Seven veteran Newton City Councilors said good bye to their colleagues and constituents on Monday Dec. 19 in their final meeting before leaving the council. Several of these are extraordinary and recommended watching. Thanks to Jack Prior of Newton Watch for recording and sharing.Â
Jack has also posted photos here.
The Newton City Council will hold its final meeting of the 2015-17 term tonight which means it is also the final meeting for these seven councilors.
Each of the retiring members will be given five minutes to offer final remarks.
From last night’s Zoning & Planning Committee meeting, which was the last for committee chair Ted Hess Mahan and committee members Brian Yates and Amy Sangiolo.
Festivities for THM's last ZAP meeting. And Amy & Brian's. pic.twitter.com/5BelkkgZBH
— NewtonVillagesAll (@NewtonVillages) December 12, 2017
Friday night something very special happened here in Newton. Seventeen candidates for elected office walked up to a microphone and shared a five minute personal story to a crowd of 150 people at Gregorian Rugs. The stories were funny, poignant, heartbreaking, emotional, scary and everything in between.
Thanks to Maureen Reilly-Meagher and Walter Frankel devoting their Saturday to the effort, we now have the video edited and those stories available for all of you.
Friday night’s Nomad Story Slam was a non-political event in the middle of the most heated part of a political season. For most people, getting up and telling a personal story to a crowd of strangers is a daunting task. For candidates for public office it is twice as daunting and we are thrilled that so many stepped to the microphone.
Friday night we asked the audience to refrain from any bit of negativity. Enjoy the stories or not. We encouraged them to cheer on the storytellers if they liked but absolutely no hissing, booing or heckling. The audience was wonderfully compliant with that simple request. I’m going to ask the same of all of you here on Village 14.
Just as I brandished a large hook on Friday night. I’ll brandish a small Delete key tonight.
Enjoy the stories for what they are and continue all the campaign comments on the many other Village 14 threads … and never the twain shall meet.
Many many thanks to Gregorian Rugs, our video crew, the Newton Nomadic volunteers, the audience, but most of all to the storytellers. Click on the names below. Enjoy.
Ted Hess-Mahan – co-host and outgoing City Councilor
Anping Shen – candidate for School Committee
Deb Crossley – candidate for City Council
Andreae Downs – candidate for City Council
Eileen Sandberg – candidate for School Committee
Janet Sterman – candidate for City Council
Matt Miller – candidate for School Committee
Jake Auchincloss – candidate for City Council
Susan Albright – candidate for City Council
    — intermission —
Amy Sangiolo – co-host and outgoing City Councilor
Jim Cote– candidate for City Council
Jerry Reilly – Newton Nomadic Theater
Ruthanne Fuller – candidate for Mayor
Margaret Albright – candidate for School Committee
Scott Lennon – candidate for Mayor
Nicole Castillo – candidate for City Council
Brenda Noel – candidate for City Council
Brian Yates – candidate for City Council
Andrea Kelley – candidate for City Council
Vickie Danberg – City Councilor bonus story
Following the events last weekend in Charlottesville Virginia and heading into the weekend with protests planned in Boston, Newton mayoral candidate (and flimmaker) Eli Katzoff reached out to his fellow candidates and made this video.
From John Hilliard in Sunday’s Globe.
[Ruthanne] Fuller is in the lead, having raised nearly $224,000 from November through July, with [Scott] Lennon coming in second with
The candidate’s next debate will be this Tuesday Aug. 15, 7 p.m. at the Senior Center, 345 Walnut Street.
