A ballot-question committee, No Override Newton, was formed two weeks ago to advocate against the approval of three override proposals totaling $14.9 million. The three questions will be decided in an election in March. The No Override Newton committee is chaired by Traute Marshall, and Lynne LeBlanc is treasurer.
(As reported earlier, the Vote Yes for Newton ballot-question committee was formed in October to advocate for the approval of all three ballot questions. According to its quarterly financial report ending December 31, the Vote Yes for Newton campaign raised $16,236 and spent $3,642.17 on website, email, and other information services.)
The No Override Newton committee chair, Traute Marshall, said that she was very active in the campaign opposing the override ten years ago. At that time, she and others “revived” the Newton Taxpayers Association (which had been formed in the 1930s) to oppose the 2013 override, which passed. Now, she says, “It’s the same bad situation, only made worse, so I needed to get engaged again.” She said, “There’s enough money [in the City budget]. There’s bad management of money and overspending on the wrong things. The City knows what it has coming in. [An annual increase of] 2.5% [per Propositions 2.5] is the will of the people. We all know our incomes and live within our means — the same goes for the City.”
Marshall cited these other reasons for voting against the upcoming override: “Inflation is high; the City has ARPA money; there are 1000 fewer students in the schools.” She noted that the school budget used to be 50% of the City budget but has recently grown to 55%, and she mourns the loss of village center libraries.
Marshall says that she sees much dissatisfaction with Newton City government and has counted 33 listserv groups of people upset about zoning and over-development. “People are asking, ‘Where can we buy signs [for the No campaign]?’,” she said, adding, “We’re a grassroots organization, looking for people to join. We’re non-partisan.” The group currently has 15 members and meets regularly and informally. It is planning to launch a website at NoOverrideNewton.com, which was registered this week but is not yet live. Graphics for yard signs are being designed.
