One criticism that has been repeated during the recent recall effort is that I was constantly pushing new regulations and subjecting residents and businesses to additional government oversight.
I believe residents deserve to understand how the process actually works.
The Role of a Board of Health
Under Massachusetts law, local Boards of Health are responsible for protecting public health and enforcing a variety of state and local health requirements. Many of the issues that come before a Board of Health are not invented locally. They arise because state agencies such as the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) provide guidance, model regulations, or recommend that local boards adopt regulations addressing specific public health concerns.
As a Board member, part of my responsibility was to ensure that the Board reviewed areas where local regulations either did not exist or were outdated.
Where the Regulations Came From
The regulations that were brought before the Board—including tobacco control regulations, private well regulations, nuisance regulations, and waste hauling regulations—were not regulations that I personally created.
In each case, I relied on templates, model regulations, or guidance developed by state agencies and professional public health organizations. These templates are used by communities across Massachusetts.
Bringing a template to the Board for consideration is not the same as adopting it.
The Process Matters
Every regulation considered by the Board followed a public process.
The regulations were discussed during public meetings. Board members had opportunities to review, revise, question, and reject provisions they did not support. Public hearings were held so residents and businesses could provide feedback before any regulation could be adopted.
No regulation was enacted by me alone because that is not how a Board of Health operates.
A single Board member cannot unilaterally adopt regulations. Any regulation requires discussion, public notice, public hearings, and a vote of the Board.
Meeting minutes document those discussions and votes.
Discussion Is Not Adoption
Some have characterized the act of introducing a proposed regulation as evidence of an agenda.
I disagree.
Board members are elected to identify issues, gather information, and bring matters before the Board for discussion. If a regulation is never presented, it can never be debated, improved, or rejected.
Bringing a state-provided template forward for consideration is part of the Board's work. It is not evidence that the regulation will be adopted unchanged, or even adopted at all.
My Approach
Throughout my service, my goal has been straightforward: review issues that fall within the Board's authority, provide information to fellow Board members, follow the required public process, and allow the Board and the public to weigh in before decisions are made.
Reasonable people may disagree about whether a particular regulation is necessary. That is why public hearings and Board votes exist.
What should not be controversial is the idea that elected officials should review public health issues openly, discuss them publicly, and make decisions based on facts, state guidance, public input, and the law.
That is the process I followed, and the public record reflects it.
If the state issued a model regulation template and I did NOT bring it before the board- then one could imply that I was unilaterally acting in my own interests. Consider the most recent Board of Health agendas and ask yourself - what is really going on?
One criticism that has been repeated during the recent recall effort is that I was constantly pushing new regulations. I believe residents deserve to understand how the process actually works.