Brookline Town Meeting Moderator Candidate Profile: Kate Poverman

BROOKLINE, MA — Kate Poverman, 63, who has been a member of Town Meeting, Brookline's legislative body, since 2015, is running to take over the role of Brookline Town Moderator in the May town election.

The moderator sets the order of the agenda and presides over Town Meeting. The moderator also appoints members of the Advisory Committee, the Committee on Town Organization and Structure and ad hoc committees authorized by Town Meeting. The moderator also declares the outcome of all voice votes.

Brookline's Town Meeting Moderator Sandy Gadsby, the man who has presided over the town's legislative body for nearly three decades, announced in February that he would not run for another term. His announcement came after three residents indicated they planned to run, including Poverman.

Poverman will face off against Town Meeting member C. Scott Ananian. This is the first time in recent memory there has been a contested race for moderator. Gadsby has run unopposed since at least 2000.

Poverman has her law degree from University of Chicago and has been an attorney for the past 35 years. She's spent the bulk of that time in Brookline, where she and her husband Raphael Bueno raised their two daughters Gabrielle, 26, and Rebecca, 23.

Poverman, who has also been an associate member of the town's zoning board of appeals, isn't the only one in the family active in politics, her daughter Rebecca Bueno is a legislative aide in the Massachusetts State House.

Patch reached out to all the candidates and presented the same list of questions for each, here's how Poverman responded:

Why are you seeking elective office?

My husband and I have lived in Brookline for almost 30 years. I raised my daughters here and have been deeply involved in the schools and in civic life in Brookline. I’m a Town Meeting Member and I am on the Zoning Board of Appeals. I’ve been involved with and on the boards of Brookline institutions, including the Brookline Education Foundation, the BHS Innovation Fund and the Brookline Community Mental Health Center and PAX. I have been a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals for five years.

I’m running because I care deeply about Brookline, the diverse people and passions that drive it, and the strength of our public institutions. I believe that institutions that are guided by inclusion, equity, and justice are stronger for it. I want Town Meeting to be such an institution, and as Moderator, I will help it achieve this goal.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Brookline’s all-volunteer town government structure and 240-member Town Meeting has come under a lot of strain as the town grows and we deal with significant issues, including most recently a reckoning on race and racism.

In Town Meeting, that strain is reflected in what many TMMs describe as a decline in civility, an inability to really hear each other, and an increase in nastiness in online forums. Many women and people of color who are in Town Meeting, or are thinking about running for Town Meeting, have been discouraged by that atmosphere.

I have also spoken with several TMMS who have told me that they are leaving Town Meeting because the atmosphere has become so uncivil. We want to recruit new and diverse voices to Town Meeting, but it’s hard to convince folks to run if they hear it’s a hostile environment.

That’s where the Moderator comes in and is so important. The Moderator sets the tone. It has to instill confidence that the process is transparent and fair, and that outcomes reflect the will of the people.

There has to be a consistent and predictable structure to our debates that prevents the meeting from feeling like a marathon, but that is inclusive and comprehensive enough to create trust in the fairness of our votes.

My goal is to restore a sense of common purpose in Town Meeting, a feeling of being one community with many voices. I hope to reach out to all our civic groups to talk about Town Meeting and how to make it more inclusive. And I will work with Town Meeting Members in an atmosphere of welcome and mutual respect that is so important to Town Meeting’s effectiveness and to attracting new, diverse voices.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

Scott is a fine advocate for his causes, but the Moderator is not an advocate – quite the opposite.

The Moderator must be always apolitical and objective. Scott has filed multiple warrants and articles and has helped others do so. As Moderator, I will be available to any petitioner – whether a Town Meeting member or a citizen petitioner – to help them with the process of filing an article.

But I will not take a position on the Article. I will not be promoting an agenda, and this is one of the most critical things that distinguishes me from Scott. The Moderator can’t advocate for policy outcomes or even be perceived as doing so.

My experience also makes me the most qualified candidate for Moderator. As a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, I have presided over many hearings – some of them quite heated – and have done so fairly and objectively, making sure that each party has had the opportunity to express its position. This is also what the Moderator does.

The Moderator must objectively preside over Town Meeting, without having an agenda or advocating for any issues. The Moderator must make sure that each side is able to fully express its views, and that it is treated respectfully when it does so. In addition, my many years as a Brookline resident and my involvement in multiple Brookline civic entities gives me insight into the Town.

My 35 years of legal experience allow me to understand and clearly explain Articles at Town Meeting. It allows me to analyze each article well enough to know not just whether arguments pro and con have been sufficiently explained, but whether all affected constituencies have had their say.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

N/A

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

Town officials responded admirably to the challenge of taking Town Meeting online. This was a Herculean task. We had record attendance in the June and in November meetings, both of which were long and difficult.

I would not have done anything differently about the technical aspects of taking Town Meeting online. Like others, though, I miss the “town square” aspects of being together in person.

Town Meeting Members can’t build relationships with each other when we’re online like they can in person. Also, as Moderator, it’s vital to have a sense of the room as you moderate a debate, and that’s almost impossible to do on Zoom with 240 participants.

One benefit of virtual participation, though, is that it has lowered some of the structural barriers that hindered participation. Being able to participate from home would be a significant benefit for anyone with limited mobility, less flexible work schedules, or family caregiving responsibilities, the majority of whom are women.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I am committed to continuing the changes that have been made to ensure greater diversity on the Advisory Committee and greater transparency about the process of making those appointments. The Advisory Committee is the town’s finance committee that also opines on all issues that come before Town Meeting. It is a hugely time-consuming appointment and, as warrants get longer and more complicated, the job of serving on the AC has become more onerous. Because those who serve also need to have certain skills, it can be difficult to find volunteers who are both able and willing to make that commitment. I plan to actively reach out to constituencies that are currently underrepresented to make sure we find able Advisory committee members whose advice will have the confidence of Town Meeting.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

My work on the Zoning Board of Appeals has given me experience in fairly and objectively presiding over hearings (some quite heated), a critical skill for the Moderator.

It, and my legal experience, has readied me for the many quasi-judicial aspects of the Moderator’s job. For example, the Moderator has to rule on various motions and frequently needs to flag issues in a Warrant Article that may result in a statutory or legislative challenge by the state.

It is most appropriate for Town Counsel to rule on legal questions, but as an attorney I will be better able to identify potentially problematic issues and explain them to Town Meeting. On a more personal level, as a woman in a male-dominated professional field, I know how certain voices get marginalized or simply ignored. And I know that a seat at the table isn’t worth much if your voice isn’t heard. This personal experience makes me keenly attuned to basic issues of equity, respect, and voice that arise in Town Meeting.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

“The questions you don’t ask are the ones you regret most.”

It is vital to ask questions in every aspect of life. You can’t always accept the information you get “as is.” You must probe, to better understand people and situations. It is vital to ask questions in Town Meeting because we vote on consequential matters that affect everyone in town.

We must question and understand the issues that are brought before us. Making sure that people are comfortable asking questions is a key aspect to being a good Moderator.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I’m not by nature or inclination a politician or even a policy wonk like many Town Meeting Members. In this respect I am very unlike my opponent, but it’s also what makes me the right choice for Moderator. I care very much about issues that face the Town, but the Moderator does not make policy. My personal opinions and beliefs about an issue cannot, and will not, affect any aspect of my work as Moderator.

Being a Moderator is not about having political power or directing policy. Being Moderator is all about the integrity of the process. We shouldn’t have a Moderator who promises to be progressive any more than we should have one who promises to be conservative. Neither my political beliefs, nor my views on any subject, will affect my work as Moderator. I am committed to fairness and to democracy, and to making sure that Town Meeting embodies these values.

Campaign website

poverman2021.com

Other candidates in Brookline Town Election 2021:
Select Board:

• Miriam Aschkenasy
• Nancy Heller*
• Zoe Lynn
• Bernard Greene*