 Amherst residents, select board members, town manager Backelman, Judge Collins, current, former, and future elected officials, and all of our town councilors elect. Welcome to this historic occasion. My name is Nancy Eddy, and I've lived in Amherst for almost 60 years. I hope to be here another 20, but we'll see. My own engagement in town affairs dates back to the days of, see how many people remember, Toby Dakin, and Alan Tory. I've served on numerous town committees as a town meeting member and as chair of the Board of Selectmen back when it was select men. And I've observed Amherst through a different lens as the first president of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, and as chair of the Governor's Local Government Advisory Committee. I come here today with a long and deep affection for the town and for its commitment to an inclusive and effective government. So today we come here to celebrate the swearing in of our first ever Amherst town council. And as I look over the audience today, I see a number of great friends and committed residents. So many of you have served on boards and committees. You've spent countless hours preparing for town meeting or working on committees. You've played an active role as an engaged member of our Amherst community. You played a part in Amherst's past. You have informed and have guided its future. Today is a day that we honor our past and we celebrate our coming together as we forge our future. You're all here today as witness to the beginning of Amherst's new form of government. However, we can't forget that we've recently gone through a time of intense debate over the size, scope and form of our local government. In some instances we may not have seen eye to eye with our neighbors. We may have had some disagreements and some heated debates. But let us look today as a new beginning and a celebration of what's next. As voters, we have put our faith in 13 elected officials to continue to make our town one of the best places to live in America. Before we move on to the program, we wanna recognize a few guests who have joined us for today's celebration. Stand as I call your name, but please hold your applause until all are standing. First, our deeply admired and respected past members of our federal and state delegation who worked so hard and effectively for Amherst. Congressman John Oliver, stand. Hold your applause, please. He does look like he's retired, doesn't he? Former state Senate president Stan Rosenberg, former state representative Ellen Story, our current state representative Solomon Goldstein Rose and our members elect of the Massachusetts legislature, Senator elect Joe Comiford, representative elect Mindy Dohm. We also have here representatives of our institutions of higher education, UMass Amherst Chancellor, Cumbley Subiswami and Hampshire College President Miriam Nelson. Amherst College President Biddy Martin wanted to be here. She sends her regrets she was unable to make it. So thank you all for being here this afternoon. You're important guests of honor today. Are the 13 people who we have elected to lead our community for the next three years. Each brings with them a unique set of values and life experiences that will set the path for the town in the coming years and well into the future. I'd like to introduce each of them by name. Ask you to stand and remain standing. But please hold your applause, even though I know you all want to applaud all of them until all are standing. Counselors at large, Alyssa Brewer, Mandy Jo Hanneke and Andrew Steinberg, District One Counselor, Counselor Kathy Sheaing and Sarah Swartz, District Two Counselors Patricia DeAngelis and Lynn Gressimer, District Three Counselors Dorothy Pam and George Ryan, District Four Counselors Evan Ross and Steve Schreiber and District Five Counselor Shalini Balmin and Darcy Dumont, thank you. And at this time I'd like to welcome Reverend Vicki Kemper. Vicki is the pastor of the First Congregational Church in Amherst. In colonial New England, the Europeans believed a town could not be formed until the community could support parish. And the founding of Amherst was no different. The First Congregational Church was that parish and it is fitting that Reverend Kemper can today represent the many communities of faith in Amherst, Reverend Kemper. Good afternoon and greetings one and all. It is my honor to be with you today, not only as a representative of Amherst clergy and various faith communities, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and more, but also as a reminder of Amherst's past, a symbol of the present and a hopeful nudge to the future we will all build together. You see, back in the days of the Bay State Colony, long before there was a commonwealth of Massachusetts, long before there was a town of Amherst, there was no such thing as church and state separation. In fact, so strong was the connection that an area had to have a church before it could incorporate as a town. You might say that the First Congregational Church, now informally known as First Church Amherst, paved the way for the town of Amherst. Our church was founded in 1739. It would be another 20 years before the town of Amherst came along. Then, many years passed, for much of that time we lived together but didn't have much to do with one another. The separation was clear and strong as it should be, but also somewhat isolating. Recently, that began to change. Our church and town officials worked together to make it possible for Lucio Perez to take sanctuary at First Church Amherst. The church took the lead and we continue to shepherd this undertaking that has brought together hundreds, if not thousands, of all kinds of people throughout our community. But the town stands shoulder to shoulder with us and we could not be more grateful. I stand before you today as a symbol of what is possible when people of different backgrounds, with different functions, belief systems, and goals work together. It is not always easy, but it makes all of us stronger. It makes all of us better. It creates a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. It makes possible what was previously unimaginable. It lays the groundwork for a new and brighter future. With today's historic swearing in of Amherst's first ever town council, we stand at the threshold of another transformational moment. You, our elected town counselors, have both the opportunity and the responsibility to unite us and to lead us all together into an exciting future. We stand with you shoulder to shoulder. We will work with you even as we hold you to your promises to work with us. May the force of love and justice and peace bless you and Amherst and all the world. Thank you. Thank you, Reverend Kemper, for reminding us of the need to work together, all of us together. Amherst public schools are well known for their arts programs. In fact, you can't spell Amherst without ART. From music enrichment and singing in our elementary schools to a top notch performing and visual arts program at the high school, we're proud of our wonderful young talent. My own children and two of my grandchildren have been enthusiastic participants in school music and performing arts groups. And it's wonderful this afternoon. We have a chance to hear from one group of rather boisterous voices from Crocker Farm. This talented group of fifth and sixth graders will sing Cece Puathe and champion under the direction of music teacher Eleanor Lincoln. Join me in welcoming the Crocker Farm Elementary School singing group. That sentiment with Cece Puathe, it can be done. This thing open and never shut. Not only to have dedicated teachers who foster this talent, but to look at these kids and know they are the future of Amherst. It's now my pleasure to introduce the chair of the Amherst Select Board, Douglas Slaughter. Doug came to Amherst in 1989 to do graduate work in chemical engineering at UMass. His involvement in town government began with his election to town meeting in March of 2003. He served on multiple committees, including the finance committee and the select board, which he currently chairs. Doug. Thank you, Ms. Satter. Thank all of you for coming this afternoon. Whenever I've been at meetings or events around the state and people ask me where I'm from, my response of Amherst always elizards, I love Amherst. What a lovely community. But what makes a community? It's not the streets or sidewalks, not the trees or park benches, not the playgrounds or buildings. It's the people. People who make and tend to those physical features and places and the things that it offers. When we arrive in a community, we often assess it based on what we see and what it has to offer. But these are just manifestations of the collective efforts and ideals of the people. Our government is we the people. Our decisions are ours collectively. Because our government is made up of people, it is inherently flawed by the limitations of our human condition. Just as we individually cannot be perfect, our government cannot either. Understanding our limitations should inspire us to strive for the better and affirm our commitment and responsibility to each other. We come together today to recognize a substantial change in how we work together to create the community that we want. And most importantly, to celebrate the people past and present that have and continue to strive toward our ensuring our town and its governing institutions reflect the spirit of our community and its common values. Democratic government at the local level requires a tremendous amount of work and dedication by members of the community. At this time, I'd like all the people who have ever served on a town board, committee, working group or task force to rise if able and be recognized for your contribution to the town. Please rise. But we're not done. At this time, I'd like all the people who have ever served in town meeting as town moderator and the select board to rise and be recognized for your contributions to the town. I think my mother was the only one that didn't stand at that. Our deepest gratitude to all of you and those who cannot be with us for your dedication and service to this community. Your work has built the great town we live in today. To my colleagues of the final select board, Mr. Waldo, Ms. Krueger, Mr. Steinberger, Ms. Brewer, I want to extend my thanks and appreciation. It has been an honor to serve with you. Through your diligence and dedication, we have been a select board committed to getting the town's business done. I believe I speak for all of us when I say it has been a privilege to be part of that longstanding tradition. A new legislative bond aid needs a new tool to signal its authority and traditions. As such, a new gavel is being crafted from the wood of the beloved maple that graced Mount Pollock until earlier this year. The wood is currently being seasoned so that when the gavel is made, it will remain strong and whole throughout the many years of use. As my last act as chair of the select board, I convey the care and control of the Amherstown Meeting Gavel to the council and will present it to your newly elected president at tomorrow night's inaugural meeting for use and safekeeping until your new gavel is ready. Congratulations to all of you on your election and good luck to all of you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Doug. That's the first I heard about the new town gavel and I love it. I still, I miss that tree on Mount Pollock so it's a very special thing for everyone. I'm now happy to introduce our town manager, Paul Backelman. Paul has been our town manager since 2016. Hampshire College graduate, you'll be glad to hear. Has been at the helm. He's been, he's impressed us with his steady leadership amidst a time of rather intense political change. He's been lauded for his fiscal management, his relationship with the select board for long range planning staff and personnel relations and relations with the community, volunteer committees, boards, commissions and our institutions of higher learning. Let's welcome Amherstown manager, Paul Backelman. Thank you, Nancy, for that kind introduction. This is a historic occasion. When I spelt, check this, Microsoft Word, caught that and said, don't use it. It said, try important event because it catches cliches but I think we, this is historic because we only do this once a century so I think we're on fair ground saying that. So I wanna first thank all the people who helped put today together because a tremendous amount of work was brought together by staff, community members, elected officials and residents and thought and energy and sensitivity to make this a real Amherst centric event. Almost everybody except one person who involved with this lives in Amherst as part of our Amherst community but that one person is part of our Amherst community really. From the very beginning we kept saying we wanted to honor the past and celebrate the future and that's what we've tried to do throughout today. Honoring the past which as Doug talked about the select board in the town meeting and celebrating the future which is our town council. And one other thing the committee did which I appreciate is they put me in front of Carrington Dow on the program which once you hear Carrington, I didn't wanna follow him. So sorry, Karen, you have to. I also do wanna echo a little bit what Doug said. I wanna thank the current members of the select board who have been staunch stewards of the town before and during the change of government. It's a really high caliber group and they work really well together. They argue, they fight but they always come to a rational conclusion that's in the best interests of the town. The Amherst has been fortunate to have your steady leadership throughout this time and especially during that difficult period of loss just over three years ago. We owe you a deep debt of gratitude and please join me in giving the outgoing select board a round of applause. When I first came to Amherst's town manager just over two years ago, one of the things that drew me was knowing that the department has were tops in their fields. My two years here has only reinforced that perception and has deepened it because I discovered that our employees up and down the line are uniformly excellent. When you have great staff, it means that leadership can focus on taking things to the next level. We all know our first responders, Fire Police and DPW are out there every day making sure we're safe in responding to emergencies and our teachers who are part of an incredible community of educators are just outstanding guiding our children to realize their full potential which we saw here tonight. Today, as we change our form of government, I want to especially recognize the dedication and professionalism of our entire town, library and school staff. These are the folks who keep the finances straight, provide creative programming in the libraries and the schools and offer a zillion recreational opportunities. I'm really, really proud to be part of this truly remarkable team. Let me relate one quick story. As we were looking to reconfigure the town room to accommodate the new town council, I was about to seek bids for design and the renovation work. However, our employees came to me and asked if they themselves could take on this project. They wanted to be part of this change. So our staff, carpenters, maintenance workers, electricians from various departments, facilities, inspectional services, DPW and IT all came together to design and build the new town room. They worked nights and weekends in addition to their normal duties. We can't wait to unveil the new space they've built for you tomorrow night. I was there this morning and there's someone from IT working on some of the IT stuff this morning. This is just one example of how the town staff worked so hard for the town every day. I'm just really, again, proud to be part of this team. Now I ask my colleagues, many are here volunteering their time today to make today come off really well. And any staff from town, schools and libraries to stand and be recognized if you're in the audience. Appreciate it. In closing, it's my distinct honor to work with you, our new council. As we work shoulder to shoulder with you as we develop this new form of government, we are really building a government from scratch. It's quite a project we've taken on. There's enormous potential. We're sure to hit a few pitfalls, but this town is resilient. It's been around for 250 years and it's undergone many changes. We're going to be fine. And we're going to be fine mostly because of the people sitting on this stage and the people in the audience. So many people stood up. You're all going to stay involved in town government. We're going to get there. So as you take the reins of policy leadership, I want you to take confidence in and really feel buoyed up by the strong infrastructure that is already in place by our departments. This grounding, this strong foundation gives you freedom to focus on the important work of bringing people together to envision and build an even better future. As staff, we stand ready to work with you and for you on this worthy endeavor. Thank you. Now the person who Paul did not want to follow. Carrington Dow. And we do look to the future throughout this ceremony and I think this is an important feature for everything, for what we're thinking of. Carrington Dow moved to Amherst from Georgia in 2011. He's a senior at Amherst High School and he was a member of the swim, soccer, track and cross-country teams. He volunteered with the Marx Meadow After School program and worked with elementary students in the after school and summer camp program. In 2017, he was a member of the Minority Student Achievement Network and is currently the co-president of the People of Collar United and a member of the Restorative Justice Leadership Program at the Amherst Regional High School. I don't think every high school has such a program but I'm glad to live in a town where we do. Carrington was one of the keynote speakers and a workshop presenter for the district's workshop on diversity and equity. He enjoys acting and has performed in such productions as Before You Become Improbable at the Emily Dickinson Museum as also as I Am Not Batman and Scooby-Doo. Promises not to talk about Scooby-Doo, Carrington. Hi, good afternoon. My name is Carrington Dow and I am currently a senior at the Amherst Regional High School. I moved to Amherst from Atlanta after the passing of my grandmother in 2011. The move to Amherst was a hard one, especially having to become adjusted to a completely different place called Trent Community. My mom was encouraged to move to Amherst because of its educational opportunities and social justice agenda. The move was actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be. My educational journey started in the fifth grade at Welderd Elementary. I found that both students and teachers made me feel very welcome, which made the transition much easier than I imagined. I have enjoyed living in Amherst because that's provided me with many opportunities to develop social advocacy and leadership skills under the support and guidance of my mom and such teachers and mentors as Ms. Custard, Ms. Hager, Ms. McRaven, and Ms. Aquino in being a part of such programs as the Minority Student Achievement Network, such as MSN, People of the United Poku, and their sort of youth justice leader program at the high school. I would also like to acknowledge Mr. Bechtel who has supported and encouraged me in my acting endeavors and other educators like Mr. Yaffe, Ms. Elder. Ms. Grimacki, Ms. Larshivak, Mr. Jackson, Ms. Fleming, and Mr. Thompson, and many other educators whom I have not mentioned. Being a part of these programs and being supported by these educators was instrumental in making me work harder and realize the possibilities that exist. Being involved afforded me the opportunity in my junior to attend the National Ampsen Conference in Ohio and traveling to Washington, DC with Poku to visit the White House, which they refused our entry because I think they heard we were from Amherst and the National Museum of Black History. It has been a meaningful experience being involved because of the discussions that it has sparked about academic achievement, disparity, racism, advocacy, and the need to speak up and become active in finding solutions to problems that we face in our community today. Facing challenges and finding solutions is why we're here today and it was not an easy road getting there. But despite some tension and differences in opinions, the community came together and voted to make a change. Regardless of those differences in opinions, the point of view is the one thing that is constant is that everyone wants the best for the Amherst community. This newly formed town council is a catalyst for possibilities and an opportunity to bring unity and reassurance to our community. At the end of the day, this newly elected government is encouraged to listen to and engage with us, the people. This is not about individuals. This is about Amherst and its people, making sure that all people feel that their voices are heard. Although there will always be disagreements or opposing viewpoints, the important thing to recognize and acknowledge is that people have different visions. But ultimately, they want the same result, the very best for Amherst. So with that in mind, we'll move forward because it is our solemn duty to dedicate our efforts toward continuing to make Amherst better so that we can pass this sacred mantle on to the future generations. What are any regrets? Knowing we did our absolute best to lay a foundation for a brighter future. And lastly, I just want to share with you a quote from President Barack Obama's speech writer, Cody Keenan, who said, I know that idealism can be hard. To be an idealist, to open yourself up to the possibilities of what we can do together. It's never an easy thing. So thank you and good luck to everyone on this journey because Amherst is depending on us all. And if he's the future of Amherst, we're gonna be in good shape. You know, we've tried to get almost every element of Amherst and the town that we all love involved in this program. I did notice that we missed the ultimate Frisbee team. However, we didn't miss the arts in Amherst. Amherst has a long and rich literary tradition. We're known for the genius of Emily Dickinson and as a home of Robert Frost for a while. The scores of important poets, novelists and writers have made and continue to make Amherst home. We have three local museums dedicated to the literary arts. Emily Dickinson Museum, the Eric Carl Museum of Picture Book Art and the Yiddish Book Center. This afternoon as we celebrate Amherst, it is apt that we call upon one of our poets to read an original work about the town. Karen Skollfield's book, Battle Dress, won the Barnard Women Poets Prize and will be published in 2019. She is an Amherst resident and has received numerous awards. She's also a US Army veteran and teaches writing to engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she earned her MFA. Ms. Skollfield. When I was asked to write an original poem for this event, something about Amherst and Unity, I panicked. But I have been trained well enough to know that what I should do is go ask my local librarians. And Cindy Harbison of the Special Collections Room at Jones suggested that perhaps I could go back in history and write something about the 1888 blizzard and fire that burned down Palmer Block upon the space which is now the Amherst town hall. So the title of this is Excellent Judgment and the Best of Pluck which was taken from the newspaper accounts of how Amherst reacted to the fire and the blizzard and the way the town pulled together. The storm started warm, Amherst residents agreed and there were crocuses. The crocuses are not a metaphor unless you wish them to be. A blizzard's coming and you know it because that's how history works. A fire on its heels and you know that too. It's hard not reading more into everything. We have a new town council and that word new gets us every time. Stick with the history you say as the crocuses won't stay uncovered. March 1888, snow fell so quickly some children stayed at school. Some tried for home and had to leave the sleigh. Another grabbed his yearlings tail and trusted in the horse. Neighbors took in the wandering. The newspaper reported the tales briefly and without awe. A strong man, no name given, rescued Reverend Fisher in the whiteout. Another spotted a hat and dug out a little girl still alive. Drifts to 20 feet. When the fire started in town, no one could reach the perfect sea of flame. Mrs. Hall and daughter not knowing for hours if Mr. Hall and the younger daughter lived. And you will think this also is a metaphor, the separation of one half from the other and yet no deaths in all of Amherst though the ash and snow conspired. And you will think this whole thing a setup, the conflation of a new town governance, a blizzard of adult proportions, the grand and terrible blaze. Things held next to each other beg for comparisons. I tell you, the people of Amherst watched for each other and everyone lived. Doors opened, the stranded were fed. Volunteers shouldered the fire hoses and fought through drifts, teams clearing the way. Town and gown did excellent work, reported the Amherst record. The blizzard remembered not because our town was buried but because we stood together, dug our way out, rebuilt what once had burned. Thank you. That's a hard act to follow. I think we are all going to appreciate reading it again when it's printed. Thank you, Karen. We've recognized many elements of the town even though as I said, we did skip ultimate frisbee. But a community is more than it's elected and appointed officials. What makes a community and what makes Amhersts are the dozens, hundreds of community organizations that dedicate their volunteer time to making Amherst a better place to live. Today, the League of Women Voters is here helping to make the event a success. They're working alongside students from high school and town staff volunteers who all want to be part of this historic event, as Paul mentioned. Whether they are teaching a newcomer English, helping a child with their studies after school, providing sustenance to those who are homeless, preserving open land, providing environmental education, offering educational and support services for our veterans who deserve our respect and honor, providing a place for veterans to share stories and care for each other at the VFW and the American Legion. Local businesses organizing landmark community events downtown and sponsoring youth athletic teams, there are dozens of those groups represented here to lay. And we want to thank you all for your commitment to the town of Amherst and our residents and we look forward to your continued success in the future. As Paul mentioned, this event has been totally Amherst-centric, every speaker and every performer is an Amherst resident, a clear recognition of the talent living in our community. And I'm especially pleased to introduce our featured keynote speaker, who has a pretty incredible background that he has brought with him to Amherst. Matthew Charity is the chair of the Amherst Human Rights Commission. He's a professor of law at Western New England College, University, sorry, where he teaches public international law courses and does research in the areas of atrocity crimes, governmental responsibility, and human rights. His bachelor's degree is from Princeton. His law degree is from Columbia. And while at Columbia, Matthew was a member of the Human Rights Law Review. He worked with the Human Rights Watch in Ethiopia and at the office of the secretariat of the United Nations. Please welcome our keynote speaker, Professor Matthew Charity. Good afternoon, everyone. I was hoping more to have something along the lines of I'm nobody, who are you. But I will take that introduction. They represent you. They represent you. These are the words I saw in a document from the League of Women Voters shortly after my family moved to Amherst in 2006. On it were listed the phone numbers and addresses of the offices of our federal and state representatives, town manager and finance committee chair, and the name, address, and phone numbers for the members of town meeting. There's a bit of magic in representation, a person or a group appearing for another person or another group and saying, I'm giving voice to someone else. They're present here, through me. It was more than a year before I asked another parent on the sidelines of kindergarten rec soccer, what's going on with your town meeting? Why am I reading about a new sister city agreement when the pothole around the corner is growing into an ineluctable abyss? Now in the moments I have today, I hope to talk for a few minutes about town meeting process and votes, and like the city known as the town of Amherst, a transition to town council votes and process, or hopes as to what that might look like. In conversations with town meeting members, I found stewards of our budget, individuals seeking to make our bylaws work for Amherst residents today, and an empathetic group of people who hoped we could define ourselves as much by what we share with others as by what we develop for ourselves as a community. When my own schedule freed up a bit as my children got older, I thought it both an honor and privilege to run for town meeting, but also an obligation I had as a resident of Amherst to share my opinions and when necessary to cast a vote. I learned that I did not need to watch the finance committee review of warrant articles on Amherst media or attend the select board's review of draft warrant articles or 10 meetings of the commission's boards and committees that proposed articles, though I sometimes did all of those things. I needed to go to town meeting prepared to listen to committees, explain their reasoning, to take advantage of experts attending town meeting who had questions about the committee's conclusions or assumptions, to hear from town meeting members whose experience with similar proposals suggested we ought to proceed with caution, and even to hear from those members who questioned the perceived ease of reaching consensus on committees or the select board, which I knew was never going to have been easy. The process was not perfect, but it allowed members to be receptive to information on issues from zoning and financing of capital projects to recognition of historical sites, oppositions to pipelines, and the recognition that we are a community of residents, businesses, educators, and engaged people, some of whom were born in Amherst and others who have traveled around the globe to participate in our town's heritage and its innovations. While on town meeting, I was excited to engage with and think about our heritage, the history that draws people to Amherst and how that intersects with our vision of Amherst today. I know some of our new town counselors and have heard from you that you had a similar experience. You joined town meeting, some of you many years ago, and served on town committees or boards as a way to serve our community and make things in Amherst a bit better. For those town counselors I don't yet know, I imagine you may have similar histories and hopes for the future of Amherst. And this is important because you represent us. Now this council was created by a series of votes, a vote approving, a charter commission, votes electing members to that commission, votes by members of that commission to bring a charter to the Amherst community and a vote by the Amherst community to approve that charter. There were also votes that indirectly brought about our town council, close vote on school reconfiguration, approving it in the town, a close vote, another slim majority, approving borrowing for that project in town meeting, but not the two-third supermajority necessary to take on debt for a capital project of that nature. And the votes for town meeting itself. Some areas of town felt they could not fill their 24 representative slots, leading to a sense that almost anyone could walk off the street and cast a vote in town meeting. In other areas of town, people with jobs, families, and other commitments stepped up to run for office and found that they lacked name recognition or lawn signs or promises that might incentivize their neighbors to vote for them. Some people felt that as much as they loved Amherst, their voices could not and would not be heard in a room of 250 people who did not share their experiences. Now the town meeting coordinating committee and its subcommittees sought ideas to make things work better, child care subsidies, meeting times that minimize work conflicts, proposals to reach out to parts of our community that were not adequately represented, but the feeling remained. Now the charter promises something new. 13 members who, again, now represent us as the town meeting and as the select board did, open meeting laws so that all deliberation will be public, a community engagement officer who will make sure that a diversity of candidates run for at large and precinct seats, different ages, homeowner status, race, ethnicity, language ability. And for our committees and our commissions, the council will speak for Amherst, but will continue to bring expertise and experience to our committees and to our commissions that will inform the work of the council and our town administration. Most importantly, before our town council suggests a bylaw change or a resolution on climate change or a vote on changes to zoning, our town council will decide on how to engage with our community. As the inaugural council, you will set precedent for Amherst for years to come. You are supported by neighbors, by family and friends, endorsed by organizations, and perhaps suggested projects you might support or an approach you would have regarding growth or sustainability. Now you represent us, all of us, and have the opportunity to make sure all of our voices are heard, that we are all present through you. I hope you'll take advantage of this opportunity and that we will all be proud of our government for many years to come. Thank you and congratulations. Thank you, Matt. I know we're finally at the point that you all came for. I want to introduce Judge Jim Collins, who will be swearing in the elected, 13 elected town councilors. I'd ask him to come forward. Judge Collins is yet another person who has served the town in many capacities. He was one of our state representatives to the great and general court. My memory goes back to when he was there. He's a graduate of the University of Massachusetts with a law degree from Suffolk University. Judge Collins was named the first justice of the Franklin Hampshire juvenile court in 2001. And he will now administer the oath of office to our new town council, Judge Collins. Thank you, Nancy. Distinguished guests, Eleanor Roosevelt, who serviced to humanity, still lights our path to a world of justice and human rights. She once observed that the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their ideas. And their dreams. Today, our dream founded on the bedrock of 259 years of service, sacrifice, and wisdom by Amherst town meetings, and select boards, and volunteer citizens, is to advance the cause of decent, effective, and inclusive government in our town. Counselors elect, all here assembled. Optimistically, enthusiastically, and confidently wish you well. Would all counselors elect, please stand as I call your name in the order of your districts. Sarah Swartz and Kathy Shane. I'm not going to ask you to withhold applause. I work in the juvenile court, therefore I know my limitations. Lynn Griezmer and Patricia D'Angeles. Dorothy Pam and George Ryan. Evan Ross and Stephen Schreiber. Shalani Balmille and Darcy Dumont. And at large, Mandy Jo Hanneke. Alisa Brewer and Andrew Steinberg. Counselors elect, would you raise your right hands to make the following affirmation. Do you swear or affirm to faithfully and impartially perform all duties incumbent upon you by your election as town counselor for the town of Amherst. Citizens of Amherst, it is my honor to introduce to you our town of Amherst, first, democratically elected town council. Congratulations. Congratulations. I have the very distinct privilege to be the first person to address you as a town council. You were elected as individuals, but today you stand together and will govern as a body. I should note that the town government requires a period of public comment at each of your meetings. While your job is to govern and promulgate law, you have a special duty to listen to the people of the town of Amherst. And since we all know that only the H is silent in Amherst, I promise we will criticize you. We will call you sometimes at inconvenient times. We will email you frequently and regularly, but be assured that we will praise you from time to time. We have put our faith in you to consider carefully the needs of all of Amherst residents and to perform to the best of your abilities. We pledge to stand by you and to support you in your best efforts. Your work begins right away. Tomorrow night will be the very first meeting of the new town council, and if you want to go on room and hall, tomorrow night is the first meeting of the town council. They will meet at eight o'clock in the town room of town hall. They will elect its leaders, and each council will have time to make comments. So we're at the end of the ceremony this afternoon. All of you here today have witnessed an important moment in Amherst town's history, and I've been honored to share that with you today. As someone who got my own start in town meeting, as a town meeting member, I also, as did Matt Charity, give a final shout out to town meeting. It's successes and it's setbacks. It gave a lot of people, provided a lot of people with an opportunity to govern the town, to make sure that we were meeting our challenges, but as the town manager said, we're in great hands, we're gonna be fine. You're invited to share in this celebration. There's a reception in the town, in the school cafeteria, which is back out that way, and we hope that you will join our new counselors and your fellow residents for some treats provided by a number of Amherst businesses. And now to bring us to an end, Toran Moore. Toran is a vocalist and performer whose voice has been part of the Pioneer Valley soundtrack for nearly three decades. He sung with jazz great Sheila Jordan, performed solo in a number of area bands and venues, such as the Iron Horse and the Mullen Center at UMass. And here to perform the appropriate song, Stand By Me. Welcome, Toran Moore. Hello, hopefully you can hear me. Okay, I'm gonna take a little creative license. I'm gonna be doing this acapella. I'm gonna sing of the first few verses, and then when I get to the chorus, I'm gonna invite everyone to Stand By and with all of us. Okay, so here we go. When the night has come and the land is dark and the moon is the only light we'll see, light we'll see. I won't cry, I won't cry. No, I just as long as you stand, stand by me. So Amherst, won't you stand by me? Won't you stand the sky that we look upon? Should stumble, should crumble to the sea. Just as long as you stand, stand by me one more time. So Amherst.