Select Board Member Raul Fernandez On Gerald Alston Vote

Brookline Select Board Member Raul Fernandez: In a vote held during executive session, the Brookline Select Board voted 4-1 to appeal the Civil Service Commission decision in the case brought by Firefighter Gerald Alston. Despite efforts to cast this appeal as in the best interest of the Town, this ill-advised decision makes this Select Board complicit in the ongoing denial of justice to Mr. Alston, and I voted against it.

For a decade now, Mr. Alston has sought justice from a series of Select Boards who repeatedly
failed to take responsibility for the injustice done to him by the Town and have been unwilling
to take the steps necessary to make him whole. In May, I was joined by a majority of Town
Meeting Members who voted to issue an apology to Mr. Alston – a recognition by our Town’s
most representative body that previous Select Boards erred in their treatment of Mr. Alston
and failed to take seriously his legitimate concerns of a racially hostile work environment.

As I said then, “I accept the findings of the Civil Service Commission. It’s clear to me that the
Town did not take this incident seriously enough, and it’s clear to me that what came after was
a predictable result of the poor decisions made by the Town. I believe we should settle this case
in a way that attempts to make Mr. Alston as whole as possible, while implementing reforms in
our Fire and other municipal departments, and, yes, we should apologize.”

While an apology was an appropriate and important step forward, it is no substitute for justice. The Select Board should withdraw its appeal of this decision and should redouble its efforts to settle ongoing litigation. As I’ve said before, I’m not confident that the Town will win this case,and frankly, I don’t think we should. Winning this case won’t equal victory for the Town of Brookline, and it certainly won’t equal justice for Mr. Alston.

RELATED LINKS:

Brookline Select Board Votes To Appeal Gerald Alston's Case