at the next Board of Aldermen meeting to change our name to City Council.

Alderman At-Large William A. White Jr. believes that Somerville needs a “City Council” rather than a “Board of Aldermen.”