Newton voters go to the polls one week from today to elect a mayor, two aldermen (or three if you live in Wards 1 or 2) and one school committee member.
Use this thread to make a pitch for your favorite candidate or candidates. And let’s all challenge ourselves to keep this thread on subject!
I’ve been away for the past two weeks, but I want to post a few words about Brian Yates. I’ve been involved with government and political campaigns for more than a half century, and I have never worked with a public figure who was more principled, dedicated to public service, or as personally and professionally credible as Brian has been during his many years of distinguished service to the City of Newton. There’s absolutely no reason to replace him in this election.
We need his quiet council now more than ever.
Brian’s my “go-to-guy” when I want an honest, thorough and thoughtful assessment of what’s going on in City Government. I don’t always like what he tells me, but I’ve learned that it’s not wise to bet against him. He’s also taken courageous stands against powerful and well connected interests on some serious and emotionally charged matters that include over development in residential areas and a range of issues involving the protection of open spaces and historic sites. I, and many others in Newton, greatly admire him for these principled stands.
Brian embodies everything that is good about Newton is all that he does here. You can’t build a strong house upward without the solid kind of foundation that Brian has tirelessly laid over the years. Brian puts the lie to the old stereotype that public officials with long service somehow lack vision to address future needs. In fact, his public service has given him a very unique vision into many of the City’s most pressing needs.
I hope you have all had the chance to read the genuinely warm letters that have been sent to the Tab and elsewhere on Brian’s behalf from people he has helped, and from many of his peers on the Board of Aldermen. These are strong testimonials from people who know Brian best and they cross the political spectrum.
One thing that really caught my eye was what Alderman Swiston had to say on another Blog. “He (Brian) knows our zoning code and can see our zone map the way a chess master knows a chess game and sees the chess board”. It’s true that Brian gained this expertise through hard work and attention to detail, but it didn’t evolve in a vacuum. The central focus of Brian’s public work in Newton has been his service on the Board of Aldermen and he’s never sought anything more than to do the best job he possibly can as a member. In fact, the central focus of Brian’s life has been this City, so it’s not just his understanding of zoning codes and regulations. His dedication and hard work have also given him the feel and substance of so many other issues affecting the City.
That is what you call an endorsement.
No half measures for Bob
Nowhere in that does Bob say how he will vote though! 😉
Indeed, well-written and passionate. I wonder if we can hear from those who know the other candidates (or the candidates themselves)
YES for Yates
I take great pleasure in writing in strong support of Brian Yates, and I urge you to give him your vote.
As a scientist and physician I usually have little time to devote to politics. I like to devote my spare time to community efforts where I live. I have limited patience for the financial wizardry and ideological purity with which most politicians attempt to lay claim to our votes. It is my grass roots community orientation that accounts for my sincere support for Brian.
He has, of course, been very good for the city at large, as the comments by others and the debates attest. But he is not just an alderman-at-large. He’s our Ward 5 alderman, and his activities on behalf of our community testify to an interest in us as ordinary citizens that transcends his political responsibilities. His time-consuming VOLUNTEER efforts include, but are not limited to:
Founding The Friends of Hemlock Gorge in the 1980′s when state funding for parks in Ward 5 and elsewhere throughout the Commonwealth plummeted (www.hemlockgorge.org)
Securing funding to rescue the Stone Building in Hemlock Gorge Reservation from decay and to restore and re-roof it (the effort that initially drew me to community work)
Leading the effort to publish Upper Falls historian Ken Newcomb’s book Makers of the Mold online, getting it recognized by the City of Newton, and then helping to get it published in print.
Leading the successful effort to rebuild the Echo Platform under Echo Bridge, which a new generation of Newtonians can enjoy.
Spearheading efforts to create memorials in the park for Newton benefactors Ken Newcomb and Hank Lysaght.
Personally spearheading legislative efforts to secure funding to protect the Hemlocks in the reservation from the hemlock woolly adelgid.
Securing the re-opening of Echo Bridge to pedestrians after safety issues led to its closure to park visitors.
Leading a complex effort in 1995-1997 to have the city of Newton complete a long delayed parking lot for Hemlock Gorge visitors on Ellis Street. This effort was then recognized by a Newton Beautification Award
Leading efforts to create a public-private parthership that has led to the installation of new windows in the Stone Building.
Leading Newton conservation efforts that were recognized by an award from The Green Decade Coalition.
Organizing and participating in dozens of Hemlock Gorge Cleanups, monthly meetings, and Summer Picnics
Directing efforts to include Charles River Parkland on Quinobequin Road in Waban in our conservation efforts and cleanups
Reaching out to the Waban Improvement Society to coordinate efforts with the Friends
Documentation of all of these efforts can be found at http://www.hemlockgorge.org.
Brian has, of course, also been and should continue to be, a terrific alderman for all of Newton. For his efforts on behalf of the city, see his Aldermanic website (www.AldermanBrianYates.org).
But I especially admire aldermen who PROVE in ways apart from speeches, testimony, financial machinations, and procedural votes that they really are committed to the community and the people they represent. In brief, Brian has been such an alderman for many years and continues to be such an alderman in 2013. Both Ward 5 and the City will be very well served by Brian’s re-election on November 5