Mayor Larry Gilbert

Mayor's Corner: Mayors for Peace; a common goal of the world’s mayors

Twin City Times- Thursday, May 28th, 2009
Mayor's Corner #88

Several months ago, Dr. Bernard Lown in whose honor we have named the bridge between Lewiston and Auburn, told me I would be receiving a letter from the Mayor of Hiroshima, Japan. I didn’t question him further other than thinking it would be very interesting to receive such a communication.

Shortly thereafter, I did receive a letter from Mr. Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor of Hiroshima and President of Mayors for Peace. I now share with you his letter:

Dear Mayor Gilbert,

I was so pleased to learn that you have honored Dr. Bernard Lown by naming a bridge after him. Many years ago when I studied and taught in the Boston area, I had a chance to collaborate with Dr. Lown.  We have worked in parallel ever since. He thought that you would give favorable consideration to joining Mayors for Peace. I hope you will accept this invitation.

As you may know, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were instantly obliterated by atomic bombings in August 1945. Hundreds of thousands of precious lives were lost. To avoid any repetition of this horrifying tragedy, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have worked continuously to communicate to the world the inhumanity of the atomic bomb and the need to abolish nuclear weapons.

Mayors for Peace was founded in 1982 by the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to promote the total elimination of nuclear weapons and the realization of genuine and lasting world peace. Today, we are a category II international non-governmental organization accredited by the United Nations with 2,536 member cities (134 in the U.S.) in 133 countries and regions.

Mayor's Corner: Is it time for a Lewiston City Charter Review? You tell me!

Twin City Times- Thursday, May 21st, 2009
Mayor's Corner #87

The current Lewiston City Charter was adopted at a special municipal election on June 19, 1979 and it became effective on January 7, 1980. 

The City of Lewiston website has a section called “The History of the City of Lewiston.” Douglas I. Hodgkin, Professor Emeritus of Bates College and Lewiston resident serving on the city’s Historic Preservation Review Board has written “THE GROWTH OF A CITY A BRIEF HISTORY OF LEWISTON”.

An excerpt from Dr. Hodgkin’s historical article reads as follows: “After almost eighty years of amendments, the city charter had become unwieldy. Finally, corrupt practices provided the impetus to adopt a new charter in 1939, consisting of a mayor, council, a powerful Board of Finance, and several other commissions. The city moved to a more professional system with the adoption in 1979 of a new charter that established a city administrator and abolished most boards and commissions.”

I voted for that charter change in 1979 in light of the fact that I had worked under the previous forty year old charter for 10 years realizing its shortcomings. On January 7, 2010, a little over six months away, the current city charter will be thirty years old.

Mayor's Corner: President Obama’s First Step To Help Police Investigate Gun Crimes

Twin City Times- Thursday, May 14th, 2009
Mayor's Corner #86

Last week President Barack Obama released the full FY 2010 Budget that includes very specific language detailing the operations of the U.S. Department of Justice operations. It proposes the reform of the major Tiahrt restrictions that prevented law enforcement from having full access to gun trace data. Removing these restrictions will assist police by enabling access to aggregated data to analyze gun trafficking patterns and networks. As a retired law enforcement officer currently serving as mayor of a city, this to me is only commonsensical.

Mayor Gilbert Speaks at The Western Maine Labor Council & Museum L/A’s 2009 Workers Memorial Day / May Day Breakfast

The Western Maine Labor Council & Museum L/A’s 2009 Workers Memorial Day/ May Day breakfast was a huge success.  150 people attended and packed the downstairs breakfast hall. A good time was had by all.

Attendees were treated to a powerful and moving set of labor music from Charlie King and Karen Brandow in the upstairs concert hall.  Many folks commented on how much they loved the music.  Here is there website:  www.charlieking.org   The music was introduced by Marty Perlmutter, a Maine AFL-CIO peer support worker, who shared a poem he’d written – 20 Years - about getting laid off. 

Also recognized were recognized 3 award winners for their contributions to the labor movement and working people.  The workers at Knight Celotex were honored with the Bruce Roy award for having the courage and solidarity to form a union at their workplace.  Lucille Barrett, a long time union President at Bates Manufacturing, was recognized for her commitment to her fellow workers. Also honored, was  Frances Perkins and the newly created Frances Perkins Center with an award received by her grandson. She was the first female Secretary of Labor in the U.S. in the President Roosevelt's Administration. See the Frances Perkins Center website at www.FrancesPerkinsCenter.org

Randy Berry offered a moving tribute to Bruce Roy and the names of the 29 workers who died on the job this year were read with someone holding a card of their name and when their name was read the card holders rose to have them recognized. . The program concluded with a rousing version of Solidarity Forever.

L-A Public Health Committee and Lewiston Public Health Information Web Sites Are Launched

L-A Public Health Committee Co-Chairs Rene Dumont and Dr. Ned Claxton announced the launching of the new L-A Public Health Committee web site and the City of Lewiston's new Public Health Information web page.  In addition to providing the public with information about LAPHC activities, Dumont and Claxton shared that the launching of these new web sites comes at a critical time given recent developments with the H1N1 virus outbreak in parts of the U.S.

LAPHC's new web site will be hosted by Healthy Androscoggin, a Maine Department of Human Services and Department of Education "Healthy Maine Partnerships" collaborative dedicated to promoting health throughout the state.  The City of Lewiston has also launched its new "Public Health Information" web page which provides linkages to the L-A Public Health Committee and other local public health information and web links.

The L-A Public Health Committee has be in existence for a little less than one year and has already undertaken several projects: a L-A school based hand washing project crafted and coordinated by its Child-Adolescent Sub Committee; scheduled presentations by the Chronic Disease Sub Committee on their outdoor smoking ordinance recommendations before the Auburn and Lewiston City Councils; and the development of the web site for the LAPHC coordinated by its Public Awareness Sub Committee. 

The new L-A Public Health Committee web site can be found at:  http://healthyandroscoggin.org/lewiston-auburn-public-health-committee/

The new City of Lewiston web site can be found at:  http://www.ci.lewiston.me.us/publichealth/index.htm

Mayor Gilbert Speaks At State Capitol In Favor Of Racial Profile Training in Law Enforcement

Mayor Gilbert spoke in favor of establishing a statewide policy addressing racial profiling at a hearing at the State Capitol in Augusta on Monday, May 4th, 2009. The City of Lewiston (which already has such a policy in place) is being used as a model to implement statewide.

Read the full front page story published in Tuesday, May 5th's edition of the Lewiston Sun Journal after the jump.

[Sun Journal]

Mayor Gilbert Awards Community Volunteer Jessica Golder as April's Mayoral VIBE Award Recipient

Community volunteer Jessica Golder was surprised this afternoon with the April 2009 Mayoral VIBE Award for being a "Champion of Beautification."  Arriving at City Hall for what she thought was a meeting, Golder found Mayor Laurent F. Gilbert, Sr., Councilor Robert Reed, Councilor Tina Bailey, and Councilor Denis Theriault waiting to surprise & congratulate her. Each month, Gilbert & Reed present a VIBE Award to a Lewiston volunteer, and Councilors Bailey and Theriault have worked closely with Golder regarding community beautification outreach.

Mayor Gilbert proceeded to present her with the April Mayoral VIBE Award, i.e., "Volunteers Inspire By Example," and noted, "Thank you for serving as a "champion of beautification" within downtown Lewiston.  Your enthusiasm, pride, and positive action are to be commended.  From utilizing a clean-up push-cart to attending Downtown Beautification Committee meetings, to talking one-on-one with neighbors, your energy and commitment to creatively educating others about the importance of "giving back" to their neighborhoods go hand-in-hand with Lewiston being an All-America City.  Indeed, individuals like yourself DO make a difference, and we are very proud of the example you set for all of us.  In addition, we also applaud your volunteer service with the Downtown Community Action Group and as a Complete Count Census 2010 representative."

In addition, Councilor Reed presented Golder with a VIBE lapel pin and a donated "lunch for two" gift card from Fran's Place of Lewiston.
Nominations for the May award are due by no later than May 8th, and the nomination form may be found online at http://www.ci.lewiston.me.us/vibe.htm. Forms are also located at service windows at Lewiston City Hall.

The Stimulus Funded $1.9 Million Dollar Russell Street Project Under Way

American Resource Recovery Act stimulus monies began flowing to Lewiston on Monday as construction got underway on the $1.9 million dollar Russell Street project which will improve traffic flow and safety along one of the city’s major corridors.

When completed, the project will greatly enhance pedestrian and vehicle safety at the Bardwell Street intersection.  The new crossing will feature a pedestrian actuated warning light system and protected area within a median to cross Russell Street.  The improvements will also include better crossings for bicyclists and pedestrians at College Street and Campus Avenue.  With the addition of improved signage, upgraded, interconnected and coordinated signals and left turn lanes at College Street, Campus Avenue and Bardwell Street, safety will be greatly improved for the increased traffic along Russell Street.

Dave Jones, Director of Public Services for the City of Lewiston, is very pleased the design of this project is sensitive to the area neighborhoods, including Bates College, and will contain significant amenities, one of which includes planting 250 trees and shrubs. 

The Russell Street Project has been a long time in the making.  It started back in 1999 as a result of comments received during a public meeting for the Main Street Overpass Project.  A study of the corridor was developed to analyze the effects of increased traffic on Russell Street, particularly as it relates to pedestrian safety, and to look at ways to minimize the impact of the Main Street Overpass on the surrounding neighborhoods, including the possibility of turning Russell Street into a boulevard.

The Russell Street Study established a Public Advisory Committee that included Planning Board members, City Councilors, Bates College representatives, and most importantly a number of local residents from adjoining neighborhoods.  After the study was completed in late 2002, the City continued to engage the neighborhoods and college to create a workable design.  Dave Jones commented, “The effort that went into coming up with a design to meet the needs of the growing traffic volumes and the neighborhoods was a difficult balancing act,  but I feel we have designed a project we can be proud of.”

David Cole, Maine Department of Transportation Commissioner stated, “The Russell Street project was an obvious choice to be one of the first to be funded with Stimulus dollars because of all the hard work that went into having it ‘shovel ready’ and the jobs it creates.”   The Maine Department of Transportation has been an active participant in the development and design and will provide the management of the project through its completion.  The Stimulus Package was passed earlier this year with support from our Congressional Representatives and is intended to create jobs and stimulate the economy.  The construction costs are estimated at $1,850,030, all of which will be covered by Federal dollars saving the City nearly $200,000, in matching funds required under the normal highway funding programs.  The expected completion date of the project is June 2010.  Funding for the initial study and preliminary design came through the Androscoggin Transportation Resource Center (ATRC), the Metropolitan Planning Organization responsible for transportation planning and programming in the Lewiston, Auburn, Lisbon and Sabattus area.  The City of Lewiston initiated the project and is a voting member of the ATRC Policy Committee. 

LYAC's Project Evolves Into "Adopt-A-Can" That Could Possibly Save Landlords Money

Art and trash disposal were the focus during the afternoon of April 24th, as members of the Lewiston Youth Advisory Council hosted a painting event of 55-gallon drums at the Lewiston Armory.  They were accompanied by Mayor Laurent F. Gilbert, Sr.; City employees, Lewiston High School (LHS) students, and LHS art instructor Jody Dube.

LYAC's goal is to have the drums located throughout the City to encourage trash disposal versus littering.  City Administrator Jim Bennett wants to take that goal even a step further and is encouraging Lewiston landlords to "Adopt-A-Can" for maintenance purposes.  As a result, Bennett notes that the City can take a look at possibly waiving the landlord's trash pick-up fee for one apartment unit.

The can painting project was the brainchild of LYAC member Tim Stretton who recently served as a beautification intern with Mayor Laurent F. Gilbert, Sr.  Stretton contacted the Lewiston Youth Advisory Council and the LHS Art Club for assistance in bringing the project to fruition. During the April 24th event, various painting designs evolved, to include themes from Lewiston's municipal departments. 

Mayor Gilbert noted, "This afternoon was a creative display of civic engagement.  All of us were focused on beautifying 55-gallon drums that will in turn hopefully encourage enhanced trash disposal and subsequent beautification within Lewiston neighborhoods."

Participants who painted Friday afternoon were LYAC members Luke Jensen, Athena Andoniades, Matt Beauparlant, Holly Lavorgna, and Mackenzi Masselli; Mayor Larry Gilbert; Lewiston Police Officer Corey Jacques; Lewiston's Information Technology Director Tim Earle and daughter Isabella; Lewiston Library Technician Jake Paris; Lewiston Public Services Department's Deputy Director Kevin Gagne, Project Engineer Jan Patterson, Engineering Tech Dennis Boudreau, and GIS Coordinator Jim Ward; Director of Recreation Maggie Chisholm; Community Relations Coordinator Dottie Perham-Whittier; Lewiston High School Art Instructor Jody Dube; and Lewiston High School students who showed up to lend a hand.  The Lewiston Fire Department had also painted two barrels earlier in the week.

Landlords interested in "Adopting-A-Can" may contact Community Relations Coordinator Dottie Perham-Whittier at 513-3121, X3205; TTY/TDD:  513-3007.

Mayor's Corner: Employee Free Choice Act Needs Passage in Congress

Twin City Times- Thursday, April 30th, 2009 & Thursday, May 7th, 2009
Mayor's Corner #85

According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) (H.R. 1409, S. 560) is pending legislation in the United States. Its text states that it would “amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish an easier system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts, and for other purposes.”  The latest version was introduced into both chambers of the U.S. Congress on March 10, 2009.

Under current law, an employee may circulate blank cards from a union and request signatures on the cards by fellow employees. Once 30% of eligible employees have signed the cards, an employer may choose to have a secret ballot election to determine if the employees will be represented by a union. What typically happens is, those circulating the cards will not come forward until they have 50% to 60% or more of the eligible employees who have signed the cards.

Even though a majority of the employees have signed the cards stating they wish to be represented by a union, the employer is the one who can demand a secret ballot election. Under current law, even if 100% of employees signed cards indicating that they wished to be represented by a union, the employer could still demand a secret ballot election.

This kicks off a 45 day period before the election is held and gives the employer time to hold group meetings with employees, have one on one meetings with employees espousing the evils of unionization.  When this happens, employees feel intimidated when they are told the place of employment may close and the employee may be out of a job. Other intimidating factors that employees have been subjected to is that in those meetings they are told that they will be paying dues, and they will have to negotiate for any benefits they may have already gained without a union contract. Some are told there may have to be layoffs, etc.  Some have been made to attend such employer mandated meetings daily until the election is held. Are these abusive tactics? They certainly are! Is there intimidation by the employees at times to get fellow employees to sign cards requesting union presentation? Sure, there has been.

The issue of intimidation is one that actually arises because of the current one-sidedness of the election process.  The employer holds the ultimate threat – that of discharge or discipline. That certainly is not a threat from fellow employees. Since the Wagner Act, which is now more officially known as the National Labor Relations Act (1935), there have been 42 cases of union misconduct in the signing of union cards.  In 2007 alone, 29,559 workers received back pay from employers in cases alleging illegal firings and other violations of their federally protected rights (NLRB’s annual report) and other years yielded similar results.  To some this is simply a cost of doing business to keep a union out.