The Committee to Elect Connie Henry held the first Listening Session for District D residents on July 19th.
Connie Henry, a candidate for Town Councilor, District D, values the opportunity to learn and listen from as many residents as possible early in the campaign and to provide a space for dialogue between neighbors. The event used a ‘World Cafe’ model with each of four stations (backyard tables!) focused on important topics: Development and Traffic, Green Spaces and the Environment, Education and Public Safety, and Equity, Inclusion and Communication.
As they visited each station, participants generated ideas, concerns, and hopes and discussed them with one another, writing and drawing on large poster boards. It was a productive -and fun- evening. A participant noted,”I enjoyed the World Cafe style which got us to engage in different topics for short periods. It felt perfectly timed and interactive.”
At the closing summary, Henry stated how much she learned and thanked everyone for their ideas and input, stating “People love living in Watertown, and these conversations help us realize our potential as a community.”
The campaign looks forward to offering more listening sessions. If you are interested, please write to connieforwatertown@gmail.com or visit www.conniehenry.com
I find this rather sad, the same way as your kitchen table conversations. not very inclusive rather very exclusive. the only time we are needed is when you want us to sign up for your electric program so you may or may not have greater numbers. great start not even in touch with your neighborhood of 40 something years!
Is she a life-long resident as she claims? Never heard of her until her daughter caused a huge divide in town this past year. Funny, her daughter, Ruth, graduated from Belmont High, yet her mom claims to be a life-long resident of Watertown.
40 years in town. Maybe you need to get out more to meet YOUR neighbors!
66 yrs. in town, I know my neighborhood well & some know me well. I’m sorry I never caught where you live in town now, did catch something about how many different streets you lived on though
I’ve lived on many and I don’t live there now. But it’s my hometown and I will continue to speak out. Deal with it.
You bring up two things.
First, her daughter. Not sure if you realize this but not everyone was offended by the video her daughter presented in class. In my opinion, Watertown is a less tolerant town and racism is alive and strong here. I applaud her daughter in trying to bring about discussion.
Second, your reference to her years in Watertown makes me think you only want someone elected that has lived here a lifetime. I very much want the opposite of that and won’t cast a vote for anyone that talks about how long they lived here, went to school here, etc. For me, it’s a complete turnoff.
” I applaud her daughter in trying to bring about discussion.”
The problem was, there was no discussion, it was one sided opinion, not a discussion. And what concerns me regarding her mother running for office.
You are a complete turnoff yourself. You marginalize people who have lived here longer than you feel they should have.You obviously wont tolerate any of their views since you stereotype them as dismissible, ignorant, and backward. I have lived in Watertown for over 60 years and I find you insulting. I was extremely offended by the showing of a politically indoctrinating video to young Middle School students behind the backs of the parents, the school administration, and the WPD. That teacher should have been fired immediately. There is an anti-police movement trying to take root in Watertown. Those who are behind it want to find a problem or create one if necessary. They are instigators and they are dangerous. Maybe you haven’t noticed that violent crime is rising dramatically across the country where these defund movements have taken hold. I have never seen or heard of anti-police graffiti being tagged on the side of any buildings in Watertown until this spring. There has never been a drive-by shooting in town that I am aware of until last May. That shooting took place less than 100 yards from the home that I was raised in. Looking forward to the return of in person public meetings.
Were you kept away? Asking for a friend…
Sad to hear about this after the fact. How was it promoted/how were residents invited? It was very easy to stay “in the loop” regarding Ken’s updates and meetings and am wondering if I missed the promotion for this?
As it said in the story, this was the first one. There is also contact information to get information about future ones.
We are planning another listening session in late August and are looking forward to hearing from our neighbors in District D. We hope to engage a larger group of District residents and will be getting the word out in new ways. At the first session, we tried out the format and space and needed to limit the number of participants. If you are interested in participating in a future session, please email me at connieforwatertown@gmail.com. I also welcome individual conversations and additional questions you might have.
On another note, there were some comments about my family. I am the person running for town council, not my daughter, and I request that your comments and questions relate to my experience, hopes, and thoughts for our town. I am very proud of my daughter. She is a wonderful mother, educator, artist, and community volunteer. She won the Unity Breakfast award and has worked closely with the police department to initiate Kingian non-violence training in the schools and the community. I deeply believe in the value of respectful conversations and know the residents and institutions of Watertown want to have a safe, caring, and inclusive community.