Emily Norton has retained her Ward 2 seat, narrowly defeating first-time candidate Bryan Barash.
Results (unofficial):
- Norton — 1407 (51.7%)
- Barash — 1313 (48.3%)
Councilor Norton first won a contested race to replace Sal Salvucci Stephen Linsky in 2013. That was a close one, too: 1046-997. She has had no opponents in the last two elections.
Didn’t Norton succeed Steve Linsky?
Why is Emily’s headline noted as unofficial and none of the other threads are?
Please correct.
William,
When first posted, it was based on Councilor Norton’s reporting of the results. Now that the results are posted, I have updated the headline.
Let me be the first to congratulate Emily. That’s a tremendous victory against a tough opponent.
What a close race! Amazing that it was decided by less than 100 votes.
Bryan, thank you for running and I think you were probably the difference in the Greg Schwartz and Alicia Bowman barnburner going on. Hold your head high!
Fabulous. Emily has been a tremendous asset for Ward 2. Very pleased that we shall continue to call her our Ward Counselor (with a tip o’ the hat to her for changing the archaic name from AlderMAN).
Sean, I’m sorry you’re upset about your candidate. How about you give Counselor Norton the headline she deserves?
Casey,
As I noted earlier, I posted right away, based on the results Councilor Norton reported in her NewTV interview. I took down the “Unofficial” as soon as I could after her race was reported on the city web site.
Thank you. We posted at the same time. And I do know how it feels to be disappointed with election results and I am sorry.
Sean,
30 votes is narrow. 4 percent is not. Counselor Norton handily defeated her challenger.
As a Ward 2 resident I am very pleased by the outcome. Emily has been a tireless advocate for this ward and I don’t know how she manages as a single mom, full time environmentalist and public servant.
I’m so very grateful to live in a city where smart, dedicated people are willing to give their time and energy in pursuit of the public good, and that goes for the challengers as well. We may agree to disagree on policy issues, but we are so very lucky to have so many hard working and dedicated people willing to take on public office.
Congratulations to all the winners, and gratitude to all the challengers.
LisaP,
Fair point.
I also missed a comma.
@Sean—
Hahahaaa haha!!!!’
I left my grammar police badge downstairs. Lol. A good night to all.
L
@LisaP, I agree that we don’t need descriptors. People can look at the facts and decide for themselves what constitutes narrow. A 6-year incumbent spent $36,000 and came within 94 votes of losing the seat.
I am amazed by Bryan and his devotion to our city. He threw himself into learning about the residents of Ward 2 and talking with them about ideas for addressing urgent concerns such as climate, housing, and transportation. He modeled respectful dialogue and consensus building, and he was unwavering in his positive message and his focus on policy ideas and solutions. His deep knowledge of the issues elevated the dialogue and changed the way many people think. His integrity and commitment to transparency were the foundation of his campaign. But above all that, I admire Bryan for his uncompromising commitment to his progressive values. He is a leader with a vision, and we need city councilors like him. I look forward to his continued leadership and his future political endeavors.
I am really impressed by Bryan. He took on a popular, hard-working, and formidable incumbent and ran a campaign of ideas.
@Rhanna “People can look at the facts and decide for themselves what constitutes narrow. A 6-year incumbent spent $36,000 and came within 94 votes of losing the seat.”
I guess it’s all about perspective. As a dyed in the wool Barash supporter, you can believe that narrative.
Others who weren’t as vested might see a campaign that had many heavy hitters behind it along with plenty of funding, not to mention a fair amount of support from this blog, still not being able to unseat a targeted incumbent.
I am very pleased that Newton’s City Council retains independent voices like Emily Norton, David Kalis, Lisle Baker, and Mark Laredo. office holders unbeholden to partisan political blocs with narrow agendas. In recent elections, it seems, candidates hand-picked by certain groups have managed to get elected. Yes, that is democracy, and the voters have the final say. It doesn’t hurt, to be sure, to get the financial backing of a large partisan group.
The candidates that I voted for came from all over the spectrum vis a vis local issues. Ranked choice voting would have delivered the best result for my Ward 5 council seat: Kathy Winters, a local activist with long service to the neighborhood. In a two-way race, she would have carried the day. So it goes…
If other people had the same experience this time around as I did, then they received, day after day, mailing after mailing pushing the same slate of candidates. Indeed, outside my polling station in Waban, someone approached my wife and handed her a flyer with a sample ballot filled out with the familiar names. “Now you don’t have to think about it,” he said. “Just fill in the ballot like that!”
Ay, yay, yay!
@Lisa P – As long as we are splitting hairs about what is a close race, 3.4% does not round up to 4%. I do think it was a close race. Unseating an incumbent is tough, especially in Newton. Emily is a tremendous asset for her supporters in Ward 2, not so sure about the rest of us in Ward 2. But congratulations, Emily.
@Bob Jampol I was a bit disappointed in people I know not really knowing what was going on in the city and just listening to someone else’s choices without any explanation of what the candidate(s) stood for. I got so many emails on who people I know casually are voting for. So many mailings (what a waste of paper…wish I could opt out of those). The devils in the details. I feel like in the past I listened to some high level ideas which sounded great but then when I heard how they would actually work in practice weren’t so great. I wish people would spend more time educating themselves on rather than following the flock! I think there are just too many races for the average person to really know each candidate.
Newton Highlands Mom – I wholeheartedly agree!! A good amount of people do not understand how our City Council structure works, let alone who the candidates are, and that is a shame. I applaud all of those who take the time to read the literature and understand the issues, go to the debates, etc, and make up their own minds. But the reality is, for the average resident, there are just too many people to sort out to make an informed decision in every race.
Congratulations Emily Norton on your re-election and a hard fought campaign.
Bob, there were slates on both sides. I’m on a lot of Newton email chains, I got tons of them.
I was love the patronizing discussions after an election. If only folks KNEW what I knew, they’d vote progressive. Or Conservative. Or Right Size. Or Downsize. Or whatever.
Fact is, folks make choices. By and large they ARE educated. They don’t just agree with you 100% of the time. And that’s our system. There were reasons to vote for Emily and reasons to vote for Bryan. More than one thing can be true and more than one issue can resonate. Please believe that.
Now are some folks more educated than others? Heck yes. But that’s on both sides. Jack Prior was quoting statistics to me 2 years ago. He was completely invested in EMily’s campaign.I know a lot about what went down with Cabot School. I was peeved about that. The average person isn’t as invested, and they look to folks like Engine 6 and Right Size to help them out.
Paul and I used to go back and forth about whether Ward 2 was FOR or AGAINST larger size development. I said at best it was split. Let me amend that, at best is it 52% against. 😉
It was a heck of a race. Now we’ve got to move forward and see what comes of the new council. I hope Bryan runs for an at-large spot if one ever opens up. He’d be a great city councilor.
More than two sides exist, however, and therein lies my point. Voters should evaluate candidates, as they evaluate other human beings, one at a time and in totality.
As a confirmed mega-development skeptic (not necessarily opponent), I still voted for Andreae Downs and Deb Crossley for at large Ward 5 councilors. Why? I disagree with them on some issues but agree with each of them on many others, including the virtue of Newton’s exercising eminent domain to take control of Webster Woods. Mr. Coletti, in contrast, came out in opposition to the move at the Ward 5 debate. Andreae and Deb are also incredibly dedicated to the city.
Beware of blocs and alliances that demand fealty on every issue. People of good faith have the right to disagree. No party line for me.