Susan Albright, in her second term as President of Newton’s City Council, has been an at-large member from Ward 2 for almost twenty years. She is the fourth woman to serve as President. In fact, the City Council now has fourteen women and ten men.
While Massachusetts made history last November by electing five women to constitutional office, Newton has been voting for women leaders for decades. State Senator Cynthia Creem represents the city in the State Senate, where she is Majority Leader. Representatives Kay Khan and Ruth Balser have served in the Legislature for more than two decades. Mayor Ruthanne Fuller became Newton’s first woman Mayor in 2018. Tamika Olszewski is in her second year as Newton School Committee Chair.
Newton has been Susan Albright’s home for most of her life. A graduate of the Ward Elementary School, the former Weeks Junior High School, and the original Newton High School, her roots run deep in community life. Her parents — both physicians — were also committed local volunteers. Having completed her education at Tufts and New York University, where she studied Urban Planning, President Albright married John Albright, and they chose Newton as a place to bring up their two sons. Among her non-political professional accomplishments, she developed two significant, innovative programs in medical education technology which she credits with enhancing her own problem-solving skills.
The Cabot School propelled her to become a parent activist, first as Cabot Fair Co-Chair, then in its Creative Arts Program, and finally, as PTO Co-President. At the time, the student population and the number of students in a class were rising, and the failure of an override put additional strains on class size. She led a group of parents who made an evidence-based presentation to the School Committee that brought attention to the coming baby boom across the city. The School Committee was receptive and provided the resources to mitigate Cabot School overcrowding. That experience convinced President Albright to run for School Committee, which she did and won, twenty-eight years ago.
In her fourth term on the School Committee, she concluded that Ward 2 needed another strong at-large woman on the then Board of Aldermen. She ran and won, joining Ward 2’s incumbent member, Marcia Johnson. “I thought I could do a better job than the person holding the seat,” she said. She observed that for some, local councils are an effective springboard to higher elected office, as in the case of Rep. Jake Auchincloss, who began his political career as a Ward 2 at-large City Council member. (State Senator Creem and Rep. Balser also served on the then Board of Aldermen.)
Reflecting on her role as City Councilor and now President, she said, “I feel good about the work I’ve done,” noting that her service has a direct impact on people’s lives by helping constituents navigate City departments or providing local assistance. Her Presidential duties include her ongoing, sometimes contentious, work in developing a new Newton Village Center zoning code — overseeing six council standing committees, endless meetings, and more immediate local initiatives such as Newton’s off-leash dog parks. As Council President, she has also been invited to meet with Newton’s Middle School students to discuss what it is like to serve on the City Council.
For the last year in her role as Council President, she has been part of the “GLAM” Committee (Grossman, Lipof, Albright, Markiewicz), looking for ways to reduce the rate of growth in funding Newton’s Pension obligation in order to fund the retention of teachers in Newton Public Schools as well as for funding for the Horace Mann renovation project and improvements for city roads and infrastructure. School Committee member Chris Brezski has been working with them. With the failure of the March 14th Operational Override, the group has been meeting with Mayor Fuller and offering to reduce the rate of growth of the annual contribution to the Newton Retirement Pension Fund, while still paying it off well before the state-required 2040 deadline.
The issue of who wants to run and serve on the City Council is particularly concerning at this time because of the paucity of candidates for the job. According to most recent Election Department reports, there is one declared candidate for a soon-to-be vacant Ward 2 seat; two contenders for an open Ward 6 seat; no one for an open Ward 4 seat; one challenger for the Ward 8 seat, and no candidates for the Wards 6 and 7 School Committee seats. President Albright concedes that there are negatives to public office. For example, the work is all-consuming, Councilors are subjected to a stream of negative comments, and there is small financial compensation. As for the increasing number of women office holders, President Albright explained that women today are more confident about running because they have seen other women run and win. Moreover, husbands and partners today are more supportive, as was the case with her late husband. And, more importantly in her view, “If you don’t like the way things are, what better way to fix them than by running?”
