As Setti Warren enters his final days as our mayor (read his exit interview with Andy Levin here and Levin’s take is here) how do you think you will look back at his past two terms a year from now? Did his live up or surpass your expectations from when he was first elected? What were his best moments and achievements and where did he fall short?
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I will remember his u-turn on the Waban fire station homeless shelter. Being for/against is fine, but to say one thing and then doing the complete opposite stinks.
The good: He’s been very present in the community. He is at every event and takes the time to chat with residents. Things like Festival of the Arts and the picnics at the park have been excellent additions to our community.
The bad: The Waban fire station switcheroo, the increased parking ban fine happening on his watch, and what I felt was a mishandling of the lead in the water.
I’d give Mayor Warren a B-. I think he restored a level of professionalism to City operations, but really lacked vision, and at times crafted policy to fit his political ambitions. The city was fairly well served during his eight years, but he could have done so much more.
The horrible condition of our streets.
In 2017, of all Newton residents who donated to Gubernatorial candidates, nearly 70% of his very own constituency donated to someone other than Setti Warren. That math does not speak well to his performance as Mayor. Other than raising taxes to pay for select improvements and taking too much credit for the strong performance of Maureen Lemieux, I’ll remember Mayor Warren as someone who sold himself to be something that he simply wasn’t nor had any ability to be. From my perspective, it’s too bad because, as Mike Striar points out, we could have done so much more over the past eight years.
The city is the worse for wear given his pro development ( developer !) stance through out his tenure. Little effort was exerted to preserve naturally affordable housing ( zoning constraints, moritorium acceptance, demolition delay extension, historic preservation, helpful Historical Commission appointments …).
There was no real effort / program to plant/ preserve the “Garden Cities ” public tree canopy . 150 new saplings replacing an annual loss of 700 should be considered an embarrassment. There are 310 miles of city streets and that number computes at one tree every 2 miles , and that’s only on one side of a street.
The encouragement of the accessory apartment program again comes with the unintended consequence of the beautiful firesescapes and the loss of green space for the additional automobiles that cause yards to be paved over , (not to mention the added traffic introduced to our roadways).
As the NVA recognized 4 years ago at its formation, “Density is the Problem “, and this administration was derelict in recognizing same and protecting the real estate investment that the cities tax paying constituents might expect and should have been guaranteed .
I became a supporter of Setti Warren when he first run for Mayor. Prior to endorsing, I listened carefully to what he said he would do, and more importantly, how he would do it. His list generally revolved around foremost, cleaning up the City’s finances, then raising the level of professionalism in City Hall management and operations, investing in the City’s infrastructure, restoring asset management and maintenance, and finally, raising the level of discourse in the community. Maybe I read other information sources than some of the posters here, but from my view, he has done all that and then some. The North HS funding was addressed, an override and debt exclusions passed, new elementary school buildings and fire stations constructed, parks restored, bond rating improved, operations became more efficient and responsive, and the City achieved a far more respectful and constructive relationship with its employees.
Like any Mayor, he had to deal with some unforeseen crises, which he navigated. Like any mortal, he made some mistakes, but recovered and more importantly, learned from his experience. Inevitably, he did not meet the specific preferences of some individuals, who viewed their issue of choice from their particular perspective. That is to be expected. But by and large, he generally did everything he said he would: He worked through the factions, brought people together, measured, prioritized, and got the City working from the same page.
The fact is that the Mayor hands a well-managed City, in excellent financial shape, to his successor. Consider that his successor (and her opponent) largely ran on platforms of building on what he has accomplished, rather than calling for a new direction. That speaks volumes. I think that any fair-minded person would conclude he did a solid job, and considering the effort/reward ratio of this job, I am grateful for his tenure.
When Mayor Warren ran for office in 2009, his platform included repairing and rebuilding the firehouses in terrible condition and elementary schools that did not provide for a 21st-century education. In the past 8 years, four firehouses have had comprehensive renovations including updated equipment and two schools have been completed, one is being rebuilt, the preschool is now at Aquinas and out of the most deplorable space in the city, and L-E students will move to Aquinas in the near future. In addition, Day MS has an additional 6 classrooms and a number of modular classrooms have been put in place to deal with an enrollment increase that no one had planned for.
These were nagging problems that undermined the quality of the school system and the safety of all residents.
I think to me he is a mayor who was solid, who cleaned up a mess (both in City Hall and in our buildings (fire houses/elementary schools). But I also think his ambition killed his chances to be a great mayor. His biggest mistake was running for Senate the first time around. After that, no one thought he’d be around long term. This just wasn’t the job he wanted long term and it showed.
It allowed his opponents to accuse him of playing politics, even when I believed he was making the right choice. And he did seem to shy away from the tough decisions in favor of the political solutions (i.e. Engine 6).
He cut himself off at the knees and wondered why he seemed so small.
That doesn’t make him a bad mayor. It makes him an ambitious politican. I always thought he cared about this city, and he was very approachable to the general public. But I prefer a mayor to whom this job is the job he or she wants longterm. It changes his or her worldview. The job is less a stepping stone and more a home.
@Bill: You only acknowledge part of Setti Warren’s candidacy for Mayor. He also strongly emphasized that he would lead the greatest municipal team there ever was, that he would fix the roads, that he would harness the talent of Newton to solve issues specific to our community, that he would hold accountable local non-profits by collecting more in PILOT fees, that he would increase and expand both diversity and inclusion, and more. I’ve acknowledged that Maureen Lemieux did a good job getting Newton’s fiscal house in order. (What exactly was Mayor Warren’s role in that process, anyway?)
Since Mayor Warren took office:
Childhood poverty has increased more than 77%. To my mind, nothing substantive has been done. Despite being eligible, we don’t even have a Summer Food Service Program. Furthermore, despite being one of the wealthiest municipalities in the United States, we didn’t even create and implement a funded paid summer jobs program for our most vulnerable youth. With good leadership, I’d bet Boston College and other institutions would have gladly been part of this.
Opioid related deaths have increased at a significantly higher percentage than almost any other similarly situated municipality. Mayor Warren is on record saying that he understood how serious and deadly this problem was back in 2013, yet it took him until 2016 to create PATH, which is a questionable program in and of itself. Moreover, how long did it take Mayor Warren to acquire narcan for our first responders? I disagree with your claim that he’s fostered a “far more respectful and constructive relationship with its employees.”
Roads have deteriorated to the point that roughly 40% are in critical condition.
Economic inequality has grown as the middle class has been forced out of Newton. Despite having tools at his disposal to make a difference, what has been done over the past eight years? Under Mayor Warren’s leadership, the overnight parking ban penalty was increased a reprehensible 400% and school fees were also increased at a reprehensible rate.
Irreparable damage has been done in the fight to destigmatize mental illness and homelessness because of Mayor Warren’s alleged discriminatory actions re: Engine Six. My own mom would have been someone who would have benefited from that project. It would have changed her life. Since the lawsuit settlement, how much progress has the City made under Mayor Warren in this respect?
Insufficient work has been done to reach out to our seniors and disadvantaged residents. How many times has Mayor Warren or his team worked with the Newton Housing Authority toward that end? DataStat numbers paint a terrible picture. Specifically, in regard to Senior Services: Number of rides provided by destination – Goal = 1600; Result = 0. Total Outreach efforts – Goal = 1; Result = 0. Programs held outside the Senior Center: Number of attendees – Goal = 25; Result = 0.
Twice Mayor Warren told us that he would not pursue his personal political ambition for higher office. He’ll in fact spend more than an entire year doing so, which I would argue at minimum violates the spirit of Newton’s Charter.
Mayor Warren has done some things well, as is and should be expected. He also deserves our thanks for serving. But from my perspective, on balance, he didn’t do what he said he would do, and he’s not painting an honest picture on the Gubernatorial campaign trail.
These really bugged me.
Setti’s statements about being proactive when he was actually being reactive. Cases in point: lead in water fountains, stress and anxiety in schools.
His purported “focus on income equality in the city.”
He never had the water tested for lead in public housing even though he was repeatedly asked to do so.
His summer programs for youth provided no transportation.
He never pushed for summer lunch programs for kids who qualified for free school lunches even as NWH subsidizes several in Waltham.
He was never vocal about the arbitrary parking ban being an income inequality ban. The fine for parking cars on the streets between November and April rose from $5 to $25. Many cars were ticketed on beautiful, non snowy nights. That’s focusing on the wrong side of bridging the income inequality gap in Newton.
I’m with fig. He was a very good mayor overall, whose ambition prevented him from accomplishing more. Newton residents are not casual observers; they have very high expectations for their officials, more so than in most communities. Many of the most pressing issues facing the city can’t really be solved within any mayor’s tenure – if at all – but of course they put themselves forward as indefatigable, dynamic problem solvers who can make anything happen. Setti was no exception. When, inevitably, they fail in doing so, everyone becomes cynical, disappointed, I told you so, etc., making it harder for their successors (consider yourself warned, Mayor Fuller). It doesn’t detract from the many good things he did, but people always want more. Setti compounded this situation by running for the Senate almost immediately; and obviously he was running for governor before he stood down. Ambition is not always a bad thing, but it made it hard for him to do anything without a political angle factoring in. I think many Newton residents would have preferred he be more like Ted Mann, but he’s obviously not wired that way. And BTW, if he fails in his gubernatorial bid – and I think he will – it will not be because of his mayoral record. Rather, it will be due to the fact that he won’t have provided a compelling basis to beat a very popular governor.
It’s important to remember how divided and divisive Newton was when Setti Warren first contemplated his very long shot campaign mayor and where we are now. He brought professionalism, fiscal accountability and technology to City Hall. He addressed infrastructure challenges that were being ignored.
I was glad to read that he sees Engine 6 as one of the thing he would have done differently. I agree that running for U.S. Senate so early was a lapse in judgement. I also think it took Warren a while to become an effective manager and delegator. (Part of me thinks he didn’t fully begin empowering his employees until he started focusing more on running for governor.) And I wish he acted sooner advocating for workforce housing and transportation initiatives.
In my personal interactions with Mayor Warren, he was always very supportive of the businesses, particularly his focus on the innovation economy. I was always grateful for his support and enthusiasm for the chamber’s initiatives.
Being an effective mayor — or even governor — isn’t just about budgets, buildings and roads, it’s about being there in times of crisis. He took on anti-Semitism, he took on racism, he took on homophobia. We all stood there and wept together at vigils after the Sweet Tomatoes crash, after Orlando, after Charleston, after the Boston Marathon bombings, after Newtown.
I’m excited about the next chapter in Newton’s history. It’s fascinated to watch what happens to Setti Warren too and grateful for his leadership over the past eight years.
People forget the fiscal mess we were in in 2009. We had a structural deficit that was sucking the life out of the city, school facilities that undermined the quality of the school system, a burgeoning school enrollment that the comprehensive plan did not address, and an infrastructure problem that had been exacerbated by a policy of “deferred maintenance”. Newton educators had been screaming into the wind about the poor quality of the 15 elementary and two of the middle schools for 20 years.
In 2005, a city councilor of note told me that the “elementary schools can wait” while we spent $300 million on the 2 high schools. All the while, the building department stated that 5 elementary schools had boilers that could die at any moment and the “plan” was to replace them when they did. The most recent enrollment reports indicate the trend is that families move to Newton with 3 and 4 year olds and you can bet these parents have an eye on the quality of elementary education. If our facilities don’t compare with neighboring communities, then the NPS falters. People here may not think this is a big deal, but this administration ended this line of thinking and the education of all students has been viewed as equally valuable.
Comparable communities, more accurately described as communities we’d like to compare ourselves to, pass overrides to fund their municipal and educational needs on a regular basis. In the 32 years since Prop 2 1/2 passed, Wellesley has passed 24 overrides, Needham 14, Lexington somewhere about 20, and the list goes on. In that same period of time, Newton has passed 2 and soundly defeated 2 others, yet wants to have the same level of services and facilities as these other communities. C’mon folks. Do you really think that a new mayor is going to be able to get done all that you want to see happen without additional revenue? That’s just magical thinking.
As an aside: as for what has happened for kids in the summer, I can vouch for the increase in programs for low income students in the last 8 years. There’s excellent communication between the city and NPS and individual schools to provide for summer programs and experiences for students in need. More city and school employees have gone above and beyond to make sure as many kids as possible have productive summer experiences than you can possibly know. It’s considered a very high priority. Student confidentiality may prevent you from knowing all that’s done in this area, but to say that there hasn’t been significant work done and progress is simply inaccurate.
As for the parking ban (which I oppose), I’ve come to find out that many people adversely affected by it, support it and fought the efforts of two councilors to have a pilot program that the administration supported.
@Jane: You write “As an aside: as for what has happened for kids in the summer, I can vouch for the increase in programs for low income students in the last 8 years.” Aside from the summer internship program, which reaches less than 1% of kids in need, please name these programs created by Mayor Warren that you speak of.
Mayor Warren had an uphill battle when he entered office particularly concerning Newton’s fiscal shape and its infrastructure. With help from Maureen Lemieux, the Blue Ribbon Commission and the CAG, the Warren administration is leaving Newton in good fiscal condition. Schools have been and are continuing to be replaced, slowly roads are being repaved and sidewalks are being repaired. Hopefully these things will continue under Mayor-elect Fuller’s tenure.
Warren got off to a rocky start in housing with the Engine 6 debacle and I too am glad he mentioned it as a regret. He tried various ways to turn housing around. I’m not sure I agree that he redeemed himself with Austin Street – it seems more like a start to a learning curve.
I think his administration, along with some councilors, continued to bend to the will of certain sections of Newton over others such as with the St Philip Neri project and Court Street. One was changed almost right away to mostly single family housing and the other was a condo building built smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood charging almost double what was contracted.
Under Warren’s administration the arbitrary parking ban was not only continued but the fine increased from $5.00 to $25.00. This ban is a true hardship for many residents and should be discontinued with a snow emergency ban instituted in its place.
As for comparing Newton’s overrides to other communities, Newton passed two in quick succession. Newton also has more impoverished homeowners who bought many years ago when home prices were much lower and are in danger of being forced out if real estate taxes continue to jump up with over rides. Higher real estate taxes also mean higher rents.
Jane, along with providing the summer programs for low income youth, please direct me to the proof that those “adversely affected by the parking ban” prohibited a pilot study to drop the ban.
As an aside: programs are not confidential, only the names of the low income recipients are. Programs that do not provide transportation don’t work. Are any of these programs providing lunches to these kids? Hungry kids don’t take part in summer outreach programs.