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Lhadon Tethong and Dhondup Phunkhang submitting comments re: #204999, a Resolution recognizing the Union Sq Neighborhood Council.
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To the Honorable Board:
We are writing to express our concern that the Union Square Neighborhood Council board, in its current incarnation, is not truly representative of the Union Square community, and thus should not, at this moment in time, be given recognition as "the representative voice for the neighborhood in pending and future proceedings of significance by city departments, boards and commissions relevant to Union Square" by the City of Somerville.
While we recognize that the Council includes many passionate, hard-working and dedicated members of the Union Square community, we think it is telling that the election process somehow fell short/was fundamentally flawed in that the 15-member board has only 2 homeowners, no brick-and-mortar business owners, and almost nobody representing some of the most active organizations in Union Square, with members who have professional experience, expertise and years of demonstrated commitment to development issues in Somerville, like Union Square Neighbors, Union Square Main Streets, etc. We believe this happened because the election process itself was flawed, and the outcome was skewed by the involvement of organizations with significant organizing resources who advocated for an entire slate of candidates.
Unfortunately, this has resulted in many people in our community - many of our wonderful friends and neighbors - with a long history of thoughtful and proactive engagement in critical development issues in Union Square and Somerville, feeling disempowered, side-lined and concerned about the future direction of development in our beloved neighborhood.
While we recognize that this letter, coming from an individual who ran for a board seat and did not win, may seem like a case of "sour grapes", we hope you can see past such a surface level assessment, and hear our voices as people who care deeply for everyone in this community.
With thanks for your time and consideration,
Lhadon Tethong & Dhondup Phunkhang