Hope springs eternal
You’re all invited to tell us why you are voting FOR any of the candidates running in this election. You are specifically requested NOT to use the thread for comments about candidates you won’t be voting for. There are plenty of other very busy threads available for that.
So do tell.
Who’s got your support and vote and why?
I supporting Barry Bergman for Ward 6 councilor. He is direct, measured, calm, and honest. He has no agenda other than make sure we are all represented. He listens. For those who haven’t explored his website, I would encourage you to do so at:
https://www.barrybergman.org/priorities
One added quality that Barry has, as I have seen when he interact with voters, is that he is a man of good humor. When a voter offers an understanding of his position on an issue that is inaccurate, he always addresses it directly, but always with a smile on his face. No one wants to be told they are wrong, and we know we have too much of that right now. Rather he educates and offers additional information, that enablers to know that they have been listened to, but they may not have had all the information.
Barry would bring some civility and a much needed voice for a broader swath of Ward 6 Voters who don’t feel represented. Or as he puts it: He will Advocate for Us
I’ve been giving a lot of thought to why I support the candidates that I do and trying to articulate that in a way that speaks to more people. I’ve been accused of a lot of things on this site, many of them unfair and untrue. But I do try to listen to what people are saying and understand their perspectives.
I truly believe that every candidate means what they say when they proclaim that they want more affordable housing and an increase in local economic activity. I’ve spent a lot of time reading questionnaires, speaking with people I trust, talking with city councilors, and reading. Yes, I read all sides and I try to understand why people believe what they believe. I try not to dismiss those with whom I disagree, I truly do try to understand what they’re working to accomplish.
The differences, I believe, come down to perspective. Some people view the city from the inside out and talk about how we “protect” what we have or “maintain” something about Newton that they love. They look to the past for inspiration and they often seem to think that Newton is can operate on its own and impose its will on institutions like the MBTA, developers, and businesses.
Other candidates look at Newton from the outside in and consider where Newton stands in the Greater Boston ecosystem as well as in the national and global perspective. This is when you hear people talking about how to be welcoming, equitable, attracting development, and courting business. It’s when people look at the MBTA and think “how do we get their attention” rather than “the MBTA should give us what we want.” They look to the future of how Newton will look to the next generation that doesn’t yet live here.
This isn’t to say that any of the candidates running are inherently negative, nor do I entirely agree with everything that the candidates below stand for. I also don’t disagree with everything the candidates that I didn’t choose believe. There is crossover with everyone, and nearly all the candidates have devoted significant time and energy to Newton. They should all be applauded. But we each have only a single ballot.
I believe the candidates listed below (contested races only) have a broader perspective, which matches how I view where I live, and I hope you will join me in voting for them.
Mayor: Ruthanne Fuller
Councilors at-Large:
Ward One: Alison Leary
Ward Three: Andrea Kelley
Ward Three: Meryl Kessler
Ward Five: Deb Crossley
Ward Five: Andreae Downs
Ward Six: Alicia Bowman
Ward Six: Vicki Danberg
Ward Councilors:
Ward One: Maria Scibelli Greenberg
Ward Three: Jim Cote
Ward Five: Bill Humphrey
Ward Six: Brenda Noel
School Committee
Ward Six: Shawn Fitzgibbons
Ward Seven: Kathy Shields
Here are mine so far. I’m still undecided on many.
Mayor: Amy Sangiolo
Ward 3: Undecided. I like both personally, but I find Julia somewhat ineffective and even though Jim is, I can’t fathom voting for a Republican. (I’m not going to weigh in on the other ward races because I can’t vote in them)
Ward 1-at-large: Alison Leary and John Oliver
Ward 3-at-large: Andrea Kelley and Pam Wright
Wards 5 and 6 – Undecided. Not too excited about any of them. They seem to be running too strongly anti-development vs. pro-development and I need more.
School Committee:
Kathy Shields. I remain undecided on Levy vs. Fitzgibbons. They both have their pluses and minuses. I’ve been put off by Levy’s history at BIDMC but I’ve also been put off by Shawn’s seemingly odd campaign strategy of having his wife being snarky and obnoxious all over social media plus I think school committee is just a temporary stop on his way up the political ladder. Yet I think they’d both be pretty good on the school committee.
I think Chuck is fair and accurate in his analysis of the general difference between the candidates he supports and the ones that he does not.
Hi all:
Before the next few days occur, I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone for running. It takes a lot of work and sacrifice to run for elected office, and then even more work and sacrifice to serve. I’ve zoomed into just a few of those late night council meetings (and school committee meetings are likely worse!). It is a lot of work and it can be a thankless job where it is impossible to please everyone. But no matter who wins, I’m confident each of you will do what you think is best for our community, and that means something as well.
It has been a very tough 2 years. It gives me some degree of hope that so many folks have agreed to step up and serve. Thank you.
I’m going to try and stay off social media for a few days, as it feels like most things have been said, (and all the great themes made into theme parks). Best of luck to all of the candidates.
Ps. and to folks still posting, please be kind. We all go back to being neighbors with nothing to say to each other in less than 48 hours, and I’m told online anger is bad for the skin and your waistline. In the immortal words of Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, “Don’t Drive Angry! Don’t Drive Angry”
pps. Groundhog Day is a good metaphor for Newton elections as a whole. Dear lord, we have another one coming up in two years…(unless there is another special election or referendum)
Ding, ding, ding – fignewtonville wins my personal Best V14 Comment of the Month award. See ya on the other side Fig
Also worth noting …. this “Why I’m voting for … ” thread has two comments with folks giving there reasons why they support specific candidates, meanwhile nearby food fight threads have dozens and dozens of comments.
If you care about the elections enough to publicly squabble, here’s your chance to tell us why you’re enthusiastically voting FOR your candidate(s).
Tell us.
What Chuck Tanowitz and fignewtonville said.
This election could be a turning point for many important local issues, from fighting climate change, to affirmatively furthering fair housing, to promoting housing affordability, to ensuring a sustainable future for Newton. The candidates Chuck has endorsed all get my vote for those reasons and more.
@MMQC, municipal elections are nonpartisan, so no one runs as a “Republican” or “Democrat.” That being said, I know many fine Republicans. My great-grandfather was a “Good Government” Republican back in the 1920s and 1930s who was an alderman and Vice Mayor of Newport, RI. Jim Cote is a good guy, and was very responsive to constituent concerns when we served together. We didn’t always agree, but he gets my vote this time around as the best person for the job of Ward Councilor in Ward 3.
It will be my honor and privilege to co-host election night coverage on NewTV with Jenn Adams and Greg Reibman tomorrow night. I want to thank everyone who put themselves out there and ran.
I know municipal elections are nonpartisan. But who they vote for and who they donate to matters to me. Those values do affect what happens on a municipal level.
And there’s a big difference between a Republican 100 years ago (your great-grandfather) versus one in the age of Trump and DeSantis.
I too decided to not vote for Pontiff given her donation to Trump. I agree that who they donate to matters. I would also say that who donates to our candidates matters. And yet I have seen very little concern here on V14 that the developer and architect who are working on an active special permit that will be voted on by the City Council each donated the maximum donation allowed by law ($1000) to Vicki Danberg and that she accepted that donation, only returning it after it was exposed. These two gentleman, David Oliveri and Andrew Consigli did not provide the name of their employer or their role as required by law making it more opaque as to their connection.
Surely we can do better.
These tweets from Cote that should give voters pause:
https://twitter.com/JimCoteWard3/status/1340852906459848705?t=06SOMBEHb4ZIZrIfCnD5WA&s=19
https://twitter.com/JimCoteWard3/status/1337122517991960576?t=PMaTuzX7Jev0acJD8zzPaw&s=19
https://twitter.com/JimCoteWard3/status/1321144066319519749?t=yMXR6iVF43bpTIPeE9Rz_g&s=19
And that’s just a few. This is not someone I want having a say in my city government.
@MMQC and yet he has been embraced by the slate which tends to present themselves as more “progressive”
Right, and he even got the stop gun violence group’s endorsement. This is a person who regularly retweets Fox News and conspiracy theories. It’s baffling to me. He’s a nice, friendly dude and he does a fine job with communicating with constituents etc, but I don’t want his beliefs seeping into our local government.
As a resident in Ward 6, I have heard both via email and via this blog about these two donations from developers to Vicki Danberg who are requesting a special permit in her ward . Mary Lee mentioned that the developers contributed under their own names (which I assume they are entitled to do as private citizens) and that she returned the donations. It would be great if Vicki could respond to this insinuation that she is on the take. Did she return the contributions once she discovered who they were or did she need to be prodded?
Both the emails and the comments on this thread are from people who are not planning to vote for her. I am interested in the other side of the story. If anyone has information, please comment. Better yet, if Vicki reads this blog perhaps she can respond to these statements. I don’t see a Vicki Danberg thread on this blog.
As interesting as the discussions in this thread are (and can become), we have a lot of other discussions happening elsewhere on this site. Please try to stick to Jerry’s original intent, which is just to talk about why you are voting IN FAVOR of a given candidate or group of candidates.
I tend to stick my neck out a little less than some of my colleagues here, but I would like to add a little to the mix:
– I am voting for Amy Mah Sangiolo; while I typically favor the Council candidates slotted as “more Progressive” in housing and zoning, I do not interpret her stance as antiprogressive, and certainly not monolithic, which I think is an important distinction. More importantly, I feel that she is responsive to people across the city in ways that I have never felt from the incumbent. I feel she will listen, and that is always number one for me. (It doesn’t hurt that she reached out personally to me after my terrible bike accident in June asking how she could help– not that I would expect that level of attention to every single resident, that certainly did not hurt in cementing my opinion.
That said, I found myself mostly to the so-called “progressive” slate (Mayor excluded), but will single out a few who, again, I know for a fact listen to constituents and keep an open mind:
– Maria Scibelli Greenberg, who made an effort to knock on doors and get to know constituents that I have not seen from anyone else. As a Ward 1 resident, she is a great reminder that Ward 1 is not just Nonantum, and that the Councilor from the Ward needs to represent everybody, not just one neighborhood. She gets my vote.
I won’t list everyone I respect and will vote for (and that doesn’t mean I have no respect for those whom I will not vote for), but I will call out Jim Cote and Andrea Kelley as two who go out of their way to get to know people and listen.
It’s a local election, and being seen as part of the community– the entire community– matters.
Bruce,
These are not insinuations. These are facts verifiable on the OCPF website. There are very strict disclosure requirements including that for any donation over a certain amount ( I think it is either $200 or $250) the donor is REQUIRED to list their employer and position. So when you say
“the developers contributed under their own names (which I assume they are entitled to do as private citizens)” that is just wrong. It isn’t the entitlement, it is their obligation under campaign finance laws to disclose who they are and their affiliation.
As an aside, Mr Oliveri also provided and old address which is in Brighton, when he lives in Natick. Neither gentleman lives in Newton. They just do business ion Newton.
https://www.ocpf.us/Reports/CityCouncilReports
Vicki Danberg knew exactly who these two individuals were when they made the donations. Mr. Oliveri’s donation was made on September 3rd and Mr. Consigl’s on 10/5, ample times to return them.
When this issue came up in the debate, Councilor Danberg doubled down and said that there was nothing wrong with it. It stretch credulity to say they were returned when she learned of them. They were returned when the public learned of them. The record shows they were returned 10/18, the Monday after the debate. And returning them at that point is irrelevant. It is the fact the the developer and architect was so bold as to make these donations and the they be accepted in the point.
If people chose not to care , that is their prerogative. But these are the facts all verifiable through public records
@MaryLee – Could you please move this to one of the other posts. This one is specifically for saying who you are voting FOR and why.
Same to anyone else using this post for negative comments on candidates. There are plenty of other posts about specific candidates that you can use.
What Chuck and Meredith said. In fact, I think the moderators should exercise their right to remove off topic comments from this thread. But that’s just me.
Is there a place where we can discuss the Ward 3 race then? Neither him nor Malakie have posts submitted and I think this is an important discussion that doesn’t deserve to be shut down, but there’s no other place to have it.
@ Meredith, if someone could point me to a more relevant thread, but I was responding to MMQC concerns about donations, and as she is correctly pointing out, since we are limited to the threads that moderators initiate, finding the most relevant thread isn’t always easy.
I’m voting for Amy Mah Sangiolo for Mayor as I want a Mayor who is an active participant on the School Committee. She has stated that she will initiate discussions and be engaged. Her children went through NPS so she knows what are schools once were and has lived the experience. We need someone asking questions. We need a leader who is not afraid to acknowledge mistakes and change course if needed.
I will also point out that I was the first person to comment on this thread when Jerry was bemoaning the lack of comments.
Why I’m voting for Paul Levy. Yesterday I received a petition on addressing racial disparities in NPS from Shawn Fitzgibbons. I agree racial disparities in achievement in NPS are shameful. They have remained constant and large for the last 20 years. I disagree with Shawn’s recommendations. For example, looking at advanced placement disparities in high school is too late.
NPS should be examining SPED placements in K-5. When my kids were in K-5, minority children were seemingly automatically placed in SPED. Do many K-5 students placed in SPED move out in middle and high school? How many eventually make it to advanced classes in high school? NPS should be looking for more ways to support students in advanced work in K-8 so students are ready for high school as opposed to eliminating different levels of instruction and supporting private tutoring services.
Also, hiring more teachers of color – great idea, but should they be going first to Newton or first to higher needs school districts with more minority students? The majority of teachers in Massachusetts are white, 88%.
Shawn’s heart is in the right place, but I’ve seen variants of his solutions tried for the last 20 years. They are more idealistic than realistic. I think Paul Levy agrees that racial disparities are shameful for a highly funded school district with an educated and supportive community. And I think he will do a better job in moving the NPS to reduce them.
@Mary & Mary – thank you for pointing out the missing space. I have now put up a post for discussion that would otherwise be homeless.
MMQC, Right Size Newton is trying to make this election about development. In spite of their fearmongering, I don’t imagine most voters buy that narrow and shortsighted view.
We need city councilors who can lead on climate action, the demand for affordable housing, and our quality of life…including green space, revitalizing our village centers, and supporting our public schools.
But it’s not enough to elect people we agree with, we need effective leaders. I am supporting candidates with a proven track record of effective leadership, progressive values, and demonstrated commitment to serving our community.
Serving on Newton’s city council is time consuming and requires the ability to deal with a broad range of complex issues, from fiscal and infrastructure oversight to zoning to transit to public safety, while also having enough policy knowledge and vision to proactively address the issues mentioned above like climate, housing and support of local businesses…all while also being responsive and helpful to constituents who have a broad range of opinions. Single-issue candidates (e.g. anti-development candidates) are not suited for the full job.
Similarly, we need School Committee members who can simultaneously strive for educational excellence, inclusiveness, attracting and retaining exceptional teachers, and fiscal and infrastructure management.
For these reasons I’m voting for (or in wards 1,3, and 5 ward seats, supporting) Leary, Kelley, Kessler, Crossley, Downs, Bowman, Danberg, Greenberg, Cote, Humphrey, and Noel, and for School Committee, Fitzgibbons and Shields.
One of the unpleasant aspects of being a politically involved citizen is when a candidate you have been fighting hard to elect turns out not to have the character and personal integrity you thought they had. The warning signs have usually involved some minor, but crudely insensitive and deceptive act I would brush off as inconsequential during a campaign, but which manifested itself in more consequential actions when that candidate was elected and took office. That’s only happened to me a few times, but you never forget them.
So it’s nice when a seemingly minor. virtually unnoticed act by a candidate during the heat of a campaign reveals the capacity to put the needs of others ahead of their own ambitions. Joanne and I observed this from Amy Sangiolo during a recent pot luck supper at the Hyde Community Center to support hunger and nutrition programs. Amy could have used the occasion to campaign, but she chose to remain out of the limelight. Instead, when the supper was ended, Amy spent at least 45 minutes silently helping staff pick up dirty dishes and glasses and to spruce up the entire area. I don’t think Amy cared one bit if anyone saw what she was doing, but to me it was one of those minor acts that reveal a person’s character, values and the capacity to put others before herself. Minor, perhaps, but a welcome the essential of a successful leader in these times— the capacity and humility to think beyond personal needs and desires.
@Rhanna
For somebody who knows our city charter so well, how is it you are able to vote for 4 Ward Councilors. Do you not have to be a resident in their wards to voter for them?
Actually Simon, those of us with secret decoder rings get to vote in all contests.
And if not that, here’s what Rhanna wrote (bold added by me):
@Rhanna / Greg
Mea culpa!
Thank you to Doug Haslam and Bob Burke on sharing those observations in their posts. Decency is paramount and those arguably minor but genuine gestures that you described matter a lot.
Doug, I’ve always respected your V14 comments but didn’t know you’d had a bicycle accident so I went to your Twitter feed to learn about it…so sorry that you experienced that, and best wishes for your recovery.
I cycle a lot on roads like Meadowbrook, but mostly down in Dover and Medfield. Every time I hear a Tresca Bros. cement truck (or similar) zooming up behind me, I know that my life is in the hands of the driver. It makes my shoulders and neck tense up just thinking about it, then I compare it to the bike rides my family did in Strasbourg/Alsace in the summer, and Montreal this fall, and I think: if only Massachusetts policymakers in 2021 could show a sliver of the respect for human life that those places have been showing to all road users for decades. Making the decision whether to drive or get on a bicycle shouldn’t have to be life-or-death, as it so often is in these parts because of apathetic local politicians and ineffective and incoherent metropolitan planning.
Thank you Michael, I appreciate it. It’s been a summer (and autumn).
And I only brought it up to emphasize the decency that it is not difficult to show (not that I would expect every candidate for office should have reached out that way- she happened to have my email from previous interactions, and we had met).
But it does illustrate that that personal touch has an effect, to the extent even door-knocking and public meet-and-greets can be replicated, on individual votes. Bob’s story was even more marvelous, and confirms my own impressions.
Thank you Michael. Doug is a class act and a truly thoughtful and compassionate man. We are both Y members and freely share political and Newton type items even when we don’t agree on certain items.