from the mayor’s email newsletter …
Mark your calendar. The Special Election to fill two vacant seats on the City Council will be on Tuesday, March 16, 2021.
The City Council last night set the election date to fill the at-large seat from Ward 1 left vacant after the death last month of Councilor Jay Ciccone, and to fill the at-large seat in Ward 2 left vacant by the election of Jake Auchincloss to the United States Congress.
Nomination papers can be picked up at the City Clerk’s office starting next Tuesday, Dec. 28, and must be returned by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. Candidates for City Council at-large seats need signatures of 150 registered Newton voters certified by the City Clerk’s Office for their name to appear on the election ballot.
City Clerk David Olson, City Council President Susan Albright and I were also able to work with Gov. Charlie Baker, the Secretary of State and our state legislative delegation to pass legislation allowing mail-in voting. A mail-in ballot application is being prepared, and should be available on the City’s website at newtonma.gov next week.
Legislation to allow early in-person voting for this election is pending at the State House.
I’m still awaiting Mr. Barash’s explanation as to why he thinks 23 white folks on the City Council is preferable to having even one BIPOC.
Maybe Mr. Lucas is not a nice guy; I have no idea, having never met the man. But most accounts have these two candidates agreeing on most issues. Certainly neither will be a swing vote on the Council.
Why is Bryan working so hard to suppress diversity?
peter
Big difference in housing policy. One is for “trickle down housing development of luxury homes” vs “focused development for affordable housing”
According to progressives, trickle down housing will solve all of Newton’s ills:
racism, global warming, affordable housing, bring in business into Newton
If you don’t support it, you get labeled as racist, nimby, global warming deniers
Will there be early voting?
@Isabelle – In November it was reported that the governor had filed a bill on behalf of Newton to allow both early and mail-in voting in the upcoming special election in March. I haven’t heard since then whether the bill has been voted on and passed … though I imagine it would be very uncontroversial.
Hi Jerry – the legislature approved the amenedment by the gov – we will have both early voting and mail in voting. thanks, Sen Creem and Rep Lawn.
Thanks to Rep Lawn and Senator Creem, we will have both early voting and mail-in voting.
@Bugek – again, is that the reason Barash thinks that he is better for Newton than diversity? Is another white, Judeo-christian, hetero, male attorney what we need? I thought we had made more progress than that – especially this year – but maybe Newton is stuck in a rut.
And Bryan stays silent on the issue; letting others do his bidding.
Peter
Your point would not have been an issue if Bryan had not suggested that Newton’s housing stock was built on the back of racism…. and sins of the past can only be healed with trickle down luxury development
I must say, Bryan is racking up an impressive list of endorsements. Are they all hypocrites who value real estate development over council diversity?
Just FTR I don’t believe Bryan is hetero.
@Bugek – he is being propped up and endorsed by the party machine because he does whatever they tell him to do. He is a follower, not a leader – as evidenced by his abject failure to address the issue of why he thinks 23 white city councilors is what’s best for Newton in 2021.
I’m getting lots of emails from people who were involved in the charter movement advocating for Bryan and Madeline Ranalli. I am also receiving some but fewer emails backing both Tarik Lucas and John Oliver but those are coming more from their particular campaigns,