At this point, most candidates for office have taken a position on the Charter. Below is a list of which candidates in contested elections are on which side of this debate:
YES
Scott Lennon
Ruthanne Fuller
Alison Leary
Nicole Castillo
Susan Albright
Jake Auchincloss
Andrea Kelley
Allison Sharma
Deb Crossley
Andreae Downs
Brenda Noel
Bridget Ray-Canada
Eileen Sandberg
Anping Shen
Matthew Miller
NO
Maria Scibelli Greenberg
Franco Cedrone
Jay Ciccone
Janet Sterman
Braden Houston
Jim Cote
Julia Malakie
Chris Markiewicz
Brian Yates
Dick Blazar
UNDECLARED
Kathy Marchi
Margaret Albright
Cyrus Vaghar
Gail Spector
I find it pretty interesting that for all the talk about diversity, the YES list is unquestionably more diverse than the NO list, including every candidate of color and LGBT candidate running this year.
YES candidates are 73% female. NO candidates 30% female.
Anecdotal? Maybe. But I think it’s quite telling.
I don’t understand the fascination with who is a “yes” and who is “no.” The League debates ask the question over and over again–even though it has nothing to do with individual elections. If there ever were a ballot vote where citizens should follow their own judgment, this is it.
I saw Bryan’s post after I posted, so I will add a related observation. A few months ago, I compared home values for Ward- and at-Large elected officials. The at-Large group lives in homes that are almost twice as expensive. This is consistent with the story that at-Large races deter less wealthy candidates.
@Jeffrey Pontiff: I’m with you – I’ve been surprised that the city council candidates’ Yes/No stance has been such a topic of discussion and has been raised in every debate. The voters, and not the city council, will decide on the charter on November 7. I think the vast majority of folks know that, but some seem to be intent on conflating the issues.
Many of the folks supporting me are ‘No’ on Charter and many are ‘Yes’ on Charter. Similarly, many of my supporters are supporting Scott for mayor and many are supporting Ruthanne. I see all of the crossover as a healthy indication of how folks are looking at each race independently.
@Allison: You nailed it!
Why not a full list? Just because a cc isn’t contested, I still want to know where they stand
Thank you for posting this, I consider it important information when making decisions this year.
This is the hyper politicization that has now entered Newton. We live in our bubbles, and where you shop, what you read and what you wear also determine if you are in my bubble. #end_rant
I just hope my children grow up as independent thinkers and independent voters and not march to someone’s drumbeat.
Is undecided really the accurate category for that final list of four? Or is it, “have not taken a public position”? They’re all school committee candidates (including one incumbent) who may have decided taking a public stand was irrelevant to the job they’re seeking.
@Greg: you’re absolutely right. Have a suggestion for a better word I could substitute?
@Jeffrey I’m scratching my head about your comment on “ward” vs. “at large” races and whose house is valued at what. I live in “welcoming Waban” but my house is on a busy street, is just a center-entrance colonial, not some fancy mansion. Who are you comparing here? I’ll bet dollars to donuts that John Rice’s house on a quiet street backing up to the aqueduct is more valuable.
Yes, thank you Allison and Jeffrey. My supporters are also a mix of Yes & No on the New Charter. Most voters evaluate each of the candidates running for City Council on multiple issues not just the Charter.
@Bryan Barash if it were 73% male in the yes vote column, would you still call it diverse. Lots of ways to be diverse: I’d say that “yessers” are predominantly alt-left, not diverse. The whole diversity concept has NOTHING to do with the merits of the proposal.
Who cares where the candidates stand with the charter? It has no bearing on their qualifications to be on the city council.
I see good arguments on both sides with regard to the Charter proposal, and they will vote on this particular issue as Newton citizens, just like everybody else.
Andreae Downs. Don’t scratch your head. I used actual addresses and collected assessed values from the Newton Tax Assessor. If I could not find a valuation from the Tax Assessor, I used Zillow values.
Do you want to see the data? If you (or anyone) care about high school start times and want to be put on the NewtonHighSchool.com email list, email me your full name and email address to [email protected]. As an added bonus, I will send you the excel spreadsheet that compares ward-elected versus at-large home values!
@Jeffrey Pontiff
NewtonHighSchool.com? That domain is for sale. I do care very much about later high school start times and would like to know more about this email list. I know this is off-topic for this thread, but can you elaborate?
Patricia. Sorry. I typed too quickly. NewtonHighSchools.com If you go down about 6 or 7 blogs, we have posted candidate answers to questions about late high school start times. (I apologize to everyone for being a little sneaky).
@Bryan Barash What I find interesting is that *you* keep talking about diversity. You didn’t understand the intent of what the ‘No’ campaign posted and you keep trying to make something of it. Nothing telling here other than you being obnoxious.
@Jeffrey Pontiff I agree – I think there is a significant economic divide between the wards that does play out politically.
RE: YES/NO… Is relevant only for those who are divisive… for those who see the political landscape as us vs them… for those who feel they are a part of some progressive movement where all things political fall under one of only two possible umbrellas.
Despite the fact that many friends who I am typically aligned with politically and respect are ‘YES’ votes – With the Charter vote, there are many roads that can lead one to a yes – or a no.
I do keep talking about diversity. I think it’s an important thing to talk about. One of my #1 considerations in voting for this system is having a system that encourages diversity or at least doesn’t discourage it.
If you want to hear more, check out these articles by Howard Heywood (http://yesnewtoncharter.org/at-large-elections-promote-diversity/) and Nadine Cohen (http://yesnewtoncharter.org/support-the-changes-in-the-charter/).
I second Claire’s question on candidates in uncontested races. Voters would probably be interested to know what their representatives think about this before voting. Could you add whatever information you have?