In the November 7 election, Newton voters sent six new members to the City Council, and on December 8, these Councilors-Elect joined the eighteen returning City Councilors in caucus to elect Councilor Marc Laredo as President and Councilor David Kalis as Vice President for the coming term. The two new leaders had served in those roles in 2018-2019. In Newton’s recent landmark zoning debate, they had not always agreed about rezoning Newton’s village centers.
Looking ahead to their term, which begins on January 1, President-Elect Laredo emphasized the importance of “working together.” As he and Vice President-Elect Kalis consider the make-up of the Council’s standing committees, both agree that balance is essential. “Balance builds consensus,” in Councilor Laredo’s view.
The President and Vice President assign Councilors to committees — with one Councilor from each ward on each committee — and they also choose the chairs and vice chairs of each committee. Recognizing that committee assignments might lead to particular perspectives, Councilors Laredo and Kalis are exercising care to ensure that committees are well balanced and include a range of views. They see that their goal as consensus building. “I don’t think we had enough compromise in the last session,” Councilor Laredo said, adding, “Clearly the voters wanted that.” Looking back on the Village Center Zoning debate, Councilor Laredo commented, “I think it was unfortunate we didn’t try reaching a consensus earlier …We should have asked broader questions first [such as] how large we want the growth and the infrastructure to support it.” He is committed to a “diversity of opinions” in the incoming Council.
Ward 5 councilor Bill Humphrey, who lost to Councilor Kalis in the race for Vice President, agreed that the zoning debate might have been less contentious if the City Council had met as a Committee of the Whole to work out some compromise. The Zoning and Planning Committee was responsible for the overall parameters and results, although there were several hearings involving the full City Council and the public. “People said they wouldn’t compromise, but did anyway,” Councilor Humphrey noted, but added “people should have been working together all along.”
“For me, the agenda is about seeing that the Council functions smoothly, and is more representative,” said Councilor Kalis. “Marc led the Council that way previously, and it’s my comfort level,” promising that he and the new President would work to eliminate acrimony. He emphasized the importance to the process of both hearing what people say and negotiating with them.
Each Councilor serves on more than one committee. The newly elected leaders asked their colleagues to submit committee preferences by December 11, and they plan to speak with each Councilor before announcing the new committee assignments in the latter part of the following week.
Councilor Alison Leary was one of only two City Councilors who voted against the MBTA zoning plan — because she felt it did not include more housing units. Taking note of the new Council members — most of whom were opposed to the much larger rezoning plan recommended by the Zoning and Planning Committee — and the new Council President and the Vice President, Councilor Leary said, “I want to start off positive. New faces will bring new ideas, and I’m open to the discussion.” Councilor Leary, current chair of the Public Facilities Committee, indicated that she would like to remain on the Zoning and Planning Committee, but she will focus her energy on dealing with Newton’s large problem of gas leaks. She wants to work on a plan to get National Grid to fix the serious gas leaks.
Near the end of the recent contentious debate on zoning, current Council President Susan Albright and Councilor Lenny Gentile joined forces to reach an agreement acceptable to their colleagues. Councilor Albright was a staunch supporter for combining the MBTA Communities Law requirements with the more ambitious Village Center Overlay District. Councilor Gentile opposed that plan but understood the need to comply with the MBTA Communities Law requirement. In describing the process that brought 21 of their colleagues to vote for the modified plan, both said they engaged in “a lot of conversation.” Councilor Gentile said that he “was glad they worked together to comply with the law,” and was “pleased so many found a way to vote for it.” He is “hopeful and optimistic” about the incoming Council and anticipates working more collaboratively.
For her part, Council President Albright is planning to docket an item about eliminating “odd-year elections,” by scheduling City Council elections to coincide with the state and federal election day. “The most important decisions are made at the local level by City Councils,” she said, but the voter turnout is smaller in odd-year elections. “If people complain about roads and schools, they should be involved in local politics,” she said. This November, 28% of Newton’s registered voters cast a ballot. In the 2022 gubernatorial election, however, 59% of Newton’s registered voters cast a ballot. In addition, President Albright underscored the importance of real collaboration between the Mayor and the City Council.
Councilor David Kalis asked his Ward 8 colleague, incoming freshman City Councilor-Elect Stephen Farrell, to nominate him, and Councilor-Elect Farrell declared that he was “very pleased with the results” of the caucus. On the other hand, he is concerned that the Council will be divided, once again, into two groups. Among his concerns is the need to protect historic and landmarked properties, such as the 1740 house on Greenwood Street. In addition, he wants to focus on reducing the size of projects that he considers too big for the property, among them 528 Boylston Street.
Looking forward to the new Council, outgoing President Albright said, “We have to try a little harder to listen to each other and not reject ideas out of hand.”
