Rena Getz, Bill Humphrey, and Kathy Winters will be “onstage” together in about 4 weeks. The Waban Area Council has announced on its Facebook page that there will be a Candidate Debate on Thursday, September 5, at 7:30pm, at the former Emerson Elementary School in Newton Upper Falls, featuring these three Ward 5 candidates who are vying for two spots on the November Ballot for the position of Ward 5 Ward Councilor. This is the position that Councilor John Rice is vacating after ably serving his Ward 5 constituency for the last decade. The debate will be brought to the residents of Ward 5 and the public by the Four Neighborhood Area Councils, three of which are located in Ward 5: The Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council, The Newton Upper Falls Area Council and The Waban Area Council. The fourth Neighborhood Area Council, the Newtonville Neighborhood Area Council, is leading this year’s coordination of Candidate Showcases which each of the other three Area Councils had chaired in the last three elections. The four Area Councils will also jointly sponsor Showcases for the Candidates for Ward and At-Large Councilor positions and for School Committee positions that did not require a Preliminary Election. The dates and times for those Showcases have yet to be announced, but will likely be held at Newton North High School. As of this posting, moderators for all these events have not yet been firmed up.
The three Ward 5 candidates for Ward Councilor present Ward 5 voters with choices on many issues. To choose the ones that most closely align with your preferences and to gain a measure of each candidate’s ability to perform as Ward Councilor, plan on attending Emerson on September 5th.
