The City Council elected Susan Albright as president and Rick Lipof as vice president of the council for the new term.
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For the record, I was also re-elected President Emeritus, nominated by Councilor-Elect Laredo. I look forward to serving again in the new term.
Congratulations Councillor Baker. I look forward to your emeritorius service ;-)
Open the housing development flood gates for Newton Ma.
Deb Crossley will chair ZAP. This triumvirate will fast track
Zoning Reform. Land Use will be chaired by someone who the
triumvirate can trust to manage their transformational agenda.
If the residents of Newton do not support the housing densification of our historic city, this zoning reform power group will fail us all miserably. What Newton needs most now is good balanced, fair leadership. I doubt Susan, Rick and Deb will provide sound leadership which is a benefit to all who live here.
“What Newton needs most now is good balanced, fair leadership.” I agree 100%. I believe Newton will get exactly that from Susan, Rick and Deb. I have known Susan and Deb for many years (Rick, less so) and worked closely with them on projects big and small. They know very well the difference between their own points of view and the sense of the community at any given time. They are not bullies or activists on ego trips. Clearly their peers on the Council-Elect thought them the better leaders for this challenging time.
I wish the new Council and its leadership the best for the next two years.
Great choices for a balanced council leadership.
I’m proud to have Councilor Susan Albright as one of my at-large councilors. She has shown her devotion to doing what is right for Newton as a whole many times over and not just what is “right” for smaller interest groups.Throughout her experience as a councilor, she has proven she can learn about all positions before voting on timely issues.
Susan also seems to have unlimited energy which helps her be an involved councilor.
I think this is great for Newton. I have gotten to know Susan Albright very well. She is the epitome of a leader, She knows when to be bold and when to compromise.
Working in the state Senate and having helped lead it in the presidents office, I learned that is one of the most important skills and not everybody has it.
Lenny Gentile should be kept as Finance Chair. His dedication, knowledge and voice of reason and moderation is exactly what is needed.
Was this a rejection of Marc Laredo’s leadership? Many could see Marc was perhaps a one and done president from his early choices. Case in point, after one of of the most historic city council elections where Newton elected our first female Mayor, Marc decided to stay the course having mostly conservative male committee chairs with Schwartz, Gentile and Ciccone. This despite the fact the increase in female councilors to a majority. He seemed completely tone deaf to the shift in the city and the writing appeared on the wall from day one.
And apparently it continued last night with his insistence on running for President, and forcing the council vote despite the fact that Susan had the votes. Marc had the choice and decided to divide the council rather than bring it together. Shooting your way out of the office is ultimately divisive and shows a lack of leadership.
Kenny Rogers said it best “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em. Know when to fold ’em. Know when to walk away. “
Congratulations to Susan as she will be a fantastic president. Time for the city to come together.
Congratulations to Susan. I’m hoping for more checks-and-balances emphasis with regard to no bid contracts by the executive branch, poor planning on items like NewCAL, failure to negotiate many long-standing union contracts, and thinking through again how quickly we should fund post-retirement benefit shortfalls versus having funds available for current high priority needs.
What Anne said. Susan is a listener and a consensus builder, and her leadership will be great for Newton. She and Rick will be a great team, congrats to both on their new roles!
We should be grateful to every one of our locally-elected officials for their willingness to serve. So thanks President Laredo and VP Kalis for your leadership over these past two years.
And congratulations to President-elect Albright and VP-elect Lipof. Anne Larner and others said it well. Their council colleagues have made an extraordinary choice.
I am a big fan of Susan Albright. In addition to being a god listener and concensus builder, she is a very logical thinker and excellent problem solver.
That said, I think she is more valuable leading what is arguably the most important committee vs being CC President.
There are now two open spots at two very important committees. My preferences would have been to have Laredo and Albright stay where they are , and have Lipof step up from Vice Chair to Chair of Land Use. Now, neither Albright nor Lipof are available to chair a committee and those are two big holes on Planning and Zoning and Land Use. As much as I like Susan Albright, I don’t think I am going to like her picks for those roles.
Claire – Marc Laredo is likely the natural person to Chair Land Use.
Susan Albright has always struck me as a very decent, hard working person. She’s reached out for my opinion on occasion, so I know her to be open minded. I have nothing but good things to say about Rick Lipof as well. The City will be in good hands.
Regrettably though, I view the City Council in a very negative light, an elitist group with a Big Brother knows best mentality, and a propensity for banning consumer products they don’t like.
I’d encourage Albright, Lipof and the entire Council to embrace freedom as a fundamental component of any decision. Trust that the people who elected you [despite that mistake, lol] are capable of making their own decisions without any more bans of consumer products in Newton.
Mike – I am in complete agreement with you. Enough with the bans in Newton. I do my grocery shopping exclusively in Needham to avoid the ridiculous ban on paper bags. I would hope the Council will put their energies into developing a plan to reduce the Council size.
@Peter. There’s no paper bag ban in Newton, although there will be a 10 cent fee starting in January.
I was thinking you meant to write “plastic bag ban” which we do have in Newton, except Needham grocery stores don’t use plastic either.
Still, on behalf of the businesses there I say “Thanks for shopping in Needham!”
Greg, I’m happy to do my shopping in Needham. The Needham Board of Selectmen haven’t gone crazy thinking about what bans they can enact. Only in the People’s Republic of Newton!
@Peter Karg = You better keep moving ….
What Jerry said. And as I understand it every large retailer on Needham complies with the voluntary measure!
But Peter, let’s be fair many Massachusetts Communities have enacted bag bans. It’s not “only” Newton
I think most of these bans show an incredible arrogance on the part of elected officials and a complete lack of respect for their constituent’s ability to think for themselves. I don’t need or want elected “leaders” telling me what kind of shopping bag to use. Bans like that are just low hanging fruit for public officials to puff up their personal political resumes.
Let’s not forget, a terrible precedent was set when the [then] Board of Aldermen decided to ban MEDICAL marijuana in Newton after voters instructed them to legalize it in 2012. I saw with my own eyes the pain that incredibly foolish decision caused many people who were suffering from serious medical conditions.
More recently city “leaders” have decided to ban the sale of smoking cessation devices like Juul at stores that sell cigarettes. Of course those stores can keep selling cigarettes, but Juul pods [cartridges] will only be allowed at two specialty shops in the entire city. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this ban will cause many people to keep smoking cigarettes.
The City Council should take a bit of advice from the NE Patriots and just “do your job.” Not the made-up job of being Big Brother to the citizenry of Newton. Your REAL job, which is to keep the City of Newton running well.
.
Well Mike, that’s not exactly what the board did. On the other hand, I’m confident you won’t let us forget.
Um, sorry Greg. Let’s get history correct, okay? The voters passed legalized MEDICAL cannabis in 2012. Then the Board of Aldermen passed a moratorium blocking medical cannabis. Are you suggesting a moratorium is not a ban?
Yes
@Greg–
I’m afraid we’ll have to disagree then. I believe a moratorium is a ban. Regardless of which word we use the fact remains the same. The Board of Aldermen blocked medical patients from obtaining their prescribed medication in Newton. I know our elected “leaders” are probably not proud to have that stain on their legacy. But you’re damn straight that I will not let anyone forget. It was a disgraceful episode in our city’s history.
Greg – There are ways to ban legal cannabis without an actual ban, and like it or not, the city council’s obstruction of RMD’s in the city is quite similar to a de facto ban. Only one out of seven eligible permits has been approved in over a year (one was grandfathered in with the 2018 referendum vote)
This is revenue we’re sending 5 miles down the road to Brookline and here are just two of the reasons councilors on the Land Use committee gave for saying they planned to vote no on the most recent RMD seeking a permit:
1. It did not have a bathroom for customers. How many stores are required to have a bathroom before a permit is approved?
2. The delivery truck would have to back out onto Washington St. When the petitioner offered to back in with an attendant guiding it, that wasn’t good enough.
Seriously. All the while, we’re sending who knows how much revenue 5 miles down the road to B’line (or out to the street).
Respect the vote.
Jane and Mike: It’s inexcusable how long it has taken for voter-approved medical and recreational marijuana to come here. But it’s unfair to place the blame — or all of the blame as Mike constantly does — on our city councilors. The delays are systematic and state-wide. Medical and recreational operations have encountered the similar delays in other municipalities statewide, including in Boston, Brooklineand Watertown.
The council approved Cyprus Tree months ago at the former Green Tea but they still waiting for the state before they start their build out. At one point, you might blame the council for these delays but that’s no longer true.
I apportion blame fairly. The Newton Board of Aldermen blocked medical marijuana at a time when other municipalities successfully implemented the 2012 law. It caused real human suffering. I saw it with my own eyes.
I’m not a religious person, but I believe in forgiveness. Forgiveness begins with an acknowledgement of a mistake. To date, I have only read of one Alderman/Councilor [Amy Sangiolo] who publicly admitted that the City’s moratorium on medical marijuana was wrong. Clearly, most of the councilors learned nothing from the experience with medical marijuana, because they doubled-down on their mistake by banning recreational marijuana after voters legalized it in 2016.
I make no apologies for my position on this issue. When the voters issue instructions to their elected representatives through the ballot box, those officials should respect, not obstruct that vote.
Jane,
Were you at that land use committee meeting? Because I was. Until after 10 o’clock at night. Or are you reading the report? I hope you listen to the audio as well.
“1. It did not have a bathroom….
2. The Delivery truck backing up”
Councilor Kelley listed over 10 issues still currently wrong with Ascend’s proposal. None of them made the report. Some of the ones I remember:
Ascend’s rain garden design is not appropriate and would cause oil and any discharge from vehicles to go into the sewer.
Cross street is still an emergency exit preventing the horse-shoe design that is preferred because the Assistant Fire Chief suggested recommended leaving it open. The Fire Chief disagrees and Ascend and the City did not consult with him. If you’ve ever been on Cross Street you’d know it is 18 feet wide and once it snows becomes a de facto one way street.
Ascend’s traffic report is unreliable and grossly underestimates the amount of traffic it will bring to an already busy area by relying on data that itself suggests it is unreliable. Ascend also underestimated the amount of traffic accidents by strategically only including accidents on Cross Street and not Washington Street which is their suggested route to and from the dispensary.
Brookline has 2 bathrooms AND portable toilets outside and there is still public urination. If there isn’t a bathroom at Ascend this will be worse AND cause customers to seek shelter and toilets at nearby businesses.
To be approved to become a Marijuana Dispensary in Newton there are criteria you must meet. These are not whims of the Councilors on the Land Use Committee. These criteria include minimizing impact and disruption to nearby residences and businesses.
Ascend has not communicated with the community since August. The neighbors requests are reasonable and need to be taken seriously if they are to meet the criteria for Marijuana Dispensary use.
Please, if you want to have an informed conversation about this I’ll give you my email. Do not blame the withdrawal of Ascend’s special permit on the City Council. Most of the valid arguments are coming from Citizens and shouldn’t be dismissed.
Hmm – Most stores in Newton don’t have public bathrooms. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a liquor store with a public bathroom. Why is this an issue for this store but not others?