Election 2015

See What the District Council Hopefuls Said at the Candidates Forum

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The candidates for district councilors made their case at a Candidates Forum hosted by Sustainable Watertown on Sunday evening. The hopefuls for the council seats, which each represent one quarter of Watertown, talked about issues such as development, the environment and traffic, among other subjects. These are some of the issues that are most important to members of the citizen-run Sustainable Watertown. The candidates are:

District A (Precincts 1-3; East Watertown) – incumbent Angeline Kounelis and challenger Bob Erickson
District B (Precincts 4-6; East of Common and Spring streets to School Street and South of the Charles River) – incumbent Cecilia Lenk and challenger Lisa Feltner
District C (Precincts 7-9; West of Common and Spring streets to Lexington Street) – incumbent Vincent Piccirilli and challenger Rossella Mercuri
District D (Precincts 10-12, West Watertown) – incumbent Ken Woodland

Development
Development has been the top issue in Watertown for the past two years, and moderator Pia Owens asked each about their views about whether the town should implement limits on commercial building square footage, frontage and setbacks. Piccirilli said the new rules in the Design Guidelines and Comprehensive Plans seek to create storefronts like you might have seen in the early 20th century where people can walk the sidewalks and window shop.

Election 2015

Watertown Firefighters Announce Town Councilor Candidate Endorsements

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The Watertown Firefighters have announced their endorsements for Town Council in the upcoming Town Election, and not surprisingly none of the councilors who voted down the arbitration agreement in December made the list. 

Rob Mannix, president of Local 1347 Watertown Fire Union, announced the endorsements this week on his Facebook page. Earlier this year, the Fire Union sent out questionnaires to Council Candidates (click here to see details). The firefighters endorsed the following candidates in the Nov. 3 election:

Town Council President – Clyde Younger
District A – Bob Erickson
District B – Lisa Feltner
District C – Rossella Mercuri
Councilors at large – Tony Palomba, Patryce Georgopolous, and Michael Dattoli

The only sitting councilor to get an endorsement was Palomba, who cast the lone vote to support the Arbitration Award. The other councilors voted against the award because they said it was not fair to other town employees because firefighters would have gotten raises in two years during the economic downturn in which other unions took no raise.

Election 2015

See the Town Council Candidates’ Stances on Major Issues in Town

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At this past summer’s Annual Meeting of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment, members were asked to identify their key areas of concern. Based on the results of that meeting, the following two questions were sent to all candidates running on Nov. 3 for election to the Watertown Town Council:

1. Three major environmental areas in which Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment would like to see the town take an active role are listed below. Please pick one and explain what you would do about it.

Elections

LETTER: Town Council Hopeful Says She Is Not a Single Issue Candidate

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Editor,

As a dedicated 20 year Watertown volunteer and citizen advocate, I am not a single-issue candidate for District B Town Councilor. The fact that I garnered the most votes, over 43 percent of the votes in the September 17 Preliminary Election, in a race with four candidates including an established incumbent, is not trivial. Watertown is undergoing unprecedented change and District B needs proactive leaders to embrace new ideas, enact best practices, and engage all residents. I will also bring new energy and a personal approach to Town Council. My life’s work has been about bringing people together to produce better outcomes, whether in the workplace, the schools, the neighborhood or community at large.

Elections

School Committee, Town Council Candidate Forums Coming Up Soon

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Voters can learn about the candidates running for office in the Watertown Election at a series of upcoming candidate forums.

Pair of School Committee Forums
The Watertown Education Foundation and Watertown News will host a pair of forums for the School Committee candidates. The first will be Thursday, Oct. 15 from 7:30-9 p.m. at the Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main St., in the Watertown Savings Bank Room. The second forum will be on Thursday, Oct. 22 from 7-9 p.m. in the Watertown Middle School Auditorium, 68 Waverley Ave.

Election 2015

Watertown Group Hosting Two Town Council Candidate Forums

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Sustainable Watertown announced that it will be sponsoring its first series of candidate forums for Town Council Candidates on Oct. 18 and 19. The forums will focus on issues that fall within Sustainable Watertown’s mission, such as development, environmental sustainability, public space, urban design and transportation. The organization’s Steering Committee decided that one of the most important tasks that it could undertake was to give the voting public an opportunity to hear the candidates’ positions about sustainability and quality of life issues. “Many Watertown residents care deeply about the issues for which we advocate, but often they are given less attention than some of the more obvious municipal topics.

Elections

Tons of Potential Candidates for Watertown’s Town Council, School Races

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This fall’s Watertown Town Election could feature contested race for almost every position on the Town Council and School Committee, and possibly a preliminary election in September. With several hot-button issues in town these days – development, the firefighters contract, and the schools (among others) – dozens of potential candidates have taken out papers to run for town office in the Nov. 3 election. Town Clerk John Flynn said this is the most people he has seen interested in running for office in Watertown for several years. “It’s been a while.

Government

Council Seeks OK from Legislature to Give Greater Residential Tax Relief

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The Council voted this week to file a home rule petition with the State Legislature that would allow the Council to increase the residential tax exemption to a maximum of 30 percent in future years. The council voted to file the petition in order to give them flexibility to increase the residential exemption beyond the current ceiling of 20 percent. Francis J. Golden, Chairman of the Board of Assessors, said that 6,058 residential properties would benefit from raising the exemption, while residential properties valued at more than $750,000 would absorb a higher tax burden. Golden stressed that voting for the home rule petition did not mean the Council was required to increase it beyond its current ceiling. “I stress that it’s important that we just have the flexibility,” Golden said.