By Kim Bodnar, Jennifer Glass, Emily Haslett, Sarah Cannon Holden, Stuart Rose, Ellen Meyer Shorb, and Peter von Mertens
At the upcoming Annual Town Meeting on May 15, we have an opportunity to catch up with the times (and many of our neighboring towns!) by voting to change the name of the Board of Selectmen to the Select Board. Additionally, passing Article #24 will authorize clerical updates to ensure town bylaws and policies are gender-neutral.
When Lincoln held its first town meeting in 1754, only men could vote and five men were chosen to serve as the Board of Selectmen. Over 220 years later, in 1977, Beth Reis was the first woman elected to the board, and since then, an additional nine women have served. We believe the time has come to make sure the name of the board welcomes all residents, regardless of gender identity, to see themselves reflected in this visible role in town government
At least 93 towns have changed to the gender-neutral name “Select Board,” including our neighbors in Sudbury, Concord, Weston, Lexington, Bedford, and Wayland. In 2020, the Massachusetts Selectmen’s Association voted to become the Massachusetts Select Board Association.
Last year, we filed a citizens’ petition to change the name of the board, but it was removed from the warrant when, due to COVID-19, town meeting was limited to financial articles. As we bring the petition forward again this year, we are pleased that it is being jointly sponsored by the Board of Selectmen and our citizen’s group.
Please join us in taking this step to make town government a welcoming place for all!
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I vote a hearty ‘yes’ to this name change. And thank you for the bit of history. Question: why did we go from 5 to 3 selects?
Litttleton made the change recently, too. Back when I was a reporter covering the board, they referred to themselves as the SelectMEN, emphasis on the latter. The times, they are a changin’.