An electoral earthquake shook Newton politics last Tuesday, as voters swept out candidates who favored exceeding the state’s MBTA Communities rezoning requirements and favored those advocating staying within state limits. Tarik Lucas and John Oliver, whose decisive elections two years ago foreshadowed this earthquake, were the top vote-getters, while other anti-VCOD (Village Center Overlay District) at-large candidates beat their opposition by more than 1,000 votes. Anti-VCOD candidates also won landslide victories in three of four ward councilor races, while Deb Crossley, doyenne of the VCOD proposals, was defeated.
The unsung heroes of this election were the voters themselves, who erupted with a 27.5% voter turnout, the highest in a non-mayoral election since 2003. This increase in voter participation, in turn, was built on momentum from 2019’s 25% turnout, in which development issues also played a key role; it was the only other non-mayoral City Council turnout since 2003 to top 20% of registered voters.
In two weeks, a caucus of next year’s City Council will elect a new leadership team. I urge all incoming and continuing City Councilors to heed the will of the voters and vote for a new team that listens to the voters and does not say, “If you don’t like what we do, then vote us out of office.”
Marc Laredo led the effort to put forth and publicize the August 11 memo, signed by nine City Councilors, urging that the City should not exceed the state’s zoning requirements. I think we need someone like Laredo, or one of his allies, to be President of the City Council. And, in a spirit of civility and collaboration, all Councilors should work together to pass what is required by the state’s MBTA Communities Act and no more.
Peter Bruce
Newtonville