One of the more interesting contests this fall has to be the ward 3 city council contest between Julia Malakie and Carolina Ventura who are running for the seat being vacated by Barbara Brousal-Glaser.
By all accounts, Malakie would seem to have the advantage and I consider her the favorite to win on Nov. 5. Malakie has campaign experience and a strong base of followers, having run at large twice and coming close last time. She’s been active in city politics and community service for decades, most notably with the Urban Tree Commission but also with the Newton Villages Alliance. She’s a regular at many meetings, and has a hyperactive social media presence, including –when she hasn’t been a candidate — as a Village 14 blogger.
In contrast, most folks don’t know much about Ventura. I know I don’t. At least not yet.
So it was interesting today to hear that the two at large city councilors from Ward 3 — Jim Cote and Andrea Kelley — have both endorsed Ventura. And so has former Ward 3 At Large Councilor Ted Hess-Mahan. In fact all four were together for a campaign event at Hess-Mahan’s last night.
You can view all of Ventura’s endorsements here . I don’t see a list of Malakie’s on her site (someone correct me if I’m missing it) but I know she’s been endorsed by Opt-Out Newton and Right Sized Newton.
I don’t usually put a lot of stock in endorsements and I still think Malakie is the likely favorite to win and so do many other folks I’ve talked to. But her Ward 3 endorsements suggest that this might be closer than I’ve assumed.
Ward 3 voter here and very excited to vote for Carolina. Julia’s commitment to trees is commendable, but she’s too much of a one-issue candidate and her anti-development stance is going to keep Newton stuck in the past.
Greg, as a ward 3 resident and strong supporter of Carolina Ventura’s I want to caution you against assuming that Malakie will win just because of her name recognition. Don’t forget that much of that recognition is negative due to her association with the NVA. Lots of Ward 3 residents have been working hard on Carolina’s benefit. Just because you’re not a W3 resident and not aware of her campaign activitydoesn’t mean that Carolina hasn’t put together a strong organization. To all W3 residents who do not oppose every proposed development the way Malakie does and wish to see each project considered on a case by case basis without bringing inherent negative bias to the table, Carolina Ventura is your candidate!
It would seem that V-14’s modus operandi is to do its best to villify any individual and/or organization that has (healthy) skepticism ref: the runaway train of development powered by greed gripping our city, state, country, and planet. Heaven help us all. V-14 has been referred to as “a cesspool”. I can see why.
Congrats to Carolina, I have been impressed by her since working with her on the Human Rights Commission. I am certain she will make an excellent Councilor if elected.
This is a tough one. I strongly disagree with Julia on large scale development, but I voted for her in the past because I’m deeply concerned about tree loss in the city. If anyone will ever do something to save those majestic old growth oaks from clear cutting by developers, it’s her. I can’t bear the sight of entire lots being deforested. Also, the price tag for Webster Woods, whatever the purchase mechanism, will be steep, and many current supporters may become naysayers. Julia is s certain “yes” vote.
Pat:
Honestly, I think there are more folks that are “skeptical” on development posting here nowadays than the opposite. Certainly it is a lot.
And lots of us think Julia is terrific. But you can like a person but not feel they are right for a particular job.
Honestly since I can’t vote for this wardI haven’t paid that much attention, but if this is the level of discussion that now merits a “village14 is a cesspool”, the rest of the election season is gonna be LIT! 😉
(And by LIT I mean painfully long and full of complaining when folks don’t agree with you. Also what is a cesspool anyway?)
Julia Malakie has this Ward 3 voters’ support! Agree with Pat -if you don’t agree with the powers that be on this blog, they will take any shot they can at you-fair or not. I like Jim Cote, but he’s making a mistake here. Julia has worked hard for the city of Newton for a long time and would be an excellent city councilor.
A cesspool is an open pit of sewage.
And Pat is right. The majority of people posting on V14 are anti-anti-anti-anti-development (as long as it’s an even number of anti’s I think I’m ok).
It’s good to question Right Size Riverside on where they got the 1200 apartment number – so I have asked them to clarify. I believe it probably has to do with extrapolating on the 10 stories that will eventually – and since so much money is tied up – sooner rather than later, be built on that sight. But I await clarification.
It’s also good to question whether all this development will really benefit Newton or whether it will just benefit the investors. If you google “How to invest in Mixed Use Development” you will find a lot of people think there’s a lot of money to be made. And that always makes me suspicious and look into “who benefits”, really.
You can also find a lot of articles on Mixed use failures too, if you want to look at both sides.
Cmon Richard. You really think this forum is an open pit of sewage?
I’ve never understood the need to insult any public forum. It just defeats whatever point you are trying to make.
Arthur, Pat, Rick, you, Matt, Jack, various Folks who change handles and post just a few times, everyone is welcome. Some of those folks have posted hundreds of times. And I’ve seen quite a few insults in that mix of posts.
I get the frustration when folks don’t agree with you. And I certainly get the frustration when the city or state or country decides to vote another way. And I appreciate that during election season everyone’s nerves are rubbed a little raw….
But grousing about the forum isn’t the way to change hearts and minds.
Julia has a great story to tell. Focusing on that is going to get her votes. If you don’t agree with what folks are saying about Julia’s positions, well, say that.
Or ask to post a thread about Julia. I’m sure Greg or some other moderator will let you. You post under your own name. That’s the only requirement…
Folks who think this forum is bad should really spend more time on the wider internet. This forum is pretty great, warts and all.
Ok, rant over. Back to eating dinner.
So there are people who believe Village 14 is a cesspool and yet they voluntarily spend many hours reading and commenting here. Got it.
“And so I say unto thee: lie back and think of…. (the developer (s).”
Pat! You thinking of England old boy? Man the developers have really gotten in your headspace!
May your dreams be sweet and happy with nary a developer in (on) site. (Pun intended)
@Fignewtonville: good job getting the historical reference. Now share it. ;D
I never said it was a cesspool. Somebody asked what a cesspool was, and so I answered, because I’m old enough to have lived when people had cesspools ( as opposed to septic systems) in the rural area of CNY state I lived in as a child.
Besides, V14 is a nice cesspool, as cesspools go.
Actually fig Newtonville whoever you are, you’re the one who asked!
A cesspool is usually covered with dirt, though not always, especially on a farm. Should I go on?
Hey at least the Globe is giving some balanced coverage:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/globelocal/2019/09/11/newton-residents-speak-out-washington-street-zoning-changes/CDKLEflioebuW3tX2iWz4O/story.html
It was a rhetorical question Rick. Just riffing off of Pat’s complaint. I’m familiar with a cesspool, a manure pit, a septic system, and all sorts of systems for processing waste. I just find it amusing when folks get upset or insulted when what they hope is an echo chamber doesn’t echo back.
Although considering how much we all post the same arguments, perhaps we all just echo in our own way…
“THERE IS MEATT ON THE BONE IN NEWTON “ says Robert Korff !
The developers MOTIVE is to make money !
From Donald Trump on up their objective is not to House seniors in expensive new construction ( all new construction is costly, and the per unit cost to a buyer subsidizes affordable units).
At the same time keeping in mind his bottom line, the developer is incorporating the least costly product he can pedal. He’s not building a quality building that he expects to maintain over a long period of time.
This is not construction for personal use, or for an institution that plans to own and maintain their building over the long term!
With the prospect of turning the greatest profit, developers, their New York hedge fund investors, Northland Development, etc. etc. could care less about the impact on the city, and its taxpayers and residents, its roadways and traffic, its costs to our infrastructure and services, and the loss of Garden City character.
As an invested and tax paying citizen of this city for the past 49 years I do not want to see and live with the kind of changes that these out side investors
and complicit politicians are trying to
foist on my town.
I believe a goodly number of my neighbors who are otherwise busy trying to make a living and educate their children would agree with the above sentiments. I just wish and hope they had the time, interest, and awareness to understand what is happening, to get out, express themselves and vote!
From what I’ve seen, I’d describe Julia Malakie as pro-preservation not anti-development. I have not known Julia to take an anti-pot stance (other than a dislike of any kind of smoke in enclosed spaces).
Man, I must have put on a few pounds over the Labor Day weekend eating all that BBQ. It’s time to go on the Tom Brady diet.
There are a lot of good reasons why both Ward 3 incumbents are endorsing Carolina Ventura for Ward Councilor. She is a bright, personable, articulate, thoughtful, serious person who is willing to listen to other points of view while asserting her won. Carolina is passionate about the same things I value highly, like housing affordability, environmental sustainability, lively village centers that are walkable, accessible and bike and pedestrian friendly. Carolina and her wife Zoe, who grew up in Newton, have put down deep roots in this community and care deeply about this city. As a working parent of a young family, she is totally committed to quality public education in Newton, not just for her own children, but for everyone. As a first generation American who came from modest means, she has succeeded because of her strong family values and work ethic, studying and working hard to become an attorney, who handled complex business litigation before becoming in-house counsel for Liberty Mutual. Last but not least, she would add diversity to the City Council.
Carolina earned the endorsements of both incumbents from Ward 3 because she is a team player and a consensus builder, who values collaboration over confrontation, while still staying true to her principles. Seeing them together the other evening, I could see the mutual respect and admiration between and among Carolina, Andrea and Jim. This team will work together well and do great things for West Newton and for the city as a whole.
For those of you who don’t know Carolina, check out her website at carolinaventura.com. I think, like me, you will be very impressed.
I think I would vote for Carolina if I could. Ted’s endorsement goes a long way with me.
That’s not to say I don’t like Julia because I do. I generally agree with her on most things but her endorsement by Right Size Newton and her stance on “just say no” to all developments that I can remember mean I wouldn’t vote for her. I think she would be a good ward councilor – she’s personable and relatable to most.
I get a good laugh every time someone tries to pin a stance on V14 but this time it was even more laugh indusing because the thread that was posted by Greg is about Julia being the favorite to win.
Both those who post and those who comment here have viewpoints that are as different as they are anywhere.
Thanks for pointing that our Marti. I went back and reread my post after Pat’s comment to see what horrible thing it was that I wrote about Julia (who I consider a friend and a trusted adviser any time I have a tree question). I still can’t find it.
And I found it particularly ironic when Pat wrote here about Village 14’s bloggers as if we were one collective voice, considering that Julia has been a Village 14 blogger almost from the start.
As per our rules, and as others have done, she has recused herself from starting blog threads while running. But she’s welcome back into the cesspool if she does not prevail on election day.
As a ward 3 voter who has been incredibly disappointed in Brousal-Glaser’s performance ( or lack thereof), I am thrilled to find someone with Carolina’s intelligence, experience and passion running for this seat. Malakie is a one issue candidate. She is being endorsed by groups whose basic tenets are ones which I disagree with so why would I vote for her? Ted has eloquently presented Carolina in his post above; suffice it to say that I am firmly in her camp and hopeful that she will be elected.
I’ve also been disappointed in Barbara as a Ward 3 voter. She’s very kind but she has done nothing to connect with constituents. In fact, when I met her she insisted that I did not live in her ward! Julia would be a step up from that because she does engage with the community and she does so well, but I want to vote for someone with a broader set of items that they will advocate for.
I’ll have more to say about endorsements, specifically about the Ward 5 races, as we get closer to the elections. Some endorsements tell you alot, some tell you very little about the candidate and who will be helping that candidate drive their agenda behind the scenes. Sure, there are current and former pols that lend their support to a given candidate, but it is the endorsements by unelected “neighborhood” and “school” activists and organizations, PACS, and the organizations and individuals that have zero relation to Newton that can be the most illuminating and instructive.
Honestly the endorsements I listen to are the personal ones. It takes a lot I’ve found for someone to speak up in public on one’s behalf in a passionate manner.
I’d recommend that folks who support Julia post similar accolades and reasons to vote for her, rather than criticizing the forum or one issue. I think absent that a disservice is being done to Julia’s candidacy.
Also, sometimes both candidates can make great councilors. And then it is just who mirrors my views more. Or who listens more, etc. nuance.
CORRECTION PLEASE: Opt Out Newton has not made any endorsements for city council. If we do, we will let V14 know!
@Greg: Hours? Hardly. I spend way more time on Bandcamp. 😉 I do keep up with V-14 because it’s important to keep speaking to the pernicious drone-like Chinese-water-torture narrative that keeps burbling up, namely: the ‘need’ for upzoning and high density housing. The city won’t build the type of housing we really need; there’s no money in it. (We saw that with Crescent St. We’re not holding our breath for the armory.) This distinction apparently needs to be periodically pointed out. People (and the local press) do follow V-14. They need to see that some of us, at least, haven’t drunk the punch.
@Ted: talk is cheap. You rolled out a laundry list of all things wise and wonderful; who could take issue? For me, however, it’s the record, not the rhetoric that tips the scale. I would venture to speculate you’ve ridden in on more than one Trojan horse in your tenure.
@Fignewtonville: “Do not go gentle into that good night/Rage, rage against the dying of the light”
@Pat Irwin, do you ever say anything that isn’t hypercritical? You should really smoke some pot and chill out a little.
Pat, I got that the last quote about closing my eyes and thinking of developers was meant as an insult (an inventive way to remind me again that you think I’m prostituting myself on behalf of someone).
But quoting Dylan Thomas might be a road too far, you’ve lost me.
Plus I prefer the next two stanzas
“Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
We all are dust my friend. If we are lucky we are blessed with family and friends and community. And we all search for meaning in our own way.
My recollection was that Dylan Thomas wrote the poem not because his father was dying but because his father was going blind and giving up on life. Dylan Thomas died a few years after this was written too, drinking himself to death in America I believe.
Keep the quotes coming!
@Fignewtonville: the “Laibach and think of…” ( just added another twist maybe Greg will get ;D)wasn’t aimed at you per se. Surprised you’re not getting the Dylan Thomas one…. Also not for your eyes only.
As one whose senior thesis was on Dylan Thomas I winch that his incredible poetry is so cavalierly being tossed about on V14.
(…unless one can also understand his “Altar-wise by owl-light” stanzas. )
I would submit that Matthew Arnold’s lines:
“And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.” is more relevant to many of the comments on V14.
What Maria said. (“The Lathe of Heaven”)