Twenty two candidates are running for nine positions on the Newton Charter Commission. Select up to nine candidates in this unscientific poll and then make your pitch in the comments section.
[polldaddy poll=”9140950″]
POLL: Your picks for Newton Charter Commission
by Village 14 | Oct 22, 2015 | Newton | 27 comments
I was wondering when we might have one of these!
Thanks to those who chose to vote for me, and to those who haven’t: Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or we haven’t had a chance to meet yet.
I guess I’ll be sitting at home the next 18 months.
@tomsheff – take heart tom. On-line polls,are entertainment and shouldn’t be mixed up with real polls.
Thanks Jerry, I was half being sarcastic. Although, if this was the results, I would be a bit disappointed for a little bit, but I’d live.
Tom:
I think there is a preference for the folks at the top of the list. Not a scientific poll by any means….
I can’t believe that Peter Harrington is polling so low. He should be a slam dunk because of his service in Newton and past experience with Charter Review stuff.
Hi Fig,
I have my own theory.
A lot of the CC candidates are from ward 5. The top candidates on the poll are from ward 5 and it would make sense that the majority of people on this blog would also be on ward 5. So, if this is true, I’d say that I won’t do well in ward 5. If we go one step farther, The most active ward in the city is ward 5 and it has an election this year along with 2 and 8. I live in ward 8, but people don’t come to elections in ward 8, we’re one of the least active wards. People from ward 2 and 5 will definitely have an advantage. Just some thoughts.
Some people at the top of the list I could support. Most of the them will be a vote for few meaningful changes in the Charter.
As it stands I would never vote for opening the Charter. The status quo group represented by this poll result would simply consolidate its power base in the city.
Tom, I’m not surprised by the poll results, ‘same old same old’. No surprises here.
I would never vote for George Mansfield because he showed during his time as Alderman that he had no interest in talking to his constituents (which is why he was voted out.) It was widely known in our ward that it didn’t matter if you used phone or email or carrier pigeon – no one heard back from him.
I don’t want anyone on the charter commission who isn’t open to hearing what Newton’s citizens think on the issues under discussion.
very funny everyone. Gail/Greg are you two responsible for this???
Newton voters should reward those who work the hardest on their behalf. No one has worked harder for Charter reform than Tom Sheff. Tom is the perfect candidate for Charter Commission, starting with the fact there would be no Charter reform on the ballot, were it not for Tom’s work.
Not to take a thing away from the the other candidates, but Tom knows Newton as well or better than any of them. That’s not an overstatement, it’s a fact born of his many years in Newton. He’s lived his life here. Went through the school system here. Tom understands the heartbeat of the city, the process of Charter reform, and the mechanics of government.
Yes, it would be nice to have an attorney or two on the commission. It would be great to have a repeat Charter Commissioner. I also see nothing wrong with elected officials, current or prior. But to leave Tom Sheff off this Charter Commission would reward him with a slap in the face for all his hard work, and that should feel unjust to any fair minded voter.
Tom is not only qualified to be on the Charter Commission by anyone’s measure, in my opinion he’s the one person we should not dare leave off. Lawyers look at things one way. Politicians another way. It’s critically important to have a quintessential Newtonite in that mix.
Just a reminder about LWVN’s open house tomorrow from 3 – 5 p.m. at the West Suburban YMCA–an opportunity to meet the charter commission candidates. We’ve hosted two evening events these past two weeks, but there haven’t been a whole lot of voters yet…we’re hoping that people will come tomorrow (either during or after the game) to meet the candidates and ask questions that will help them decide on 9 people.
I am canceling my plans to attend the Open House at the YMCA and I’m changing my vote to No to open the charter to review. I do not have the time to waste on an exposed farce in which the outcome is already determined. Given the antics of the NTA and the candidates who were endorsed by them falling all over themselves on another thread to thank them because wooing their members and their influence means they will be elected has confirmed this to me. Per usual, the ruling elite wants the same old crowd, (Mansfield, Lerner to name two) in place doing their bidding and influencing the outcome to benefit a sliver of the population, thus leaving the average lone citizen out of the process and in the cold. The average citizens’ interests will not be best represented by politics as usual and that’s what they want. The NTA’s actions have exposed the ruling class movements and their continual injection of the politics of selfishness into it. I have seen this played out to the detriment of the average Newton Joe and Josephine time and again, in 1974, in 2002 and more times than I can count. We already have the same old status quo and do not need more of same.
Phooeey.
@Mark: There seems to be universal consensus here that the NTA process was deeply flawed.
But really? You’re going to let the actions of a union make such an important decision for you?
What if the NTA endorsed the New England Patriots as its football team of choice? Would you then decide you no longer would root for the Pats? Maybe perhaps be against football overall?
Yes, your position is that ridiculous.
BTW, one can vote “no” on opening the charter and still vote for the candidates who would only serve if the “yes” votes prevail. So you might want to head over to the YMCA tomorrow afterall. Plus that way you won’t have to subject yourself to watching the NTA’s favorite football team defeat the Jets.
Lockstep indoctrination from LWV to NTA, walks like a bureaucracy, talks like a bureaucracy, dressed as a democracy. ‘La machine’ is the secular mandate seeking professed change, risking big picture wholesale change for the sake of ‘no-brainers’ such as updated technology based structure. The ultimate say potentially in the final marketed product is at risk, the voter giving the thumbs-down will hopefully bring upon those then elected city councilors a moral conscience self initiating home-rule petition charter revision; undoubtedly sparked by an awareness of what could have been in recognition of what was not accomplished.
As one who followed closely the charter commission antics of 1970, 2016 is surpassing the benchmark for candidate double-speak and ignorance.
Mark – As I said on another thread, if I had a dollar for every time I said thank you in the last 2 months, I’d be a wealthy woman. I’m certain that every other candidate of any persuasion would be as well. It’s what you say even when someone says they’re not voting for you – thank you for your time.
Thank you, Mike
@Greg.
They didn’t influence my decision, they confirmed my suspicions based on the usual pattern of actions when these elections and events take place. The events fell true to form here yet again, in this case the NTA rounding up the usual suspects.
The analogy to the Pats is strange. Plenty of people have rooted against my beloved Patriots whom I have cheered for since the days of Babe Perrilli and no, I’m not selling my Patriots 1964 Bobblehead doll and not anything anyone ever says will change my feelings about the Patriots.
And also, the Pats are also not involved in the politics of the city and not involved in my children’s education.
@Bob-
Peter Harrington would be an extremely valuable member of the Charter Review Commission. He is uniquely qualified for many reasons. It would be a loss for Newton if voters did not recognize that.
In fact, Peter, Josh and Rhanna should be at the top of everyone’s list. After them, I hope to be one of voters’ 6 other choices.
Shake the names up and list them in a different order and see what happens.
Oh, and I feel really slighted thar Ward 5 rules all.
Marti,
On the V14 poll, my count is that 3 of the top 9 are Ward Fivers and three are Ward Six.
Terry, I was just beiñg snarky about Tom’s Ward 5 theory. That’s twice today. Gotta get that sarcasm font to work.
Marti,
I’m the only one on V-14 that can be sarcastic. (that’s sarcasm for you).
Last night I learned how these polls are rigged. In the right hand corner of your computer are 3 little lines in a block setting. Click on the lines and scroll down to “New Incognito Window”. It brings you to a new web page that allows you to start a brand new search. You then go to Village 14 and are able to vote in the poll and your results are recorded again.
When I was told about this, I tried it and it worked! Then it occurred to me that I could spend my time sitting at my computer recording my own votes or I could contact actual voters. I decided on the latter. A little chilly out there today but all in all, it was a good day.
Those 3 lines are a hamburger, just so you know.
See what I know. Thanks, Marti.