People can review a sample ballot on the Town’s website, here: 2013 Official Ballot
Also, polling locations can be found here: Precinct Polling Map
Uncontested races this year include the election of our Town Moderator, our Town Assessor, a one-year seat on the School Committee, a five-year seat on the Housing Authority and a two-year seat on the Housing Authority.
Town Meeting
In some precincts there are competitive races for Town Meeting, and in others there are fewer candidates than open seats.
Here in precinct 4, the four incumbent Town Meeting members are on the ballot unchallenged.
Board of Selectmen
There is one seat up on the Board of Selectmen, and long time incumbent Kevin Greeley stands for re-election.
Running against Kevin, in her, um, fourth attempt to get elected, is Maria Romano.
I would like to find the time to talk at length about political divides in town, and what the candidacy of Maria Romano has come to represent, but I will need to save that for another post.
I’m voting for Kevin Greeley.
School Committee
Three candidates are running for two, three year seats on the School Committee.
They include incumbents Kirsi Allison-Ampe and Judson Pierce.
Hoping to pick one of them off is new-comer Michael Buckley.
It is good to see people step up and take an interest in local government, and I hope Mr. Buckley continues to remain involved after this election.
He brings no experience, and a history of non-involvement to the table.
If this were a job interview, his resume would not have made the cut.
Not this year, anyway.
Perhaps he’ll stay involved, and we’ll have a chance to see more of him in the future.
I’m voting for the two incumbents, Kirsi Allison-Ampe and Judson Pierce
Ballot Questions
Given the lack of competitive races this year, it is no wonder that the two non-binding ballot questions will be what most people focus on this year.
Question 1 asks:
Shall the Town have four vehicular travel lanes on Massachusetts Avenue in East Arlington as now practiced?Personally, I’d prefer six lanes, all underground, with a beautiful, long town plaza on the surface, complete with a ferris wheel, and pony rides for the kids.
YES or NO
What I’d more realistically prefer is a town that could engage in serious, honest debate about issues that impact us.
Instead too much oxygen is sucked up by dishonest rhetoric, aimed more at creating divisions than solving problems.
That though is a topic for another post.
Here is where I stand on the Mass. Ave. project:
I believe that Mass. Ave., in its current configuration, is a dangerous road.
I believe that the stated goals of the project to rebuild Mass. Ave. are goals that I support:
- Increase safety for all users, especially pedestrians.
- Create a traffic system that is safe, efficient, and easy to navigate for vehicles, pedestrians, individuals with disabilities, bicyclists, and transit riders.
- Upgrade the infrastructure -- roads, sidewalks, traffic signals.
- Improve the Lake Street/Capitol Square business district to create a pedestrian friendly center, where people feel safe and comfortable meeting, shopping, and strolling.
I wish I could see into a crystal ball and say with certainty that the engineers got things right, and the new proposed design of three lanes will work.
I don’t have a crystal ball, so I can’t.
What I do know is that if we are going to use outside money to repair Mass. Ave., we have to accept the strings that come with it.
We cannot have four lanes, unless we want to pay for this project using local funds.
The bulk of the cost associated with doing anything is sucked up in stripping and repaving the street.
To keep four lanes, we have to spend somewhere between $4 and $6 million dollars in as yet un-raised money, that will come from local property taxes.
For that amount of money, I am willing to cross my fingers and hope the engineers got it right.
I am voting "No" on question 1.
Question 2 asks:
Do you favor the Town’s current overnight parking ban?The Board of Selectmen decided to put this question on the ballot to get a more accurate sense of how residents feel on this issue, and to see if there is a strong difference of opinion in different parts of town.
YES or NO
I am generally in favor of people being able to do things they find convenient, including parking on the street, when it doesn’t adversely impact essential stuff (such as emergency vehicle response rates, in this case).
Related to this question I have heard that we in Arlington pay lower auto insurance rates than we would otherwise, because of the overnight parking ban.
That leaves me conflicted.
I’m still not sure how I will vote on this question. That uncertainty has me leaning toward supporting the status quo.
I feel that people should generally be able to park on the street.
I don’t feel so strongly about it that I think we all should pay more for something like auto insurance.
The one thing I am certain about is that I am glad the question in nonbinding.
I do think the Board was right to put the question on the ballot.
It will be good to know how people feel, and should help inform future decisions on the matter.
We differ quite a bit on a few issues but I'll make them for the purposes of discussion.
ReplyDelete- Selectmen: Living in East Arlington, I am glad Maria Romano is running and speaking up. Yes, there is divisiveness in the town politics right now but that has been brought on by years of East Arlington being overlooked. Some streets here are a mess and have been for decades. Sidewalks need major repairs and there is 'never money in the budget' yet the Heights got brick sidewalks and gas light streetlamps. Water pressure? New lines in the hills off Menotomy but nothing by Spy Pond. Constant traffic on Lake St. but no traffic patrols... Cyclists riding out into traffic off the bike path as the impediments have been removed and never put back... the list goes on and on. The two families here bring in a large bulk of the town's property taxes, more per foot than most other areas of the town, yet the money is consistently spent in other areas. Romano has a lot of growing grassroots support for a reason: people here are fed up with the way things have been going for decades. The town has pitted the majority of the town against East Arlington and she is the only one from this area speaking up.
- Question 1: As you mentioned, we can use our own funding or someone else's and reduce the lanes. This isn't about doing what is best for the residents, it is about cash-flow. It is about redoing the Center using other people's money and risking the East Arlington neighborhood to get it. If it fails, these neighborhoods pay the price. The residents that know the area best are overwhelmingly against it. Sure there is no crystal ball but there is much to go on and all the results have been bad. The goals look good on paper but they are selling the idea. It will not be safe (look at the accidents caused by the bump outs in the Heights!), nor efficient (we have lived with it and saw the results of 3 lanes back when snow narrowed Mass Ave. last winter and when a DPW crew narrowed the intersection of Rt 16 / Mass Ave last spring). The Capital Sq. area will not benefit and become 'pedestrian friendly' as parking will be reduced or pushed to the outskirts, hurting the elderly and handicapped and commuters that want a quick stop. The businesses here are overwhelmingly against it as they know what will happen, all for some experiment. No one in town wants to pay for it to be redone and want outside funds to try the experiment. Yet we have money to redo the Symmes Hospital area? We in the town will pay to improve that area as the residents want it. The town's monies should go, as they are there, to improving the town even if it is primarily for one area and one neighborhood. That has not seemed to flow into East Arlington; the town and residents should support improvements here in East Arlington without having to take federal money and the narrowing it will require. Sorry but we have accepted the bike path cutting through the neighborhood and took on the traffic issues it brought. We took on Alewife and the widening of Rt. 2 and all the increased commuters and congestion through the neighborhood. We in East Arlington have always stepped up and done our part. We now expect the rest of the town to do their part and not continue to take the taxes from this area while not backing this area. Enough is enough.
- Overnight parking. I was for it as well but after talking to many of the police I am against it. It isn't just about emergency vehicles and insurance rates, but about crime. Too many don’t know this but currently, if a car is parked there, it is noted by police on patrol. Since most robbers do not want to carry away possessions on foot and cannot park in the driveways, crime is low (especially for a congested area near the city). Allowing parking on the streets will increase crime and hinder the police from seeing who is in the neighborhood that should not be. That side of the issue hasn't gotten out there much and too many people see it just as an inconvenience.
Ed, Thank you so much for the comments.
DeleteI much prefer the chance to have a conversation over just putting words out there.
Responding in reverse order, on overnight parking I see your point. It would be a cost to changing the policy. Other costs would be appearances, clogged roads, increased number of cars in the area period, and probably others.
When I hear about an inconvenience someone has due to the parking ban, I generally think it is a real shame, and wonder why it has to be so.
But when we get into the details of the issue, all these other points come up.
I'm not sure we've been shown that the current situation, with the parking ban, is a broken system. So why change it?
Ultimately, if residents show interest, there are a lot of different ways this issue could be approached. Standard resident permits being issued. Much easier system of obtaining a waiver. Warnings issued before tickets. Etc.
Ultimately, I'm just curious to find out how more people feel about the issue.
When confronted with the drawbacks to eliminating the ban, I tend to favor the status quo.
Question 1, Mass. Ave. I think that the cash flow issue is a real part of doing what is best for the residents.
I also think there are a large number of East Arlington residents in favor of the change. This is, I think, a recent development. Our neighborhood has changed rapidly over the past 10 years. There are a lot more young professional couples, and young families than there used to be.
Most of us new folks also like the Minuteman path. It was an attraction for me, that helped lead to me wanting to live here.
I wish I could say for certain that the project won't cause congestion problems. I can't for certain, but I do know that traffic flow is not something that follows intuition. Too many other factors are at play. I think a primary factor is in being able to predict what other travelers are doing. After a project like this, a car may never reach the speed it used to on a stretch of road, but the travel time could still remain the same. That's not intuitive, but still true.
I try hard to not drink any side's kool-aid.
There are plenty of people out there that will tell you how the world will come to an end when this project happens. There are also plenty of people out there that will tell you how we'll end up with peace on earth once it is completed.
I think the project is a compromise, with something in it for just about everyone to hate. But it has a lot of good in it too.
Kevin Greeley versus Maria Romano. I don't share your appreciation of Romano.
I do think there is a constituency in Arlington that has a tendency to win more often than not.
Actually I take that back. It would be a better description to say that opposition to decisions gets claimed quickly by one vocal group of opponents.
They tend to seek to divide people, they focus on ad hominem attacks, and they show no interest or desire in working constructively toward solutions.
Even if their rants against a political elite that doesn't want to listen were true, it isn't a good way to move forward.
Worse, it drowns out any discussion that could successfully present different views.
I think of this element as Arlington's own Tea Party.
Whether or not the prevailing views are right or wrong, this group isn't doing anything but hurting what opportunities exist to let other views be heard.
I think they hurt our chances to work through issues in our community.
As for more resources getting directed toward East Arlington, I want to see that too.
What I really want to see is some major improvements to the Magnolia Park area. I think the space needs some serious attention, and I think it could turn into a wonderful area.
But I know one way to make sure it doesn't happen: approach the issue like the Maria Romano's of our town would.
My worry regarding overnight parking, after hearing from th officers, is that no one I have spoke to seem to have heard that reasoning. We see the inconvenience, especially in this day of multi-car households, and know it would be easier to leave a few cars out rather than juggle them in the AM. Once there are cars on the street however, be it from permits, a lift on the ban, etc. the advantage the officers have will be gone. They won't immediately spot and watch cars out on the street, and breakins will likely rise, sadly.
ReplyDeleteOn Question One, the problem is that it is an experiment where one area takes all the risk. We have background to show it will not work. We had a bottleneck at Mass Ave and Rt. 16 last spring that caused major delays for the entire project. Why would this bottleneck do any better? We had a lane closed due to snow and there were major delays the entire time until it was cleared. Why would reducing Mass Ave permanently work better? We are talking about 1% of the commuters on cycles taking 25% of the road. I cycle. I love the Minuteman Bikeway and raised funds for it. But that is a far cry from wanting to take over valuable and necessary roadway.
With Romano, her ever increasing support has been grassroots and risen from the frustration of this area and its residents. Divisive? Yes, we agree it is. But she didn't start it. She is there in response to it. There is no trust in the town officials anymore, especially on this side of the Center. We have no reason to trust them. There has never been an attempt at cooperation or open minds. At the large initial Town Hall meeting, the many residents that came out were told 'We don't want to hear you don't want it, just your opinions on how to make it better." They made it clear they don't care it isn't wanted. Drive around this section, look at the signs in yards. If there is a Romano sign, there is a Keep Mass Ave 4 Lanes sign, too. Too many had given up fighting Town Hall and were disgusted. I know of 3 neighbors that sold their homes over the leadership in town, disgusted they paid the same high tax and didn't get the benefits other areas received. As you mentioned, Magnolia and Thorndike Park(s) have deserved a much needed overhaul and get nothing. Add that to things I already mentioned, and I could tell you 10 more for each already spoken of. Now that the town is being divided, some want to paint Romano as the problem. She is a result, not a cause. People are digging heels in because they are tired of it and I can't blame them. You state they don't work toward solutions but that isn't it. They are not giving in on a project no one here wants. Now the town is saying, 'Okay, we get it, you're ticked. Let's cooperate? I'll do what I want to do against all objections but make little changes." That isn't cooperation. Its gone too far. Being told you'll only have your hand amputated instead of your whole arm isn't cooperating. Forget the insinuations about cushy jobs being handed out and people making money through eminent domain purchases. The rumors are all over the town now and I don't know what to believe... I do no that no one is trusted any more. None. And they have themselves to blame, not their vocal opponents. There is palpable disgust with the Town's officials that runs throughout these neighborhoods these days. People are beyond fed up and that brings about support for anyone who will not back down. It may be the Tea Party to some, but can also be compared to any group that finally stands up to fight. It never should have gotten this bad and I hope the rest of the town starts to realize it and supports their neighbors in East Arlington in their fight to not reduce the number of lanes on Mass Ave and they support some candidate, Romano or otherwise, fom this section that can bring much needed tax dollars in for long denied improvements.
Wes as usual your take on things seems pretty sensible.
ReplyDeleteOn Mass Ave, we've had a long public process that has produced a pretty good plan, though not a perfect one. If we were to start over I think we'd probably wind up in the same spot in four years, if we don't all strangle each other first. Except we'd be short 6.8 million dollars.
My big objection to Question 1 is that it is intentionally misleading. It fails to characterize the actual choice before Arlington in a yes-no form.
People who accept the compromise and the need to move forward could nonetheless vote for Question 1, and I expect that many will. This is a sly ploy for votes, but it creates such an ambiguity that the town will, I predict, have a free hand to proceed whatever the result.
Queue the recreational outrage, I guess, but I say, hoist by own petard.
On the other hand running for town office is exactly the way to empower the disgruntled majority that Ed says Romano represents. It is the Selectmen who, under our form of government, provide the political leadership to the executive department of the Town (which is in charge of road planning among many other things).
So by all means, take Arlington back, or over. I think it will be a hard sell because she is so identified with opposition to Mass Ave, which is a popular plan. But here at least the battle is truly and fairly joined, and no one need doubt what his or her vote means.
Romano did not do too badly for a newcomer the first time she ran, which was against Kevin Greeley in 2010. If Ed is right and her support is growing she should do better against Greeley this time. We'll see.
Being relatively new to the neighborhood has advantages and disadvantages.
ReplyDeleteA disadvantage is that I do not know the long history of tension between East Arlington and other Arlington neighborhoods. I can’t tell if East Arlington has ACTUALLY been slighted and ignored, or if there is just a PERCEPTION that town resources have not been allocated fairly over the years. I don’t know.
An advantage is that I don’t care about settling past disputes, I care deeply about the present and the future of Arlington. It’s important to accept Arlington as it actually is today not fading memories of “golden years” that no longer exist.
I support the proposed Mass Aver. Corridor project because the project makes a lot of sense to me. This PARKING NEUTRAL project will improve things for all “vulnerable” populations – children, elderly, and the disabled. Don’t underestimate the power of aesthetic improvements and pedestrian safety. The road is broken, it needs to be fixed, and we have a great plan to modernize our community.
I don’t know why anyone thinks federal money is “outside” money – I pay federal taxes, federal money is my money! Calling federal money outside money is as silly as saying Mass Ave has currently has four lanes. Mass Ave has two unstructured lanes that swell and constrict as traffic flows down the street. Voting yes on issue one as a protest vote against town politics, or national politics, is reckless!
The only thing we know for sure is that East Arlington residents are deeply divided on this issue. No single organization can claim to speak for our neighborhood.
If the project goes forward I hope we can unify as a neighborhood to support businesses during the construction phase and heal the wounds of conflict.
I appreciate Romano’s passion and involvement in Arlington politics. However, I see a contrast between her official image and what she says on-the-fly. She was rude to the opposition at the Leaf Blower Special Town Meeting, and she said parking meters in East Arlington are a great way to raise revenue for the town. Despite what she says my impression is that she is a candidate for a particular constituency.
"He brings no experience, and a history of non-involvement to the table.
ReplyDeleteIf this were a job interview, his resume would not have made the cut."
Mike Buckley is an educator. The other candidates are not. Mike has spent time running a classroom and leading a department of teachers. How is that not having experience? Kirsi had lived in town for only two years when she chose to run. How involved was she when she first ran?
Thanks for the comment.
DeleteMy parents were both public school teachers, and I hold a lot of respect for the work all teachers do.
I don't feel that teaching in a classroom is adequate, in and of itself, experience to serve on the School Committee.
I have a strong prejudice against candidates that have not, through fault of their own or otherwise, been actively involved in a way the voters have been able to observe and evaluate, prior to their candidacy.
Without that involvement, we the voters do not have an opportunity to evaluate what it is they bring to the table.
I don't believe I had started this blog yet, but I sent out an email with my thoughts on the Arlington List last year, and I spoke rather strongly against Steven Byrne's candidacy for the Board of Selectmen last year, precisely for this reason.
I didn't speak against him because I thought he wouldn't do a good job: I spoke against him because we had no way of knowing what kind of job he would do.
I may well have had similar things to say about Kirsi Allison-Ampe when she first ran.
By now however, we have had a chance to see her work.
So far I have generally positive feelings about Steven Byrne's performance too.
So when he's up again, I may well take a different view.
I hope Mike Buckley remains involved, so we can better evaluate what he brings to the table.
It may be that next time I throw my support behind him.
For now though, I stand by my statement.
Here are the unofficial results from today's Town Election in Precinct 4:
ReplyDeleteBoard Of Selectmen:
Greeley: 241
Romano: 216
School Committee, 2 for 3 year seats:
Allison-Ampe: 228
Buckley: 173
Pierce: 200
Schlichtman for 1 year seat: 300
Question 1, Shall the Town have four vehicular travel lanes on Massachusetts Avenue in East Arlington as now practiced?
YES: 243
NO: 245
Question 2, Do you favor the Town’s current overnight parking ban?
YES: 274
NO: 213