During his eight years in office, Mayor Setti Warren has rarely endorsed local candidates. And, I’ve been looking, but I don’t think he has endorsed in anyone in this fall’s contests so far…at least until this just came in from Gail Spector’s campaign for School Committee. ..
Mayor Setti Warren endorses Gail Spector for School Committee
In endorsing Gail Spector in her race for School Committee from Ward 8, Newton Mayor Setti Warren said,
“I’m proud to endorse Gail Spector for School Committee from Ward 8. Her experience as a journalist covering the Newton schools and her commitment to this city will make Gail a terrific addition to the School Committee.”
Spector, a 33-year Newton resident, said, “I am so proud to have the endorsement of Mayor Setti Warren. Because the mayor has sat as the ninth member of the School Committee for the last eight years, he understands what qualities and experience are needed to work collaboratively on the committee. I’m honored by his confidence in me.”
Spector is the mother of two Newton-educated children and a journalist who covered Newton for nearly two decades. She is a former editor of the Newton TAB.
Spector is running for the Ward 8 at-large seat. All of Newton can vote for her on Nov. 7.
Congratulation to Gail. That’s a big endorsement and huge vote of confidence from the Mayor. This thread gave me reason to check out the Spector campaign website again. I was heartened to see Gail’s acknowledgement of the student stress issue. This is the quote from her website…
“Emotional well-being – More than three quarters of Newton’s high school students describe their lives as either “somewhat stressful or very stressful.” More than half of middle school students say the same. I’ll encourage and prioritize funding programs that help our children develop skills to reduce and/or manage stress.”
Like Gail, I think it would be wonderful to teach our kids better coping skills to “reduce and/or manage stress.” No one will argue that point. But I think what Gail is missing–and the point most other SC candidates generally miss as well, is that the school system itself is in large part responsible for this epidemic of stressed out teens we’ve been experiencing the last 15-20 years. Until we have SC members who understand and are willing to address the serious health implications of sleep deprivation resulting from early morning start times, our own school system will remain the biggest cause of student stress.
This is a great call by Setti Warren. Gail and I haven’t always agreed with positions she has taken as our longtime TAB editor and V14 blogger, but I expect that she’ll make an excellent School Committee member.
We have all watched her: She looks at issues objectively, works hard to find accurate information, expresses her positions directly, defends her work, holds other accountable for their work, and readily admits when she’s wrong. These are rare attributes and ones that are particularly well suited to the board function played by the School Committee.
I’m looking forward to serving with her and expect that she will keep me and the rest of our colleagues on our toes!
I remember the role that the TAB (Gail and Greg) played in bringing down David Cohen and creating a path for Setti Warren to run for office. I also recall many snarky exchanges on this blog.
People change and ideas matter. But if our national politics teaches us anything we need civility and collegiality from our local elected officials.
This is the “white elephant” in the room about Gail’s candidacy. She’ll need to address this to earn my vote.
@Concerned Newton Voter: I don’t speak for Gail (and my name isn’t on the ballot this fall) but I see no reason for anyone to apologize for the microscope the TAB (under Gail’s leadership as the TAB’s editor in those days) focused on the Cohen administration and every other elected and appointed official.
Was the friction between City Hall and the TAB intense? You bet it was! But there were significant issues in those days — years of neglect of our infrastructure; vindictive treatment of our fire fighters to the point where they were using antiquated equipment and housed in stations that were an embarrassment; an out of control process for building a new school, belittling of her reporters (really watch this whole video), among others — that merited strong, reporting and editorializing.
If anything, I see the exact qualities Gail exhibited as editor — fearlessness when it comes to asking tough questions and loyalty only to the public — as great reasons to want Gail Spector sitting on our school committee.
Could an endorsement by former Mayor Cohen be next???
@Tom: Mayor Cohen already endorsed. http://matt4schools.com/endorsements-2/
I’m disappointed but with all due respect to Gail, and I do have a ton of respect for her, Matthew is the clear choice in this race and I expect he’ll win.
Gail is extremely well suited to serve on the School Committee. She spent years reading school budgets and asking hard questions as a journalist. We don’t want School Committee members who merely act as a cheerleader for the system rather than pushing for continuous improvement. As terrific as our schools are of course there is always room for improvement, but it takes people willing to ask the right questions – politely and respectfully of course, but not settling for less than the best we can be. (Not having Full Day Kindergarten is a sign of not being the best we can be.) We also need people willing to negotiate fair but sustainable personnel contracts – we do not want to go back to the days of 5-6% increases in the school budget, which led to teacher and staff downsizing and skyrocketing class sizes. I know Gail also shares my passion for environmental sustainability & leadership and believe she will be a terrific partner to green up our schools’ operations. As a mom of three kids in the elementary, middle and high schools I am casting my vote for Gail because I trust her to be an independent thinker and voice for our students.
Collectively, Steve and Emily have expressed why I fully support Gail Spector for School Committee. I will add that as an Alderman/Councilor for 16 years I have worked with 8 different School Committees and have gleaned the characteristics of a successful member of this small, 9 member “sand box”. Gail’s journalistic background is not a novelty but the root of why she will be bring a unique perspective that will make her highly effective. Her intellect, judgement, and patience will make her a a game changer for the process and our children.
……and as the ninth member of the School Committee for the past 8 years, Mayor Warren’s endorsement of Gail Spector speaks volumes to his faith and confidence in her potential success!
And this is why this thumbs up/thumbs down is meaningless. A concerned citizen who posts first talking about student stress gets a huge number of thumbs-down I guess because the supporters of Gail’s opponent really like stress in young people, whereas an anonymous sock puppet for the opposition throws up some baloney and gets a huge number of thumbs-up.
Between this and being able to post nonsense anonymously, it makes it hard to take it seriously.
So I won’t. This has helped shaped my vote.
Mark: That is a brilliant observation.
Matthew Miller has been busting his ass on his campaign all year and I think that speaks volumes about his passion for NPS. With all due respect to Gail, I really want to see Matthew Miller on the school committee.
I’m not trying to win a popularity contest on V-14. I just state my opinion on any topic in a straightforward way, and could care less whether people agree or disagree. But it is rather strange that some of the comments on this thread have received a very unusual number of thumbs up/down. Clearly the thumbs are being manipulated by individual campaigns on political threads. I continue to feel the thumbs up/down voting system diminishes the dialogue here on V-14, and I personally would like to see them eliminated.
I have the same concerns about the up and down votes. I noticed immediately the extremely large number of down votes for Mike’s post about student stress. It’s unseemly.
While I support Matthew Miller, I am also concerned about student stress, including high school start times.
Can’t forget this from Gail:
http://www.wickedlocal.com/x189903577/Newton-TAB-Endorsements-for-School-Committee-Yeo-Krintzman-and-Siegel
I’m not convinced that the heavy voting is overly stacked by one group. When I was asked to put up a sign for Gail I shared the exact thoughts/concerns voiced above in the anonymous post. It’s a real issue. As the campaign progresses I look forward to learning more about both candidates.
I’m sorry Concerned Newton Voter suffers such terrible PTSD from TAB coverage more than seven years ago. Coverage, mind you, that asked the tough questions and held the dishonorable Mayor Cohen responsible for tanking the city. If Cohen was such a great mayor, he would still be mayor with or without Gail Spector as TAB editor. In fact, he’d be mayor – a better mayor – because he was able to survive the tough questions and the high standards held by the TAB. But there were 40 million reasons he wasn’t able to.
Not every question has to be labeled #FakeNews just because you like big red hats and your feelings are hurt, CNV.
Mayor Warren pulled the city back from the brink and turned it around. I support him and his vote for Gail.
If you don’t like the thumbs, don’t pay attention to them. On political threads it’s just the campaign workers trying to boost their candidate. With no other real measuring tool, that’s what they use, as they pretend to be power brokers. Who cares? Just because they want to play with buttons, don’t let it push yours.
While Gail brings the unique perspective of being a hard hitting journalist, Matt Miller brings the unique perspective of being a parent with three young kids in the city’s schools. He has a real window on what’s happening. He is bright, creative, and energetic. He has one goal only: to make our schools the best they can be. No political baggage or axes to grind. He has been busting his butt for more than a year to get to know the issues and the people, and he has impressed me with his pure will to serve. Move forward by voting for Matt Miller.
I enthusiastically endorse Matt and I look for him to be an incredible member of the school committee. I can’t wait to see what this school system will turn into during his tenure!! If he puts in as much energy at being a sc member as he did in his campaign, good things will happen for him and the city!!!
@Concerned Newton Voter: I’m proud of the work the TAB did to hold all Newton elected officials accountable. I would have preferred to maintain amicable relationships with everyone but my job as editor of the TAB was not to make friends, it was to determine and analyze the facts and relay that information to the community. Things definitely became heated at times but I have no regrets about standing up for the community’s needs. I not only stand by my record, I hold it up as proof that I will be an independent, diligent and effective School Committee member.
Agree with @Mike Striar on the up, and particularly the down voting. Early on it was interesting ,and down-voting sometimes provided some constructive feedback on an argument, but now its just noise. No idea if many people are a little mad or one person is really really mad.
Years ago I recall V14 cracking down on sock-puppeting. This is just emoji sock-puppeting.
@Greg — Leaving this “feature” in place in an election season is irresponsible in the fake news era. Leave the up voting if you must, but can the down voting.
I wonder why the Mayor has chosen just Gail as the only candidate to endorse?
I’m glad that Greg posted the video of Mayor Cohen’s reaction to Leslie Friday at his weekly press conference.
It reassures me that – with Cohen’s endorsement – even if Matt Miller is half as condescending and in my view, sexist, as Cohen was in the video, our school system is going to be great! Boy, I’m pumped to have that type of leadership on the school committee for my young daughter to look up to!
Gail has the endorsement of a well-respected mayor who exhibited great leadership in troubled times. Matt has the endorsement of someone who crumbled under the weight of an enormous project the city couldn’t possibly afford, a poor contract that he negotiated with the firefighters, and a $25,000 (if I recall correctly) golden parachute he tried to sneak himself before he cut and ran.
Fair or not, judge those by the company they keep. I choose Gail Spector.
@The Ghost of Graneet
Putting the name of someone who supports you on your website is hardly the same as keeping company with that person.
I don’t know if Matthew knows the ex mayor, or whether he personally knows and keeps company with any of the other present/past city officials who endorse him like,
State Representative, Kay Khan
Ward 8 City Councilor and Council Vice President, Cheryl Lipof Lappin
Ward 2 City Councilor-At-Large, Susan Albright
Ward 3 City Councilor, Barbara Brousal
Ward 5 City Councilor-At-Large, Deborah Crossley
Ward 4 City Councilor, Jay Harney
Ward 8 City Councilor-At-Large, David Kalis
Ward 3 City Councilor-At-Large, Ted Hess-Mahan
Ward 1 City Councilor, Councilor Alison Leary
Ward 4 City Councilor-At-Large, Amy Mah Sangiolo
Former Ward 2 Alderman-At-Large, Marcia Johnson
Former Ward 7 Alderman-At-Large, Sydra Scnipper
Ward 4 School Committee Member, Diana Fisher Gomberg
Ward 3 School Committee Member, Angela Pitter
Ward 8 School Committee Member, Margie Ross Decter
Former School Committee Member, Susie Heyman
Former School Committee Member, Reenie Lynch Murphy
Former School Committee Member, Dottie Reichard
Former School Committee Member, Susan Rosenbaum
Former School Committee Member, Claire Sokoloff
Former School Committee Member, Jonathan Yeo
Charter Commission Member, Bryan Barash, Newton Charter Commission
Charter Commission Member, Reverend Howard Haywood
Charter Commission Member & Former School Committee Member, Anne Larner
Charter Commission Member, Chris Steele
Newton Upper Falls Area Council, Marie Jackson
Newton Highlands Area Council, Bob Burke
Newton Upper Falls Area Council, Julie Irish; and
Former Newton Highlands Area Council, Robert Solomon
I don’t know their reasons for endorsing him, but I do know what Matthew has done for Newton kids in these past years -as PTO leader and through Destination Imagination – and how much energy and enthusiasm he brings to the task.
So no – not fair, because you are judging him on an assumption.