Former City Councilor Amy Mah Sangiolo announced today that she is running for mayor this fall. I believe she is the first candidate* to announce a run against incumbent Mayor Ruthanne Fuller. Her press release follows:
Here’s the Boston Globe story.
*According to the Globe story, Al Cecchinelli has also announced his candidacy.
Her press release follows:
NEWTON, MA: SANGIOLO TO ENTER RACE FOR MAYOR
Amy Mah Sangiolo, a former City Councilor and longtime resident of Auburndale, announced today that she is running for Mayor of Newton in the November 2021 election to bring transparency and accountability to the Mayor’s office as the city continues to recover from the pandemic.
Sangiolo has been involved in the Newton community for more than 25 years. She was elected 10 times as a Ward 4 at-large City Councilor, has served as Vice-President of the Newton Democratic City Committee, and has been active with the Greater Boston Asian American community. She is an attorney, an environmental activist, and a life-long Democrat. Amy and her husband John are proud parents of three Newton Public Schools graduates.
“Newton needs a leader who will bring transparency and accountability to local government and unite the city to move Newton forward. We need to address zoning with real community engagement and resident buy-in, implement a strategy to create more affordable housing, address the needs of our community while being fiscally responsible, strengthen relationships with all of our city and school employees, build a greener future for our children, and take care of our seniors. I will work to restore city-wide confidence in and improve the Newton Public Schools. In the coming months, I will be meeting many of you and listening to your concerns. Together, we can build a better Newton.”
Amy and her family have lived in Newton since 1995. She works as a Consumer Specialist in the Attorney General’s office. She is a graduate of Barnard College and Rutgers Law School, and attended The Juilliard School of Music.
And the race is begun.
Amy was a great City Councilor and will make an even better Mayor.
She will be fantastic. This is excellent news. She will need all the fundraising and support she can get, so get involved and spread the word if you’re ready for a new mayor!!
Thank goodness, there are alot of aggrievances residences want to be heard
– the weak handling of schools during pandemic. Very disappointed
– letting developers call the shots for housing development.
– We are helping Boston solve their housing crisis but get zero back. Not even a decent commuter rail
– residents feel they are not being heard. Some feel the council are more interested in woke virtue signalling rather than solving the daily needs of residents
Amy is just the right leader that Newton needs. She is a terrific listener, great communicator, and a pragmatist. Agree MMQC, she will need all the volunteer help and money required to win this race!
This is great news! I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and work towards her election. Thanks Amy for being willing to serve.
Yes, Amy needs volunteers and donations. You can visit her website to do both: https://sangiolo.org/
All in on Team Amy (I’m sure someone will come up with a better name between now and election). Very exciting indeed!
I can’t say I’m yet on Team Amy, but I’m very glad we have a contested election. And I’ve been expecting her to throw her hat in the ring for months.
I think Amy would be a fine mayor but I also think that Mayor Fuller has done a good job in difficult circumstances. Certainly I didn’t agree with every decision, but I never do…
But I’m also glad for the contest instead of the coronation.
Now if we could get some more folks to run for City Councilor positions!
I admire Amy entering the race, but I will have a hard time being swayed to support her.
I wasn’t sold on her a few years back, but Mayor Fuller has done a fantastic job in the past year. In a time when Mayors are retiring left and right, I think Newton is better off having consistency in Mayor Fuller’s steady leadership.
I also believe Amy’s views on zoning to be stuck in the past,
and her comments dismissive of Newton’s progress on affordable housing and environmental initiatives over Mayor Fuller’s term.
Good news indeed!
Amy will make an excellent mayor and will unite the city. Newton deserves a contested race, especially after the rough couple of years that this city has had. Newton has never been more divided than it is today.
@Don S – Mayor Fuller does a fantastic State of the City speech, I’ll give her that, but there are hoards of families and parents who would question her leadership on the slow return to in-person learning and those who share “Amy’s views on housing” was in large part contributed to Councilor Lucas and Oliver’s surprising (and overwhelming?) wins at counter Newton establishment candidates. But we have plenty of time to debate stuff like this between now and November.
To any Newton voters, there is not better way to compare the two candidates is to review their weekly community newsletters (which Amy has maintained despite not holding public office for the past 4 years). One is positioned as, “here’s what we’ve done this week”, while then other gets right to the point on Newton’s issues and more importantly, when/how residents can take part in shaping Newton’s future.
Mayor Fuller’s:
https://www.newtonma.gov/government/mayor-fuller/updates/-folder-1772
Amy’s:
https://amysangiolo.com/
Matt and Bugek,
Is it a fact that Amy represents the Lucas/Oliver wing of Newton on housing, schools, and wokeness run amok? I would love for that to be the case but don’t know and am genuinely asking.
I was a Barrash and Ranalli voter and share their views on development, but I am 100% behind Amy. And I know others that feel similarly. There’s more to Newton than development and I’d really like to focus on our schools right now which have faltered under Fuller in a big way.
@Craig – not sure if it’s fair to say that Amy “represents” the Lucas/Oliver wing as much as they all share many of the same supporters. My hope though is that voters see Amy as a balanced candidate, that can bring differents sides of Newton together, as MMQC just alluded. Fingers crossed!
I think having two good candidates is important. Our community has so many potential civic leaders, and am really glad Amy is running against the current mayor.
I think having a contested mayoral race will increase turnout for all contested seats which is always a good thing
I am in general as pro-development and pro-urbanization as possible. (If Brookline housing had been as cheap as Newton we never would have left Coolidge corner.)
That said, I support Amy Sangilio’s campaign and will discuss a donation with my husband.
“Why?” you might ask, “she wants everything you don’t!”
And that’s true. But in the three way race last time, and in contrast to Councilors Lucas, Norton, et. al.!p, Amy Sangiolo has never been afraid to face up to the cost of what she wants.
Sangiolo said it plain during her last campaign: if we want to remain a single family bedroom community, we will need an override.
Everyone else (with the possible exception of Hess-Mahan during his alderman/mayoral campaign) tends to say things like “balanced development” or “smart growth.”
More than I want Newton to be an urban community with urban amenities (something, anything, to do after 9 or 10 at night!) I want Newton not to decline. Without additional funding, either through development or overrides, our infrastructure will continue to decline and class sizes will rise.
I wish more of the city agreed with me, but without that, I think we need a pragmatic mayor who’s not afraid to plainly state the costs of the path the city is on.
And that is why I support Amy Sangiolo for mayor.
Anne: thoughtful comment, and also the first time I’ve ever read the phrase “as cheap as Newton”.
I expect that Amy (who sent her kids to NPS) would get better engaged than Mayor Magoo (who sent her kids private) with Newton schools which are in vicious cycle. Magoo could only badly feign interest in the schools during school committee meetings which was apparent when she would repeatedly ask questions that had already been asked and answered.
I’m curious as to the “Amy as uniter” storyline. I’m not as sure as others on this forum that the Mayor is as polarizing as the 20 or so active Amy posters think. But I don’t remember Amy as a uniter, either on the forum or as a city councilor. To the contrary, I think she has always had strong opinions, and been vocal about those opinions. When she posted on this forum, it has been a fair amount of pot-stirring type posts, both to stir conversation and sometimes to be a bit snarky. (which I like, I’m a fan of a bit of snark). But uniting force? I’ve never actually seen that. She did cast one of the deciding votes for Austin Street, but that wasn’t so much uniting as voicing an opinion and getting an additional concession from the developer. (no complaint there as well.). I’ve certainly not seen her attempting to bring folks together/bridge divides. Mostly she’s been positioning herself to run again for mayor for the past 4 years. Being in the opposition I suppose.
Feels like folks saying she will unite the city are really just saying they will feel better when a candidate they support is running the city. I look forward to hearing more of Amy’s plans for the city, but I’m hoping she will put forth concrete plans on zoning, special education, affordable housing, village centers, shrinking the counsel/increasing the power of ward councilors, the senior center, gath pool, streets and sidewalks, and the use of the 65 million Newton is getting from Covid relief. I’m certainly not wed to voting for Mayor Fuller, but it will be the issues and her positions that earn my vote (and since I already know what I have in Mayor Fuller, I’d need to like those issue positions more than the established positions of Mayor Fuller.) Being an incumbent has a lot of advantages, not just money.
I’m hoping this does not evolve into the tried and true battle lines we’ve seen in recent political races. I agree with MMQC, development isn’t the primary issue for me (although I won’t ignore it either).
Still glad we have a race.
Anne, that was a good post.
For folks who are just insulting the side they don’t agree with, nothing does more to convince folks on the fence to NOT support your chosen candidate than you acting like a horse’s butt. City will be fine with either candidate. This isn’t a presidential election.
I too am looking forward to this race (I can’t believe anyone would want to be mayor however) and agree with Fignewtonville that “Amy as uniter” is a bit of a stretch. She came in 3rd remember in her last attempt and I believe she had a bit of a reputation in the council as difficult. I think Mayor Fuller had a tremendously difficult job this past year and handled it well, juggling several all important time sensitive, emotional issues with her steady leadership style, listening to varied voices and pulled us out of the pandemic storm. Any missteps? Of course (but who wouldn’t have given the changing landscape that was happening often)…. but non disqualifying for me not to support her for another term. She’s smart, goes through city finances with a fine tooth comb, cautious when needed to be and kept the community well informed with her newsletter. Brighter days are now ahead and I look forward to hearing the Mayor’s vision for the next 4 years, how she will use the 65M windfall and how she will lead with her values.
@Anne Alvarado I have some affinity with your remarks. When I moved to the Boston area 14 years ago, I too would have preferred to line in Brookline, or Cambridge or Back Bay or the South End. I was looking for something a bit more urban than where I can from. But I couldn’t afford anything in those places. Newton wasn’t even on my radar screen, but when I found my 1100 sq ft condo with a yard the same size, in Newton Centre, I felt it was a good option for me. More suburban that I preferred, but I am a three minute walk to the center and the T.
But this whole urban vs suburban debate is at the center of most of the zoning debate and I could be wrong, but I think the majority in Newton view it as suburban and don’t share the desire to see it become more urban. I know I am open to more density, it if is place right (truly in the village center) and is small (1500 sq ft max tus more affordable) but the majority of my neighbors feel like they live in a suburb and want to retain that.
I think the decision to table the zoning discussion and move to focusing on the village centers was a good one as there is much work to be done to address the urban vs suburban debate.
And I have struggled with the argument that increased density will lead to more affordability, because the surrounding cities/town I reference above were all much more dense were also much more expensive.
@FNV – Re: “Amy as uniter storyline” as you call it. Many, myself included, believe that Amy is a straight shooter who wants to solve problems (rather than get her picture taken – sorry the snark just snuck in there). She is a real leader who is more concerned with making substantive change and purposeful, INCLUSIVE decision making. Many view RA Fuller as shallow and has a “control the message” approach to governing. In addition, much of her financial support (according to the MCF site) comes from out of state.
huh folks, don’t get your hopes up about Amy’s future…checking OCPF today, the Mayor already has $185,097.39 in her campaign chest versus Amy’s $3,312.15. (Fuller also spent $80, 320.97 alone for the Washington marketing consultants Gumbinner and Davies at the beginning of her first campaign for Mayor ) ….so encouraging words and good wishes are never enough, unfortunately….it’s money that talks….Maria Kreeft (former DeNucci fundraising committee)
I signed up for a recurring monthly contribution of $50 and will consider increasing that but I will also be contributing on CC races.
Anyone who wants change needs to “put there money where their mouth is”
But even if you can’t contribute money, you can lend your voice
Just curious- How well did Amy do in the mayoral race when she ran last time?
Win or lose, Amy is doing a great service to the city by running and giving voters a choice for mayor. I voted for Amy the last time she ran, and it’s very likely I’ll support her this time as well. She was a superb Alderman/City Councilor, and has excellent leadership qualities.
Amy should have no difficulty raising enough money to run a competitive race. She will carry a large percentage of disaffected voters. Her biggest challenge will be winning over enough Fuller supporters to earn a victory. It’s a tough task that will take a well articulated vision for Newton’s future.
Amy started off at a disadvantage in the previous race. Her father had passed away and by the time she was able to start her campaign many people had already decided on Lennon or Fuller. (Though some switched last minute after Lennon’s ad which was perceived as sexist)
So while I think this won’t be an easy race for Amy due to her running against an incumbent with loads of cash, she will benefit from there only being two strong candidates and the fact that Fuller won the previous election by such a slim margin and has since lost support.
Actually, Amy never made it out of the Primary against Scott Lennon and Ruthanne Fuller. Her is the link to the results of Amy coming in 3rd. https://www.newtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/24515/637251149319670000
@Bruce C, these were the votes counts in the preliminary election in 2017: Amy Mah Sangiolo: 3,503 votes, Ruthanne Schwartz Fuller: 5,234, and Scott Lennon: 4,690.
To answer an earlier comment, according to the city’s website, the September 2017 results were Fuller 5,240; Lennon 4,692; Sangiolo 3,504; plus others. Fuller won in November with 12,474 to Lennon’s 12,101.
Amy was my candidate then and she will be this time too. She is a serious person with an encyclopedic knowledge of this city’s operating system. And when she says transparency is a key value for her, I believe her. At very least Newton will get a substantive discussion this time.
Lisa you are so right about Fuller’s “control the message” approach. Her newsletter glosses over a lot of stuff and often if you know the detail you realize she is not presenting the full picture. We need a Mayor who will provide transparency and accountability. The decision making process has been flawed. During Covid their was a lack of ownership between herself, the Superintendent, and Dr Youngblood.
I’ve talked to the Mayor during her office hours a few times this year and each time I wondered why I bothered. While sitting next to me watching a School Committee meeting, my child commented to me that someone needs to tell the Mayor that you can see a reflection on her glasses of what she is doing on her computer screen so it’s obvious when she is doing something other than paying attention to the meeting.
@maria m kreeft: I don’t see how money can buy a single vote in municipal elections, especially with an electorate so strongly opinionated as in Newton. Even at the national level I think fundraising is given way more importance than it deserves. Maybe I don’t know enough about this business, but I’ve never been swayed in the least bit by a mail-in flyer or a TV ad. You could say that the amount raised reflects the popularity of the candidate, but that reverses the logical order of things.
@Craig. Like many others, I worked my heart and soul out for Tarik and John in the recent special election. Back then, we were almost always portrayed as anything but woke, let alone adherents of “wokeness run amuck”.
I’m for Amy and will spell out my reasons for doing so as the campaign progresses. I will stick to why Amy just what Newton needs in the immediate years ahead. I will not disparage the mayor because she has several laudable accomplishments. It’s simply that Amy has solid core convictions and special, down to earth leadership skills that could well transcend those of any other mayor in my lifetime. I was born in Newton 84 years ago and have lived here most of that time. I don’t think this City has ever been as difficult to govern as it is now and will be in the immediate years ahead. Amy is up to the challenge.
This is welcome news and her children went to Newton Public Schools!
She will be great!
@Newtoner, money matters, a lot. Among other things, it’s how you pay for a campaign manager, a website, marketing advice, as well as foot the bill for collateral, not to mention all of those yard signs, online ads, and mail pieces. Without raising a significant amount of money it will be impossible for Amy to acquire the resources needed to run an effective campaign. Perhaps you’re not persuaded by mail pieces, etc., but many are–and last time Ruthanne Schwartz Fuller had some very strong and creative direct mailers.
Agreed. Marketing money is a must. And being that it’s nearly July, Amy will need a strong ground game. I’d love to see a strong social media blitz with some ads on the major platforms. Getting the word out is really important and that’s a quick way to do it, but she will need some dough to make it happen. Donate if you support Amy and are financially able to do so.
1. This year is not 2017. Mayor Fuller has a track record to judge (or judge against) since then. Comparing voting results then and what could be today… is like comparing apples and oranges.
2. A healthy war chest certainly doesn’t hurt, but take a closer look at Mayor Fuller’s donations…MANY $1,000 checks by the same people over the span of years. Many within her own family. Many outside of Newton. It’s nice to have affluent family and friends, but coffers alone do not guarantee success and not all them has a vote in Newton. Trump raised $386m between Oct 15 thru Nov 23, 2020… Biden raised $173m within the same time frame. Very happy with the results of that election.
3. “Unifier” – there is more than one way to interpret that word, but based on commenters above who would normally vote for Mayor Fuller, or the issues she routinely supports…only to say they now support Amy… speak volumes. Do not recall ANYONE saying that in the last special election. Not a lot of votes to be swung. Seems different here.
Let the games begin!
Given that Newton Schools were remote way longer than they had to be this past year I would not vote for anyone who did not advocate for the children. We can not forget the
lack of support at election time.
There are way too many mental health issues in our hands now and mostly because these students, who posed little risk to anyone, were locked in their rooms. Poor management this past year to say the least.
Matt:
1) Agreed. But I don’t think this is the huge advantage folks supporting Amy on this thread think it is. School will be back in session, Newton is flush with federal cash, and the election is 4.5 months away. I’ve disagreed with Mayor Fuller a bunch, but voters tend to have short memories. If the election was 5 months ago, the Mayor would have been in a tougher spot in my view. In November? I dunno.
2) I don’t think money plays as big a role in local elections as folks think. You need more than Amy has, but you certainly don’t need as much as Mayor Fuller has. Amy will have funds to run a robust campaign. With that said, raising large sums does show the strength of a candidate in some form, so advantage Fuller.
3) Matt, can you go through the chain above and identify which folks who would normally vote for Mayor Fuller and “only now” support Amy? Seems like it is mostly folks who supported Amy the last time, or were very vocal supporters of Lennon. A swing vote would be someone who said, “I voted for Mayor Fuller in the last election, but I’m swinging my vote to Amy!”. So still not seeing any real indication of unification.
We can certainly evaluate the Mayor on her performance over the past 4 years. I am looking forward to hearing about Amy’s stance on the important issues of the day. For instance, is she in favor of the full ban on gun shops, or the zoning that was enacted? How would she fund the senior center? Would she even fund the senior center project? etc.etc.
As a reminder, roughly 14,600 voted in the city council election in March. Roughly 25,000 voted in the last mayor election. This will bring out a much wider swath of the city. And the voting contacts of the city councilors will be involved as well, as all of them will be up for reelection too. I’m very interested to see the endorsements for both candidates.
@Fig count me as a voter who supported Ruthanne in the last election but will not be doing so this time. I feel like there are still a lot of unhappy high school parents. Just because the kids will be back in school full time next Fall doesn’t mean we forget what happened. The decision making process was incredibly poor. Both my kids have indicated they learned next to nothing this year. There has been no real acknowledgment of that with any plans to remediate that moving forward. There is a lot going on at the Hs level which continues to be concerning.
NHM: I agree with you 100% on the schools. I think the school administration, school committee and pretty much everyone else involved in the planning and execution of the school plan made major errors and didn’t meet the standards set by our neighboring districts. I do not plan on voting for the same school committee members this time around. But I don’t everyone connects the Mayor with this, the school committee runs the show in my view. Perhaps Jane or others involved in the schools can weigh in regarding this issue.
I also just don’t think that issue will have the same power in November. And I also don’t think folks will end up voting on that issue as much as you think. Lots of Cabot school parents were furious with our city council representatives above the disorganization around the Cabot rebuild. A lot of those same Cabot parents vowed to never vote for those folks again. Time passed, and the issue faded. Most voters have short memories.
As for the swing vote, my point to Matt still holds I think. One or two people swinging either way don’t make a movement or a unifying force…and certainly that wasn’t evident in the folks posting above either way.
Newton’s schools have been a measuring stick in the region for decades. Don’t under estimate the impact of this disastrous year come November.
It’s one thing to disagree on a budget or a school rebuild, but learning came to a screeching halt this year. Students suffered more emotional difficulties than ever before. And all the while, neighboring districts were beating us at every metric – how they handled Covid and specifically a quicker, more effective return to in-person learning.
While the role of Mayor is not a decision making one when it comes to schools, she underperformed when it came to providing decisive, confidence inspiring leadership in this difficulty year. Her cheerleading more often sided with the school administration and unions…and parents noticed. The fact that Mayor Fuller did not send her kids to NPS was an issue in 2017. It will be a lightning rod in 2021.
When it comes to our children, their well being and college prospects; when issues hits closest to home, people have long, long memories.
V14 may be the wrong forum to say this, but now is not the time for analysis and opinion. Now is the time for action.
If you have been upset about Mayor Fuller’s job performance, don’t try to convince anyone else, right now. Instead, go to Amy’s website and DONATE today. Amy will not need the huge cash supply accumulated by Mayor Fuller, but she will need significant and timely donations to mount an effective campaign.
And don’t worry about this month’s Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) contribution numbers which appear to only be updated through 5/31/21, before Amy declared. Worry about next month’s OCPF contribution numbers and do your best to increase those numbers for Amy.
So GIVE already at https://sangiolo.org/
@Fig @Matt Lai
Really don’t think the amateur horse-race coverage is that accurate nor helpful. Let’s stop guessing what others will do- without any real evidence to bring to the table- and instead talk about what we believe. You in particular Fig- you seem to love to prognosticate, and it seems more like guessing based on a limited sample size of experience with neighbors and friends. Not really helpful.
For me, Fuller failed as a leader with respect to schools and COVID. The comparison of NPS to other school districts during COVID was clear- we were among the worst at adapting over time. While we can all debate the degree of control Fuller has as Mayor, what is not debatable is that she shrunk from the issue. Rather than clearly pushing both sides for not getting on top of the issue, she ducked the topic. She did not share our sense of urgency, and did not LEAD our City. Schools are among the most important elements of Newton City government, it’s half our budget. She failed. In my mind, she is disqualified to be Mayor again. Seeing someone as qualified as Amy as an opponent is great news.
@Bob Burke:
I meant that Lukas and John were more common sense Democrats and opposed to excessive wokeness. Though compared to Barash and Ranalli this would probably describe 99% of Newton.
Has Amy spoken on the record of what she would have done differently on schools? Is she in favor of honors classes in middle school? Would she have been more aggressive about getting the high school kids back in class?
The NTA has not been shy of their criticism of Fuller. They backed Lennon and rightfully so. I’m interested in seeing their endorsement which I think will be for Amy.
I’ve said this before but I feel strongly that a mayor who sits on the school committee should be a strong proponent of public schools. If a mayoral candidate doesn’t have kids or their kids are too young to have been in a public school, that’s fine. But a mayor who actively opted out of public schools in favor of an expensive private school does not belong on the school committee and thus does not belong in the role of mayor. Her disinterest and ignorance in the school committee meetings is evident. She has to go. (There are other reasons, too)
@Alec Wilson – Spot on!
I started paying close attention to Newton because of the schools. How the mayor accepts or passes on the responsibility for the school reopening or the general state of the schools, will speak volumes to her leadership style.
The Mayor is a voting member of the School Committee though she indicated that she was only one member of the SC, she is the leader of our city. As Leader of our City she should have stepped forward and implemented an all hands on deck approach to this issue but she didn’t. She ignored world class medical experts when they volunteered their help. There was a lack of ownership between herself, the Superintendent and Dr. Youngblood. So much that occurred could be a case study in what not to do. Any situation like this needs clarity and accountability. Basic step one was to evaluate the HVAC of all the school building and publish that info. They kept saying the buildings were safe but the everything hit the fan in late Sept/early October then they dug deep into the HVAC project already behind the eight ball in conveying safety of our schools to Teachers and Parents. So many divides were created this year due to lack of proper action.
I think the school vote is overestimated. Mayor Fuller won last time without NTA support and the NTA did not cover themselves in glory during COVID. 80% of the population does not have school-age children.
Add to that many parents are new to the community and confused by the plethora of choices – 24 councilors, 8 school committee members – or international and not eligible to vote.
I think the condition of our roads and growing traffic congestion will be a big issue.
@Fig & NHM – agreed, high school was a joke. My kid had 1 class a day for the last semester.
If you want a good laugh here is what NPS told the State high school students were doing this year to a complaint about lack of instruction time in high school:
The District provided the following details regarding the schedule in the Report:
Each full class meets 3 times per week, 2 for 90 minutes, and once for 35 minutes on
Wednesday.
Each day, except Wednesday, students have 3-4 90-min synchronous academic
classes.
There are 3 Flex blocks each week for additional support, directed study, and student
gatherings, and 2 community blocks for advisory-type activities.
In each longer class, teachers can plan time for direct instruction through zoom,
student independent work on screen and off, and group work, sharing and connection.
School day begins and ends at the designated time for everyone–staff and students.
Extracurricular block includes time for remote student clubs, extension activities,
athletic team meetings and ensembles.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hBFls6hPwJqrW94MRQp1MzYpGRJSmK0h/view?usp=sharing
Lucia,
Newton schools reputation is the backbone of our city. It attracts residents who want to live here long lerm (K-12) and is a main differentiator to our neighbors waltham, watertown.
The schools are the backbone of property values, tax collections, funding for services
Even if 80% dont have kids, Newton with failing schools = disaster for everyone
Newton was voted bestb high school in country decades ago… its now in the 100’s in ranking
@Alec Wilson –
Hey hold on a minute there Alec. Without all of us endlessly prognosticating with very limited facts we wouldn’t have Village14 or half the Internet 😉
Totally agree @JerryReilly, Isn’t that why we are here on V14 – Prognosticate Away!
…and if I may add my two cents of prognostication…this will be an interesting 3 way race of issues and debate, but still can’t believe anyone would really want this job of no glory, constant criticism and competing worthwhile initiatives to juggle and decide upon needing the wisdom of King Solomon.
I for one think Mayor Fuller has done a good job leading through Covid, handling competing emotionally charged issues regarding the health and safety of our community, police reform, school re-openings, union contracts, fiscal stewardship, full day kindergarten, a greener more environmentally conscious community, protecting open space with saving Webster Woods, etc etc. Moreover, with the lack of any local news coverage, we thankfully have her weekly newsletters in our inbox to keep us informed.
And those that criticize her photo ops – really ? Give me a break, she is the Mayor for god’s sake, of course there are going to be pics posted of her out and about the city.
Have there been missteps? Yes, of course, but who wouldn’t have given the tumultuous year it has been. She has earned my vote once again, I am with Team Fuller.
@LongTimeNewtonite: Ruthanne – Is that you?
Lisa, google “On the internet, no one knows you’re a dog” Best cartoon ever.
Although it is ironic coming from you. Are you really Lisa? Which one? Lisa P? Lisa M? Mona Lisa?
As for Alec Wilson, no worries! Just don’t read my posts. But I don’t agree with you at all that I was providing “amateur horse-race coverage”. That’s semi-professional horse-race coverage to you bub.
In all seriousness, seems like you’d just like to focus on your personal reasons for not supporting Mayor Fuller and liking Amy. That’s fine by me, you do you. Just don’t be upset that folks don’t agree with you. I can’t yet say I’m supporting Amy, and I’m not wed to supporting Mayor Fuller, I’m just risk adverse for changing leaders to some extent. But to clear, we are both giving opinions, and the “horse race” is part of the process. The difference between our approach is that whether or not I like a particular candidate or issue, I generally try and give folks space to express their opinions as they see fit. If you don’t find my posts helpful, read on through, or comment directly where you disagree. You might actually consider reading through though, since my first post was on the blessings of a contested election, the second post was my view that Amy was not a “uniter” in my view and that I wanted to hear more about her issue viewpoints (with my listing out the issues I’m interested in), and my third post was in response to Matt, since I thought he was incorrect on vote switching.
As for my sample size being my neighbors, my neighbors are pretty awesome. But I do tend to be a talker, so you’d be surprised at my sample size. And on the internet you can meet lots of folks!
Cheers, Figgy
@Lisa, you’re funny, and no, not Ruthanne, wouldn’t want her life or her job!
@Figgy, excuse me for being so casual, not sure we have ever met… but I like your sarcasm about Amy being a “unifier”. I’ve been around the block a few times and in and out of city hall hearing rooms and council chamber hearings. Yes, I admit, I’m one of those folks that find it interesting to listen to what’s going on at city hall. Amy has been called many things, but “unifier” is not one of them. She had a reputation in the chambers as someone who was difficult to work with – just ask those that served with her. Don’t be fooled by a cut and paste newsletter as “unifying” these past few years. It is simply a way to keep her name out there in the event the inevitable run for mayor happened again.
@Fig
Your post literally made no sense.
“ The difference between our approach is that whether or not I like a particular candidate or issue, I generally try and give folks space to express their opinions as they see fit.”
What is this based on?
1. You’re on record here of not supporting either candidate yet, so criticizing you isn’t about disagreeing about a candidate or issue.
2. I wasn’t criticizing your opinion on a candidate or issue, I was criticizing that you spend too little time talking about the issues, and too much time guessing what OTHER people besides yourself will or won’t do. And yes it was amateur-ish horse race coverage.
The number of false strawmen in your response is honestly pretty amazing. You assume a lot about my intentions with no evidence. I’m just looking for what’s best for Newton. I don’t think Fuller as mayor is the answer, but if it is, so be it.
To get to the issues- you wrote that Fuller did pretty well under difficult circumstances. How do you justify that? There are many municipalities that did better. Do you see that differently? You think Newton did better than the average city/town in Massachusetts during COVID? On what basis?
Alec:
I think my post made perfect sense. You are welcome to criticize me as much as you want, but in my view you are being critical of my posts without reading them, which is what I pointed out, accurately I think. My response to Matt was a response to what I considered to be his inaccuracies in his posts. That isn’t horse-race commentary, that was stating that I disagreed with him and how. My other posts were about how I was happy to have a race for mayor, and that I was looking forward to Amy’s positions on the issues and that I didn’t view her as a “unifier”.
We clearly do have different styles in our posts, and you are welcome to support your candidate as passionately as you want. But you’ve now criticized me for “spending too little time talking about the issues”, “spending too much time guessing what OTHER people besides myself will do” and accusing me having an “amazing” number of “false strawmen” all in addition to your first post focusing on my posts. Is it a “false strawman” to think you keep attacking my posts because you don’t like that I’m not immediately on board the Amy for mayor bandwagon? I don’t think that is a false strawman, but hey, more than thing can be true. I could be guessing that is the reason, and I could also be right. As for not addressing the issues in my posts, ask and you shall receive:
To get to the issues, I think Mayor Fuller’s record is there for all to see, for better or worse. But the challenger usually needs to define her positions as well, as her record is not as clear, especially since the world has changed a great deal in the last few years. But since you seem to want to focus first on Mayor Fuller, here are my thoughts:
Schools: I hated what occurred with the schools, I just don’t feel Mayor Fuller is the primary person to blame, and I don’t remember Amy as being a particular champion of the schools when she was in the city council. Jane’s opinion means a great deal to me, so perhaps Jane or someone else from the NTA can educate me on that issue a bit more as the race goes on. I agree that other municipalities did better than us, especially on getting elementary schools students back. But we are also larger than many of those jurisdictions, had much worse infrastructure/buildings, and frankly had a school board and NTA that seemed more focused on fighting than compromise. I think that the school committee and the NTA are tied up in a dysfunctional spiral that has been going since I’ve had my kids in Newton schools. The School Committee needs new blood, and it needs it right now, but I digress.
City Infrastructure: I liked what she did with City wide projects. It took guts to continue on with the Newtonville and West Newton projects. I love how Newtonville looks now. West Newton is still a mystery to me, but I’m guessing it looks a lot better when finished. I like that road paving has increased a great deal over the past year. I thought that Setti let some of the basics of city government grind to a halt. Fuller reversed that. I love the Allen House project. I like the library parking lot redo. I like the outdoor restaurant space, even if I would have liked us to be even more aggressive and close a street to make it more like Moody Street, even if it was just for the weekends.
Communication: One of the biggest tasks of a mayor during a crisis is communication. I appreciate that some folks on this forum haven’t liked her email blasts, but I do. And my family does (I know you don’t like it when I mention my neighbors and friends due to sample size Alec, but heck, let’s mention them as well. My elderly neighbors referenced her emails and the numbers in them to me weekly. Sometimes those communications weren’t meant for everyone, but they clearly made an impact.)
Boston College/Webster Woods: I like that she challenged Boston College. I would have liked her to do more there on increasing PILOT payments, but even if I disagreed with eminent domain and Webster Woods, I can’t deny that now Webster Woods is a city asset for all time. Setti completely messed that whole situation up, and she cleaned up the mess (albeit in an expensive manner). I don’t buy into the nonsense that she did that because it was in her backyard, any more than I thought Cabot got put on the redo list because Setti’s kids go to Cabot. And I liked that she challenged and called out Boston College’s Covid numbers weekly, and pushed them to recognize that their students have a direct impact on resident’s health.
Affordable Housing: I like what she did with affordable housing. I’d like her to do more, but it is more than Setti was doing, especially after his Engine 6 issue. I think she took the practical approach. Build what we can (like with the Armory falling into our lap), push developers for funds/affordable units in 40B projects, recognize that we haven’t met the 10% safe harbor for 40B, work to meet it. The idea that any mayor has complete control to just ignore 40B doesn’t explain why the jurisdictions around us all have 40B projects as well. It can’t be that ALL those mayors are in the pockets of the “developers”. More likely it is because 40B is the law of the land…
Overall: Since you want to challenge my assertion that Mayor Fuller did pretty well under difficult circumstances, in talking to my friends that live in Boston, in Needham, in Natick, in Brookline, etc, no one thought their Mayor was perfect during Covid. I acknowledge that other jurisdictions had better outcomes for their schools, as noted above. Other large school districts had worse outcomes as well. Mayor Fuller seemed to me to consistently take a practical and cautious approach to the Covid crisis. I noted above that the city in my view kept moving even during the worst of things, projects didn’t just cease, the city set up clinics for testing and vaccine roll-out. And my view is colored by the fact that these were unprecedented times, and Newton got hit very hard in the first wave. But to emphasize, unlike you, I wasn’t doing a direct comparison to other municipalities, since I feel that has limited value. I was evaluating her on the end result, the communication focus, the funds distributed for restaurants and businesses, the overall sense of leading us through what was a mess of a year. And perhaps some of it is that the person who leads during a time of crisis gets some benefit of the doubt too. Just my opinion.
Mayor Fuller has had her missteps as well. I thought her senior center rehab rollout was poorly managed, and continues to be poorly managed. I think I’d prefer a mayor that pushes Newton forward faster. I generally think our Mayors focus too much on our bond rating and not enough on our city, and she is no exception. My perfect mayor would say damn the torpedoes, let’s get more shovels in the ground when borrowing is cheap. I’d have redone the Gath Pool and the city parks (I still have no idea why we have such horribly maintained parks in Newton, and why we need to fight for CPA scraps to do what should be done in the main city budget). I think that I’d prefer a more “retail” mayor, one who knew everyone and opened her door to everyone. Mayor Fuller seems more formal than that, and often that comes across as being disinterested, at least to me. But I’ve watched her take conference calls with area councils and other groups, and gamely answer some difficult questions with aplumb, so it isn’t all bad news, even if I don’t love her overall style.
So I don’t think the mayor has been perfect, but I do think she’s done pretty well in hard times. Thus far, that’s enough for me to give her another shot during less crazy times, absent Amy convincing me she can do better, and that her vision for Newton is what is best for Newton long term. Amy’s got 4 months or so to lay out her vision for Newton. That’s not my job and that isn’t being focused on the horserace to ask what that vision is. Amy clearly didn’t convince enough folks of that vision in the last election, as she placed third. She’s got another chance now and I look forward to hearing her stance on all these issues.
So Alec, thus far you’ve only focused on what Mayor Fuller has done wrong. That is only one piece of the puzzle, don’t you think? What positions does Amy hold that make you think she is the answer for what is best for Newton? What’s her vision that is so different than Mayor Fuller’s track record thus far? That’s what I asked in my posts above, and that is what none of the Amy folks have yet answered (we have lots of time for sure). Why Amy? What are Amy’s positions? Or is it just that she ISN’T Mayor Fuller enough?
Look forward to having the conversation over the next few months. I’ll keep trying to pepper my posts with things that amaze you too, even if it is just strawmen.
Cheers, Figgy.
It is amazing how one little comment gets hyper focused and undue attention. This is what I said:
“My hope though is that voters see Amy as a balanced candidate, that can bring differents sides of Newton together, as MMQC just alluded. Fingers crossed!”
First, it’s an opinion (a hope, really) and never intended as fact.
Second, Newton politics have become extremely divided. I can’t imagine a voter leaning Barash/Ranalli could be easily swayed to Lucas/Oliver or vice versa, but Amy’s announcement brings about hope that this upcoming election will be more rooted in issues and the Mayor’s recent performance.
“I was a Barrash and Ranalli voter and share their views on development, but I am 100% behind Amy. And I know others that feel similarly. There’s more to Newton than development and I’d really like to focus on our schools right now which have faltered under Fuller in a big way.”
How this turned into me being the poster boy for “unify” is funny, but have at it.
PS. @figgy – no one needs to speak for Amy in terms of “why Amy” or her positions. She has many years of Newton public service under her belt, not to mention her 2017 run at Mayor. But yes, there is plenty of time for her to update and refine her positions for this election…and I very much look forward to hearing more!
PPS @figgy – yes, “Or is it just that she ISN’T Mayor Fuller” will be a factor in this race.
PPPS Anyone else disappointed the 4th of July fireworks were called off?
https://patch.com/massachusetts/newton/no-fireworks-newton-july-4
PPPPS Happy Juneteenth!
Hi Matt
I didn’t actually mean for that one discussion point to be such a big deal, absent Alec’s criticism. I just disagreed with you and didn’t think your point was made by one person who supported Barash and Amy. But there is plenty of time, so if folks start to cross over and support Amy and the slate of city councilors I wouldn’t expect them to support in droves, I’ll be the first to say so via a message culpa.
On Amy and the issues, my point from the beginning is that a lot has happened over the past 3 years. I have very little recollection of her positions at this point and many of the issues are new. One of the biggest is how to move Newton forward after Covid. How to spend the federal windfall. But asking me to remember the campaign positions from the primary is too much for me, I honestly don’t. So yes, I need to know more about Amy. My point about voters having short memories isn’t just from 538 musings, it also applies to me!
As for Amy being someone else besides Mayor Fuller, I do understand that point, but that isn’t the issue driven analysis folks wanted, that just is what it is. I’m not going to vote for the challenger unless I know how she is different and better than the incumbent. That’s just me. But that being the main selling point for Amy ignores that opinion poll that recently went around for Mayor Fuller. Even if you feel that was a crappy poll, absent the folks on this blog, do folks in their personal networks feel a rebellion in the force against Darth Fuller? (I remember I think you like Star War metaphors Matt. If I’m wrong I apologize)
And I am very upset about the fireworks. I think it was an ordering issue. Did Boston call off theirs as well?
Cheers Matt. Have a great weekend.
I’m sure it will be a close election. I need to learn more about Amy and her views. But I voted for Mayor Fuller in the last election, and I’ve been let down. I’m very open to Amy’s candidacy and appreciate the choice her running provides us.
There’s no question the Ruthanne has worked tirelessly. But there are many areas where I feel we’ve seen nothing but status quo thinking and conservative, incremental approaches. Nothing transformational has been attempted. This disappoints me as her many skills would help anything new get done better. She’s a planner, but I don’t see a real City wide development plan or approach. The siting of the Senior Center (anywhere that people would agree) illustrates this. I feel she didn’t use the power of her office to help the superintendent effectively manage our schools and the various issues through the pandemic.
We’ve had 2 recent Mayoral election (Warren/Balser and Fuller/Lennon) that were almost dead heats. Our city is closely divided. From what I know of Amy she is the right kind of candidate (thoughtful, experienced) to appeal to many prior Fuller voters like me. If Amy Sangiolo runs a good campaign, I think she can win.
I was talking to a woman who was getting signatures to get Amy on the ballot and she cited some previously Fuller supporters were really upset that she didn’t disclose what she knew about the gun store. This is a big deal to a lot of folks, too.
MMQC, as an aside I wonder what happens to Mayor Fuller’s support with two strong female candidates running. I do think she got a boost over Scott based on that particular issue.
On the gun store question, I think I’m going to stick to my same answer about the schools. I recognize the issue, but considering the city council’s role, and the fact that the gun store isn’t opening, I’m don’t think it will have the power folks think in 5 months time. (disclosure to Alec, horse race alert!) But I do want to hear what Amy thinks about the ban vs zoning fixes. Some of her strongest allies on the council are advocating for the ban, does she agree?
This is actually a big issue for me, because if Amy is advocating for a complete ban after the guidance we’ve gotten from legal experts, city law dept, Gifford non-profit, etc, I would be less likely to support Amy. Hoping both of the candidates take the practical approach and follow the advice of legal counsel.
@Fig
Great post, appreciate you laying out your thinking.
Don’t have time for a long response (you are the all-time champ there), but suffice to say, that I see the schools issue very differently, and while I agree on some of your other highlights, the schools issue trumps all by a large margin.
FWIW- I think comparisons with other cities is extremely important. We do way too much de novo thinking in Newton, when best practices and lessons learned are all around us. Understanding if Fuller has done a “good job under tough conditions” is a lot easier comparing her to others in the same situation.
Alec, thank you and sorry it was lengthy. And while I disagree on the school issue regarding the mayor, I can certainly understand the viewpoint and the frustration.
As for the comparison, I agree that it has value, the hard part is that when dealing with issues each Mayor has to play with the deck the previous administrations left behind. I think that for decades we pushed off building maintenance, road maintenance, sewer maintenance, etc. We had a tremendous backlog by prior mayors kicking the can forward. Instead of long range thinking we got short term thinking, short term results. We played games with our budget, and years later reaped the lack of benefits.
So when a crisis hit, our school buildings were old and not easily upgraded. I blame the city (including the mayor) for not realizing that earlier last summer and being more proactive. But some of that blame rests with Mayor Cohen and others who pushed off major repairs because overrides were so unpopular.
But comparing us with a city like Weston or Wellesley, or even Needham, which have raised taxes more frequently or have a better commercial base from which to fund repairs and renovations, is somewhat unfair in my mind.
I will ask the same question of both candidates, which is: “considering this time of super low borrowing, isn’t is time to supercharge our repairs to city infrastructure? If we have to combine that with a special assessment, so be it. Will you support additional borrowing and additional taxes to fix up Newton?”
“she had a bit of a reputation in the council as difficult”
LongTimeNewtonite, there is a special place in hell for women who use sexist terms against other women.
Having served with Amy on the Council, I can attest she is principled, passionate, and persistent. It can be “difficult” when you’re on the other side of an issue from her because she is such an effective advocate, perhaps that is what you *meant* to say.
Councilor Norton, I think to be fair you should use the full quote from LongTime Newtonite:
“Amy has been called many things, but “unifier” is not one of them. She had a reputation in the chambers as someone who was difficult to work with – just ask those that served with her.”
I think in the context of the quote, she was responding back to my comment that I didn’t view Amy as a unifier of the council, which I think was coming from a comment from Matt Lai, who thought she would be such a unifier. Describing someone as difficult to work with in the context of who can unite the city council from its recent divisions doesn’t personally strike me as a sexist term, (especially if you are going to cast LongTimeNewtonite to hell for saying it. Can’t we just cast her to Somerville or some such place?”).
Or to say it another way using your words, for me, sometimes the most passionate and persistent folks in my life are difficult to deal with, since they don’t see the value of compromise or bridge building. To me that’s not about gender. He/she/they can all be equal pains to deal with. Doesn’t mean that he/she/they aren’t right of course. It depends on the the principle they are being difficult about!
@EmilyNorton, what @Fignewtonville said. Full stop.
Sorry Fig but I’m not buying it. It came across like a cheap shot from someone worried about Amy’s candidacy and lobbing personal attacks instead of substantive critique. I served with Amy—she’s a fierce advocate, always does her homework, listens to all sides and works to lift up the voices of those who have been left out. She also has a great sense of humor and was a lot of fun to serve with – I miss her!
If we are taking a survey of those who served with Amy, I, too, admired her passion, knowledge and hardwork. I admired her dedication and compassion. Amy took a huge brunt of the criticism for us “trouble makers” (as Paul Coletti used to call us, I preferred to think of us as independent thinkers) … perhaps because everyone was expected to toe the line, perhaps because her size was small. But Amy always stood her ground and did her research and didn’t cave to pressure. No one ever expected me to agree with them anyway, so I probably got the easy end of the stick. I knew I could always count on Amy to help me find the facts, regardless of whether or not she agreed with me.
I learned a lot from her (as I did from many of my colleagues). I often got told that Amy was one of the few Alderman that you could always call and she either answered or got back to you. I tried to model myself after that. (Of course that means I still get calls even after being off the board for nearly seven years )
In all fairness, I served with Ruthanne as well and I know she got a lot of work done, but I never had the opportunity to actually work on anything with her, so I cant comment.
And @fignewtonville … as someone who was once deeply immersed in the fight against the passive agressive sexism in the workplace, I am telling you, even the full quote from LongTimeNewtonite doesn’t make it better. Calling a person “difficult to work with” simply because she is a woman who asks questions and offers a different perspective than what is being pressured, when a man in the same position would be lauded as being principled and independent is textbook sexism. Yes, many have called Amy difficult… but if you dig in to the cases, it is because she was pushing for facts and answers that they were either unable or unwilling to give and it’s easier to just call her difficult.
@Greer. Your comments are a 10 strike. I prefer to think of folks like Amy and you, not as “trouble makers”, but as “free spirits”. Forge ahead.
Greer, where I differ is that you are making an assumption in my view when you say the comment was “simply because she is a woman who asks questions and offers a different perspective”. And I fully acknowledge that you know and worked with Amy, so you are in a better position than most on this blog to judge based on prior actual experience. And I also acknowledge that you and Councilor Norton are likely to be strong supporters of Amy (and friends I would imagine), so you might be a bit biased as well. W
The reality is that I don’t know Amy personally, and I’ve got no idea who LongTimeNewtonite is, and I’m not trying to be referee here. But I certainly do know some amazing people of all sexes who ask questions and push for what they believe in, and I’d describe them as difficult sometimes, regardless of sex. You can be a amazing asset to a body like the City Council and still be a giant PITA. (Pain in the ***). LOL.
But as I think we’ve got better things to talk about here, this will be my last post on this particular discussion. And before someone says it, yes I’m a giant PITA.
There’s no reason to believe that “Longtimenewtonite” is necessarily a woman, or a long time resident. But a sh*t-stirrer? Most definitely. And clearly not just some outside observer… despite the Veep screen grab, your agenda is showing.
Any candidate who throws their name into ring will always receive both compliment and jabs. Amy’s a champ and will be just fine.
Was getting a little scary that no one was stepping up to challenge Mayor Fuller leading into May, but hard to top Amy as a candidate – for all the positives people have stated above – and even some of the negatives too.
This is not to say Mayor Fuller did a horrible job, but had she shown the preparedness, passion and tenacity (PITA) that is Amy’s calling card when it came to return to in-person learning, perhaps Ruthanne would not be as vulnerable to losing re-election.
Unless others join the race, this will come down to a scrappy David vs the deep pockets of Goliath…and lots of fun to watch and participate in.
@Matt: This program — and the state grant that’s providing the start up cost — grew out of a desire to help get workers (and the case of William James College and Mont Ida, students) to public transit to and from Wells Ave/Mt. Ida. It’s since been expanded to allow residents and workers in other parts of the city use it too thanks to the technology and the fact that Via, the same vendor that runs the NewMo system for Newton’s seniors, was the successful bidder and is already serving the entire city’s geography.
@greg: appreciate the added details, but I think you may have meant to comment on the other chain. Happy to continue there as I am still confused bout the routes. Meet you over at the other post. 🙂
As a homeowner and parent of NPS kids, I want two things:
1. Newton needs to remain an attractive place for (well to do) families to move in, but not necessarily become entrenched in the downward spiral of “affordable housing”. I want the housing prices to go up with market. I want older homes torn down by developers and build more “single family” homes. I have nothing against McMansions and oppose any zoning changes or taxes to discourage modern, new, larger homes built on good size lots. I want planned village centers and planned lots and zoning that looks more like Oak Hill, not necessarily Washington Street or Needham Street commercial areas. It’s good to have village centers that have restaurants and other businesses but otherwise Newton should firmly move towards “Tree lined suburbia, planned lots, single family homes” vision.
2. Newton should do whatever it takes to maintain excellent public schools. Focus on improving other elementary school buildings, consolidated a few if necessary if the demographic shifts warrant that but make every school building modern with good ventilation (Covid necessity), playgrounds and drop off-pickup parking lots. Improve ALL middle school and NSHS buildings. I want the future mayor to focus more on the future (younger) generation and lesser on the past (older) generation. Senior centers are fine, but kids and families are what will drive Newton into 22nd century.
Make Newton safe, wealthy, prosperous, planned, awesome. Let the per capita income rise to the levels of Weston and Wellesley!
@add78 Your vision for Newton excludes me and all my neighbors. None of us will be able to afford to stay in the city you envision. And yes I am a homeowner too but under your vision I will eventually be forced to sell and move out.
I find this extremely unattractive and want no part of it. My vision includes middle class people who also deserves a convenient place to live with good schools, low crime, etc.
Gary,
First define “middle class”… what is the income of family of 4 you are referring to
My family has a household income of about $150k.
Note, not sure where you got a family of 4 from. Families are more than just 2 parents with 2 children. I support all families being a part of the fabric of the city.
Who is going to force you to sell Garry?
Garry
Do you want these “middle class” families to be about to afford market rate or subsidized?
Subsidized means you allow a token number of people … enough to relieve oneself of liberal guilt
Market rate is simply “fantasy” … to pick one of the most affluent towns in MA with excellent schools, low crime and quick commute to the city. To expect market rate to accomodate ANYONE OF ALL income ranges is simply not grounded in any economic reality… outside communism
@Garry,
We live in a capitalistic society. I am a legal immigrant of color and have prospered here far more than I could ever could back in my homeland growing up middle class. And yet I am not wealthy here, simply upper middle class. Nobody is guaranteed to be able to live in the same city / village simply because they grew up there or have been living for decades. If the market rate of housing prices goes up and existing home owners are unable to afford, they benefit by selling it higher than they bought it for and pocket the profit and move to lower cost city or state. We should not be artificially trying to “make” Newton affordable by converting single family zones into multi family or building large apartments and condos just in the name of fake diversity and to satisfy liberal guilt. We should make Newton prosperous, tree-lined, planned, better schools, better roads & sidewalks, better town centers (restaurants and other services that residents cannot get online), safer (no de-funding of police or fire, no gun shops or unsavory businesses) and family friendly.
Add78, kicking out the ladder behind you is indeed the Americans. Welcome aboard.
Add’s vision of Newton sounds absolutely hellish to me. Striving to be Weston and Wellesley is not my cup of tea or most of my friends and neighbors.
MMQC,
Couldn’t agree with you more. But, isn’t this the vision of a bunch of council candidates, softened with a little attention to the need for truly affordable housing and a promise to reduce McMansions/McMiniums, which they cannot keep?
@MMQC,
Genuinely curious: why is that vision “hellish”? You do not want Newton to be more suburban, planned, wealthier, inspiring, safer, younger? Do you want it to be more urban, denser, poorer, pedestrian, less safer, older?
Mmq
“Striving to be Weston and Wellesley” …. i think add78 accurately described waban, newton center & chestnut hill.
Add78,
There is nothing wrong with your vision at all…
You are simply witnessing liberal “virtue signalling” and flexing liberal street cred.
“You do not want Newton to be more suburban, planned, wealthier, inspiring, safer, younger?”
If I wanted this I wouldn’t have moved here. I live in a denser part of Newton on the Northside and I moved here because of the density and walkability. If I wanted more suburban I would have moved somewhere more suburban. And we are not a wealthy family so by making Newton even wealthier it would ensure that my family would no longer fit in here. If I wanted Weston and could afford it, that’s where I’d go. But Weston and Wellesley are not my kind of places.
What is “artificial” is using the power of government to explicitly exclude certain classes of people, while generating unearned windfall profits for existing homeowners. It’s also morally bankrupt in my view.
The “market” is neither free nor fair in this case.
I don’t believe my view of Newton is one that excludes trees, better roads and sidewalks, services in village centers, etc. In fact my vision makes all of these things *more* possible by generating revenue for the city to fix the roads and enable city services such as schools, police and fire (and tree planting!), while generating more customers for the businesses that make for thriving village centers.
Add78:
Curious as to why you decided to use this particular thread to espouse your philosophical beliefs about Newton’s future.
As for your post, you mention Wellesley and Weston. Wouldn’t your views match those communities? It could take 50 years or longer for the housing stock in transform via your requirements in Newton. Perhaps you’d feel more comfortable in those communities while the rest of us toil in the desperate squalor of a bare 10% affordable Newton…oh the humanity.
I kid, but honestly, your entire post makes this into an either/or situation. The reality is a solid shade of grey. Newton hasn’t even reached its 10% affordable requirement to prevent 40Bs. We aren’t suddenly becoming the new affordable part of the Commonwealth. Frankly most of this drama is about maintaining the same basic percentage of affordable units. Folks like you act like we are somehow changing the very fabric of Newton, but the reality is we are all just tinkering along the edges. True zoning reform will do more, but everyone will be very old before it would materially change Newton. It takes decades for a zoning code change to work its way through a city. IVe lived here for close to 20 years. Change happens very slowly.
This isn’t a really an argument about Newton somehow being poorer anyway, except for dramatic effect. It is mostly about density. We aren’t suddenly becoming Framingham or Worcester. We could eventually look something more like Brookline, especially near our Village Centers. Last I checked, Brookline was younger, denser, more urban, pretty close to our level of safe, with a greater range of activities and well maintained parks and schools.
There is enough room in Newton for the city to do its part in the overall MA community to provide a baseline level of affordability to a significant percentage of residents. That baseline is 10% affordable. Let’s start there. Even Weston and Wellesley agree with that…
I still want to know who is going to make Garry sell his house. That remains unclear to me.
Also Garry, you know that additional residents drive costs as well as revenue, right?
In the 22 years I have lived in Newton since buying my little house, my property tax bill has quadrupled. I now pay more in taxes to the city of Newton than I do to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
It is true that residents of single-family homes with kids require a lot of costly services, such as schooling. I would suggest that we diversify the housing stock to attract new residents who do not require as many services.