Here’s the four candidates for mayor — Jacqueline Sequeira, Tom Sheff , Setti Warren and Ted Hess-Mahan — in just-released videos recorded by NewTV.
All four candidates will appear on the preliminary ballot on Sept. 17 with the two highest vote getters going onto the the Nov. 5 finals. The candidates will face of in their only debate of the preliminary on Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. The debate will be shown live on NewTV.org, the NewTV website and Village 14.
Setti seems to have offered some poking points for the debate. He said the city buildings now uses 100% green and renewable energy. How could that possibly be true?? We also said that capital reserve fund went from 0 to $11mm in his four years. Wasn’t that all in one day in March 2013?
Ted on the other had talked more about his perceived flaws in the Mayor than his own administrative experience. Has he have any? In addition, Ted has participated in blog discussions regularly throughout the four years but not loudly on the subjects for which he now criticises the mayor. The specific criticisms he has been loud bout were rather superfical: city website flaws, city hall pond dredging, and the fact the mayor used city hall for a movie filming w/o alerting alderman. The loudest criticism which is serious was just recent this summer w Engine 6. I don’t recall direct criticism about the Senate run, nor very loud talk about the need for overrides (just specifics on uses of funds which he later dropped).
AN EMBASSASMENT PLAIN AND SIMPLE….HIS MISDEEDS
he loves newton so very much, with months of his solemn four year oath to serve newton for 48 months, this man decided American needed his wisdom…and so he left newton, full pay, with newton assets, cell phones paid by taxpayers, car, gas, to name a few…and was carefully viewed by the voters of MA as one not even qualified for his party’s nomination….he ran back to newton for his paycheck while seeking federal appointments, his record of service in non combat is a cruel deception, he saw no combat, he never was in harms way, he never stood an armed post…..;his disgrace in Uxbridge with fema, a reflection of total lack of ability to led; his muddled out the fema, a political embarrassment to the feds; the 5 years of law school paid i assume by federal dollars, past the bars of newton but not the MA Bar; the revolving doors at the hall, spinning!; mega law suits seeking million in newton assets, sealed from you the voters; appointments of disgrace; mega child pono in progress; roads a disaster; fiscal jazz…unfunded pensions, raised the mayors salary; embarrassment at the pd; chiefs and lt’s leave/fired and you now pay lifetime benefits, not fully funded, a bike road serious of pathways that distract and attract tragedy; appointed city lawyers after a national search in his dreams; a newton centre that was configure to expire into chaos, designed by those best suited for another planet, no green at city hall except his paycheck, not a newton taxpayer …he owns not a stick of real estate in the city he raises taxes, schools not near one to ten; an outdated 300m high school, the rest falling into dust piles; route 9 traffic chaos a nightmare in progress…
there may be reasons to reelect setti warren? but they utterly defy logic, reason, good judgment and common sense…..setti warren is indeed on thing to newton usa….an public embarrassment….! unp
Can anyone explain the rhetorical tricky in this sentence: “Newton residents can be proud that 100% of our municipal energy now comes from green or renewable sources”? (Warren @ 2:15)
We can be generous and say that the renewable energy electric credits are “used” in Newton (not really, but ok they are ours…). We can also parse out schools if the word “municipal” meant the City side of gov’t. We can take out anything that moves, like police and fire vehicles, if that’s part of the trick.
So City Hall and every fire station (etc.) are heated with electric or some other source that is now defined as renewable? I can’t figure out how this is true. No gas ovens anywhere?
Warren is running on his record. I disagree with Hoss about Ted’s voice. He has been out front on this blog and the TAB blog about his opinions and explanations for his record.
On a personal level I’m extremely fond of Setti, Tom and Ted. They are all good guys who care about Newton. The one thing I can’t reconcile with Ted and Tom is how they talk about affordable housing and then dealing with the overcrowding of schools and our traffic problem. Offering alternatives to cars just isn’t going to do the trick. Newton is overcrowded with cars and students. Affordable housing only makes that problem worse. Housing only makes that problem worse. It’s time for more open space in Newton. It’s time for fiscal responsibility in the form of overrides and management. Let the current population both business and residential fund it. Don’t add. It just miserable.
Kim,
It’s time to stop beating affordable housing proponents over the head with school overcrowding. One, we know we need more affordable housing — we can build it ourselves or have developers build it for us (40B). It’s coming. Two, Newton is going to become an increasingly desirable place to live, because of proximity to Boston and T access. Millenials don’t want to live in car-centric suburbs. Three, we’re finally going to come to the collective realization that the only thing that will save our villages is more people who can walk to shop and dine.
Combine them and you create a demand for density in Newton that will result in higher school populations. So, we need to build more school capacity, preferably in the form of new schools, not modulars. If we get our heads out of the sand and acknowledge that Newton’s population will grow, we can do proper planning and build schools before it’s too late.
Kim,
Bicycling/walking aren’t the only ways I support less traffic. I support the mbta extension which will go parallel to needham st and get lots of traffic off the road. I recognize the T has financial troubles but maybe we can get some of that Obama transportation money over here in Newton/Needham (if there’s any left). I support better public transportation, namely localized buses.
As far as Housing, Sean’s right. what are you going to do about 40b projects? They are coming like it or not, but I am also in favor of allowing people to have in-law apartments and if they meet certain criteria they can be considered as part of our affordable housing stock without any damage. Maybe give some landlords incentives to meet the criteria of inlaw apartments…something along those lines.
Kim, I think you’re overall message is right in that we need to plan better.
Jordan Lewis Ring, can you try writing in complete sentences? How much longer can it take to write posts that can actually be read?
I’m torn between Setti and Ted. Setti has been a disappointment lately, and I’ve always been struck by his ambition getting in the way…