Thanks to Lynne LeBlanc, Julia Malakie, Chris Pitts, Frank Wolpe and Al Ciccone, Jr. for your willingness to serve the people of Newton on our Board of Aldermen/City Council.
Thanks Cyrus Vaghar and Susan Huffman for wanting to make our schools better as School Committee members.
Thanks Groot Gregory, Tom Sheff, Miles Fidelman, Lisa Teuscher Gordon, Peter Harrington, Charlie Shapiro, Linda Jordan Kraus, Megan Risen Meirav, Kathy Winters, Wenhua Zhang, George Mansfield
Ken Parker and Peter Bruce for your willingness to review and perhaps reshape our city’s charter.
And thank you Marcia Johnson for your tireless service to Newton as an alderman since 1999.
It was, at times, a divisive election. But your willingness to share ideas and your time makes Newton a better place.
You’ve earned your city’s respect and gratitude.
Congratulations to all of the candidates who were elected to the Board of Aldermen/City Council, School Committee, and the Charter Commission. I look forward to serving with you. And thank you to everyone who ran. There are no losers, only those who ran and tried their best.
I am also grateful to the people of Newton, who have given me the privilege and honor to serve the city I love for another two years. I will do my best to earn the trust you have placed in me.
While I am happy to have won my race, I am saddened by the fact I will no longer have the opportunity to serve with my long time colleague and friend, Ald. Marcia Johnson. Throughout her tenure on the Board of Aldermen, Marcia demonstrated the kind of leadership, effectiveness and commitment that most of us can only aspire to. She will be greatly missed.
Now, let’s get to work.
Thank you to every candidate. It takes a lot to step up and be willing to serve. You are all valued members of this community. And a special thank you to Marcia Johnson, who has served us all well. Your support and your kindness in the time I have known you means a great deal.
You are all winners in my book.
Greg – You said it all and thank you for doing that. Newton is fortunate to have so many people willing to step up to the plate to serve.
Thank you to all the candidates who put themselves out there, I now know first hand just how hard that is to do.
There is one person I want to single out. Marci Johnson dedicated herself to this city and regardless of how you voted, we all owe her a huge debt of gratitude.
@Greg: For the record, you left out one of Newton’s finest residents who stepped up to the plate in an attempt to bring balance to the BOA – Jess Barton. When Jess lost to an outstanding field, you never so much as thanked her for her efforts. Rather, days before the preliminary, you kindly created a post “Is Jess Barton chopped liver?” She could care less about these slights, but I’m posting this as someone who believes that each and every individual is deserving of our utmost respect, especially someone with the courage and talents of Jess.
@Tom: You are exactly correct. Jess deserves our respect and gratitude as well. For the record, the “Is Jess Barton Chopped Liver” was about decision by the Newton Villages Alliance not to endorse her, not the candidate herself. I really enjoyed meeting Jess on the campaign trail and the commitment she put into running a full campaign, spanning from door knocking to social media.
I apologize for the oversight.
One more note on Jess Barton: immediately after the preliminary, Jess stepped up and volunteered to help out (and we hope be appointed to) the City’s Urban Tree Commission. She will be helping to re-write the City’s tree manual and is committed to following through on other of her campaign priorities. This is the beginning of her story, not the end.
I also wanted to join Bryan and others in their praise of Marcia Johnson. Through my work with the EDC I got to know Marcy very well and appreciate her leadership of the Zoning and Planning Committee. She put a tremendous amount of time, work, commitment, and heart into the job, and we will miss her in this role. I’m sure that she will find ways to put that knowledge to use however for the City’s benefit in other ways.
And after seeing all Jess Barton’s photos and posts about her Community Garden, I figured she might be interested in helping plant trees at our big tree planting morning November 14, and she volunteered for that, too. :-)
I’m very disappointed that Tom Sheff wasn’t elected to the Charter Commission. No one worked harder gathering the signatures than Tom. If ever someone was more deserving and totally committed to Newton it is Tom.
Congratulations to the winners and the challengers. Our system works best when people are engaged and in this election it was refreshing to see so many challengers adding to the dialogue.
The election process provides me with direction and guidance for the next two years.
Thank you!!
Thanks to everyone who worked hard in these municipal elections. Thanks for recognizing how important they are and giving your time to any part of it. The candidates and their supporters worked tirelessly to try to get their message to the voters in Newton. Thank you to the volunteers who man the polling stations and all of the help you give.
Thanks to all the candidates – particularly Jess Barton. I was and am still am grateful to have her in Newton and I hope she gives it another shot.
I think a great slate of people are on the Charter Commission. I can’t imagine the work you have to do within 2 years. Good luck to you.