As his now infamous TAB ad reminded us this week — candidate for mayor Scott Lennon is the “only candidate who has lived in Newton for [his] entire life” adding “the values of this city were a part of me before I ever thought of public life.”
His opponent Ruthanne Fuller, grew up in Michigan although she’s been in Newton since the mid-90s and lived in Brookline before that.
Coincidentally, a similar dynamic occurred eight years ago when Setti Warren first ran for mayor. He was born here, went to school here and still lives in the house where he grew up. His opponent, State Rep. Ruth Balser, a long time legislator and former Newton alderman, was born in Queens, NY.
According to their Wikipedia pages both Mayors David Cohen and Ted Mann were born in Boston.
Does growing up in a city make a person better qualified to serve as its chief executive than someone who was raised elsewhere? Is it a factor that’s important to your choice on Nov. 7?
Given that NYC’s shown a penchant in the last couple of decades for mayors born in Massachusetts, I think turn-around is only fair.
There are pluses and minuses to having grown up in the same city where you’re running for office. I think people benefit from having spent some time elsewhere, even if it’s just for college. The person who grew up here knows the city inside out in the way a newcomer can’t, but the person who grew up elsewhere has a basis for comparison and potentially wider knowledge base.
Either way, it’s not like Fuller’s a newcomer after having lived here a couple of decades and actively contributed to the city.
No. It is a small piece of a very large puzzle. Perfectly fine to point it out as a selling point. But since I’m only on my second decade here and I feel really involved in Newton’s future, why couldn’t someone else feel the same.
Passion, intellect, temperment, knowledge. And a willingness to stay in the job and not run for something shinier. That’s what I want.
To be frank, both candidates give me that. I’m trying to remind myself of that bigger picture.
Some of the most qualified candidates this year have shorter tenures than their opponents. Most weren’t born here, including the candidates of color and LGBT candidates running in Newton elections this year.
It shouldn’t matter one way or the other.
Much more important where they were educated.
Where someone grew up is not important to me. I think there are benefits and drawbacks to having lived in the same place ones entire life. But a decade or more is no small amount of time to have been somewhere and I think we should recognize that people can feel deeply dedicated and committed to a place that is home for them even if it wasn’t the home of their youth. I’ve only been in Newton for 7 years, but I love this city and feel very invested in its future. I just don’t think having always lived in a place needs to be either a selling point or a detractor.
Corey,
What a lovely sentiment: “I’ve only been in Newton for 7 years, but I love this city and feel very invested in its future.”
Where Scott or Ruthanne grew up really doesn’t matter to me. If someone grew up in Newton but never demonstrated an interest and blood/sweat and tears to give back to the community, it wouldn’t mean anything to me that she/her grew up in Newton.
In the case of Scott what is important to me in this context is that he has dedicated himself to Newton and it’s residents since he was a 25 year old, providing leadership to the boys and girls club. He has done so at personal sacrifice because he still needs to support his family and worked full time. His work on the council was above and beyond and it is a labor of love. His wife Wendy has graciously shared her husband with Newton and they are a two income family to make that work as are so many parents in Newton. And his commitment to Newton public schools is unassailable as his daughter is six year old attends a Newton school. I’m sure being two working parents with a six year old is a challenged that many parents in Newton can related to. They are fortunate that they have parents and grandparents is a support but it is still a challenge
In regards to Ruthanne, given that she has lived here 25 years and has given back to the community in a number of ways, through volunteerism and serving on the CC demonstrates a commit to Newton. But I can’t see that she really had to sacrifice much to do that. I’d like to think that if I was a millionaire, I too would want to find ways to contribute to my community. She could have been a lady who lunches and shops but instead she sought out ways that she could give back and contribute. I commend that. But I can’t look past that she didn’t take advantage of Newton Public schools. We all pay a boatload of taxes to support those schools and they are touted as being the primary reason parents want to live in Newton. I hear people say that this was her right and choice and of course it was. But the unintended consequence (as I and sure she wasn’t envisioning running for mayor and having to explain that choice at that time) but it raise a big red flag and has me questioning if she can really related to working families in Newton who don’t have the options that her wealth provided.
The more relevant question is who has demonstrated a greater commitment and investment in Newton and to me that is Scott .
Can a mover or a non-mover better represent City residents and serve their interests better?
What percent of residents are like Scott? What percent are like Ruthanne? What percents are between and even more extreme than either?
Old data that is squarely on-topic is from Pew Research (http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2008/12/17/who-moves-who-stays-put-wheres-home/) , putting an average of 37% of people call the city/town where they were raised to be be “home”. The number in cities is lower. The number in the Northeast is lower. etc.
The Federal Government similarly publishes statistics (e.g., https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-47.html) putting the mover rate at 12% per year.
So, broad brush, Scott is actually the outlier and is not representative of Newton past, present or future.
@Claire
How does personal sacrifice make one’s public service superior?
@Patricia Loewy? Is that a serious question.?Ruthanne supporters have exhausted me this week. Could one of the 7 people who supported my comment weigh in?
No, it doesn’t matter to me, but I understand why it was/is a campaign talking point with both Setti and Scott. I think it’s to show that their heart is in Newton and to connect with voters. It wouldn’t be something I’d take into consideration when voting for someone, but it’s just more of a “fun fact” about them.
Greg, both former Newton Mayors Concannon and Cohen are graduates of Newton North as is Setti Warren. I think it’s great that Scott Lennon is totally invested in Newton and continually gives back to his community. It’s certainly a consideration when voting for a candidate.
I’m more interested in someone’s education and decision making skills as opposed to where someone grew up. They both have analytical minds and would be a huge asset for the city.
Of course it matters. It shapes the person, their values and their understanding of people. As I’ve said before, Mayors spend their day making decisions about people’s lives, largely outside of the policy spectrum. This includes the unglamorous side of life that includes death in the family, medical crises, losing jobs, threat of foreclosure, homelessness, getting their utilities turned off. Or the mere threat of these things. It’s real. Here in Newton. You just don’t hear about it. I think that a Mayor needs to understand everyone’s walk of life.
Also, from my perspective, it’s a lot easier to understand the upper spectrum, largely because the American ethos calls for us spending our time and energy trying to get and stay there. Understanding low income life means having lived it, and the limited array of options that goes with it.
Scott Lennon gets this.
Bill:
My personal take (broadening this from our two candidates) is that you don’t have to walked in someone’s shoes to appeciate their journey.
I think what I look for personally is empathy. Experience matters of course, but mostly in my view because it can lead to empathy and understanding. There are many paths to get there.
I think it’s very important . Let’s look at what happened when Mayor Cohen decided to go outside the city to bring in a Police Chief from nyc . I believe everyone can state that was a complete and utter failure!! Not saying that Ruthanne is just coming in now, what I am saying is the years living , working and investing your time in Newton has shaped a persons decision making . Also may I note that one of Ruthanne’s policies is that she will look tomgo outside the city for future public safety chiefs. Why? Have we not learned from the past? If it’s to try to bring in a better balance as she told a Nnhs student this week , what’s her problem with the current city employees who have spent there careers protecting the citizens of newton ? Just because you have spent years studying numbers and policies does not make you qualified to make decisions that effect people daily. We are not theory’s or balance sheets . If you lived in the city and have given the time scott has , he knows that the decisions a mayor makes may effect an employees or residents family because he has taken the time to know those people personally . Beyond a computer program
I am a California transplant to the East Coast and have always regarded Newton as “very California-like”. It is open to new people and new ideas regardless of origin. When my wife and I first arrived in Newton (via upstate New York) 30 some years ago, we were approached by a neighbor who was part of a neighborhood “welcoming committee”. After this visit, we agreed this was where we were going to raise a family – “people are so nice”. Thus, I am still in disbelief and disheartened that Scott Lennon believes one of his top attributes for mayor is that he was born and grew up in Newton. Meanwhile, upon meeting him in person, he is very welcoming and kind. He is a contrast – “closed minded” about who should lead Newton and “open minded” when it comes to Newton values. I wish Scott had never run his ad in Tab and expressed his true feelings about “we outsiders”. How do other outsiders feel?
@ Thomas H. Friedman
That I should never run for Mayor lol.
I’ve been in Newton for about 4.5 years. The US – compared to where my husband and I grew up – is a very transient place, and I was surprised that “lifelong resident” was even brought up in a race as a selling point.