Brittany Hume Charm is running unopposed for one of the two at-large City Council seats from Ward 5. Current incumbent Andreae Downs is not running, and the other incumbent, Rena Getz, is running for reelection.
Ms. Charm and her husband, Phil, moved from San Francisco to Newton in 2021, prompted by the pandemic to be closer to family. Her husband grew up in Concord, where his parents still live. Ms. Charm is a native of Louisville, Kentucky, and graduate of Princeton and UC Berkeley. In her career, she has applied her background in business and public policy to work in developing partnerships in global health to improve access and quality of healthcare in low- and middle-income countries.
She and her husband chose to move to Newton specifically for the schools, and also for the convenience of the Green Line and easy access to Logan Airport, which they both required for their jobs. After they arrived, Newton’s welcoming community and family-centered activities made them “feel like we’d landed in a wonderful place.” They have two children – one a Zervas student and another who will be.
Ms. Charm has experience volunteering in national political campaigns, with a focus on social justice and civil rights. In Newton, as a homeowner and new public school parent, she found that the teachers strike, school funding debate, and looming impacts of the new federal administration shifted her focus to the local level. She said she wanted to understand the causes of the recent budget crisis, how decisions are made, and who is making the decisions.
She decided to run for City Council because “it made me feel there was something I can do.” Her City Council goals are to help Newton reach a point in which “schools and other public services receive the support they need” and to make Newton “welcoming and vibrant for families to enjoy.”
When the schools were closed, she experienced the ongoing child care problem confronting many working families. Her son would ask, “Where are you taking me today?,” as she brought him to a range of programs on her way to work. In her contact with Newton residents, she reports that parental frustrations remain about the handling of Covid and the teachers strike, but she is emphatic in her praise for Dr. Anna Nolin, Superintendent of Schools, whom she credits with “building an incredible amount of trust” from parents, teachers, and city officials.
She believes many Newton residents share concerns about economic uncertainty, cuts to social programs, attacks on science and health, rising costs of healthcare and energy, housing supply and affordability, and insufficient governmental revenue. In the face of local disagreements, she says, “Yes, we’ll engage in robust debate–we believe in protests and democracy. But ultimately, we agree on a lot. How do we come together around those bigger shared interests?”
She notes that if expenses go up, “you’re still going to be making cuts,” and maintaining quality becomes a challenge. She observed that there is an impending shift from “where there were ARPA resources, to a world where there won’t be,” and that in the face of federal and state cutbacks, “we have to become more self-sufficient.” She said, “there isn’t a lot more fat left to cut” from the budget,” and she is worried about “what are we willing to trade off.”
Beyond issues of funding schools and the rest of local government, she wants to focus on working with Newton’s village centers on development options. In her opinion, any development “feels personal” and raises the question about making development equitable. “People feeling heard is part of the process,” she said, and information sharing is an important part of achieving goals.
Another of her priorities in Newton is the expansion of walking and biking paths. While she applauds the initiatives in and around village centers, she said that people will continue to use their cars, and the ongoing challenge is finding ways to reduce that dependency.
In addition to holding regular office hours and producing a newsletter, Ms. Charm will also communicate through Instagram, to tell residents about upcoming events. She suggests that access to information is particularly challenging for parents, and is interested in addressing the problem.
Brittany Hume Charm’s campaign website is www.charmfornewton.org
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