No Supportable Logic

There is no supportable logic behind the notion that eliminating local representation at the level of the Newton City Council is a boon to democracy. Newton is a city of diverse villages and neighborhoods; we ought to ensure the broadest possible representation of the different parts of our city. While it is true that our City Council is too large, the obvious solution is to eliminate the least-representative seats—which are the at-large seats.
If the City Charter changes, rest assured that the City Council will endure as a homogenous group of people much like the current elected representatives who support the change. It will be a defeat for broad democratic representation in our city. One cannot help but wonder whether the support of these current “leaders” is precisely for that reason.
Scott M. Cooper, Bowdoin Street, Newton Highlands  Newton Tab 8/22/17