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?