Winthrop Council Opens Hearing on Charter Overhaul, Defers Vote to August

WINTHROP -- July 22, 2025, Winthrop Town Council opened a public hearing on charter changes that could reshape how its nine members are elected, deferring a vote until August 12. The Ordinance Review Committee, chaired by Karen Chavez after 11 public meetings between April and June, recommended replacing six precinct councilors and two at-large councilors with six at-large councilors, citing that roughly 70 percent of precinct races over the past 20 years went uncontested. Council President John Letary cautioned that under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 43B, the change would require a separate town-wide election for a nine-member charter commission, a hearing within 45 days, a commission report within 16 months, and a two-thirds council supermajority, a process he said could take "roughly a year and a half." Three other ORC proposals, a five-step office-abandonment procedure, a vice-president nomination process, and a biannual compensation review, each passed the ORC 8-0 and face council votes August 12. The council also unanimously approved a National Grid underground utility project on north Main Street tied to a new traffic signal at the Winthrop Street intersection, with work to be expedited before the August 27 school opening. Councilor compensation has not changed since January 1, 2006, when precinct members began earning $2,600 annually and at-large members $5,200.