Yesterday I noticed a new account had been set up on Twitter for SangioloforNewton. So I e-mailed Newton City Councilor Amy Sangiolo and asked her is she was running for mayor.
“I am thinking about it,” Sangiolo responded.
If she runs, Sangiolo would be the third city councilor in the contest and it would perhaps open up yet another seat on the City Council. Her colleagues Scott Lennon and Ruthanne Fuller have already declared their candidacies and intentions not to seek reelection to their long held seats on the council.
Sangiolo was first elected in 1997.
This upcoming election is very important as Setti Warren plans to step down at a crossroads for Newton’s future prosperity. The big question for me is debt. How can our community sustain the ever increasing spending on the school side of the budget. Not only have we seen significant tax increases over the past 4 years; but this new year the city council doubled the annual increase with a vote to increase the tax rate from 9.5 per cent to 11.5 per cent. This is a big increase. So far I don’t see any candidate who will challenge these trends. Also, all 3 support dense housing development in village centers which I oppose. I wouldn’t vote for any of them.
@Colleen: I proudly support “denser” development in village centers where there are amenities that people/residents can walk to rather than in neighborhoods where people/residents would have to rely on cars. Historically, there were more residences above storefronts in our village centers than there exists today. Not all development is appropriate and my voting record on various land use decisions – either on special permits or in my vocal support or opposition for certain 40B developments supports my stance. For me, the benefits have to outweigh the significant impact a development project will have on any neighborhood. Not all of us will agree on where to draw that line but that’s the standard I go by.
Amy has a passion for Newton that any other candidate will find hard to match. Every interaction I’ve had with her over the years has been a positive one, and we’ve been extremely fortunate to have her on the City Council.
Clearly, whoever becomes the next Mayor of Newton will have a lot of issues on their plate. But there’s one monetary issue that I believe has gone unaddressed for far too long, and correcting it is critical to our city’s future. So I’ll make my decision on who to vote for based on their willingness to take on the non property tax paying institutions in Newton, and tell them… THE FREE RIDE IS OVER!!!
@Amy– Are you willing to do that?
@Mike: Whether I run or not, I am committed to starting that conversation with our institutions.
Amy– Thanks for your response. Even more importantly, thank you for always standing up for Newton. As you certainly know, there’s tremendous power that comes along with the mayor’s office. I hope to see someone in that office who knows how to use the power. In particular, a mayor who is tough enough to take on these institutions, in much the same way as you’ve been willing to take on developers. I hope you do run. I think you’d be a great addition to the race.
That conversation starts with one who is not an alumnus of one of those institutions. As we have seen by Democrat machine politics, the mere appearance of impropriety can be assuaged into a justifiable nonsense.
Is it true that Mayor Warren hasn’t created an action plan to get these institutions to contribute their fair share to our community? If so, why haven’t any City Councilors, at least as of late, done anything about this?
Hey folks, I believe a little bit of perspective is needed here.
While it is certainly prudent for municipalities to seek payment in lieu of taxes agreements with non-profit institutions, let’s not forget that the vast majority of these institutions provide significant economic and cultural contributions to our communities and that they’ve have a tax exempt status for a reason.
Our colleges, for example, educate futures generations (and we certainly all saw last year what happens when under-educated voters make decisions at the voting booth) and are a valuable resource and destination for the rest of us. They provide jobs, spend locally and make Newton a better place to live and do business.
Amy has been a responsive, smart, well-reasoned and dedicated member of the Board and now Council. She has the broad experience and vision to be an outstanding Mayor for Newton. Run, Amy, run!
Amy’s terrific. I hope she runs.