Town Meeting is Brookline s Legislative arm of government. It consists of 255 elected Town Meeting Members plus the members of the Select Board, and any state representative or state senator who resides in Brookline. In addition, the Town Moderator, who presides over Town Meeting, and the elected Town Clerk, who acts as secretary, are voting members. The 255 membersare elected by precinct, with 15 members elected from each of the Town s seventeen precincts. The members are elected for staggered, 3-year terms so that 5 members are elected from each precinct each year in the May annual town election. Depending on vacancies some precincts will have more members to be elected.Town Meeting is responsible for passing a balanced annual town budget and enacts all town by-laws. An Annual Town Meeting is held in the spring to enact the following year s budget, plus whatever other matters are placed on the Town Meeting Warrant, either by the Select Board or by citizen petition. The Annual Town Meeting is usually held the last week in May or the first week in June. A Special Town Meeting is held each fall, usually in November, to deal with any budget changes, zoning by-law amendments or other matters placed on the warrant. (No salary; no health insurance.)‘*’ following a candidate name indicates an Incumbent.For Incumbent Town Meeting Candidates, Attendance Record for the last three years is shown.(NPE) is the party for all candidates. The Brookline Municipal Election is a Non-Partisan Election.
I moved to Brookline in 1980 where my wife and I raised 2 children who went to Devotion (now Ridley) and Brookline High School.
After a successful career in high tech as a product manager, I taught science in Brookline for 20 years. Now that I am retired, I spend most of my time volunteering for local organizations, doing some traveling and visiting my grandchildren in Natick.
I am concerned about the lack of revenue for the Town. I believe that overrides have been a necessary, but unfair method to raise critical revenue. As a retired educator, I have watched cuts for over 30 years that have been slowly affecting the ability of our talented educators to do their best. I know that this lack of revenue is not limited to the schools, but is felt by every department. Our talented staff is being forced to work with less money than they need to provide the level of service our residents expect.
I believe that, now more than ever, we need more citizens of Brookline to be involved with local issues.
I am a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, a single disabled mother of four children, one of whom graduated BHS last year while the younger three are still currently attending Brookline Public Schools. I have experience as an Operations Analyst, Insurance Agent, Medical Supply Account Specialist and Emergency Roadside Dispatcher. I believe my varied work and life experience gives me a voice and point of view that is not commonly among Town Meeting Members and I want to be able to proudly represent my demographic and Precinct.
The people within my precinct currently struggle the most with the cost of housing and the absolute lack of safe, clean, modern affordable housing. Our town is struggling with being capable of providing this and I want to work to ensure that access to proper affordable housing takes center stage so that we can grow appropriately to meet our budget needs as well as the needs of our people. I also believe we need to work to develop modern solutions to keep our shared spaces green, open and healthy for our citizens to enjoy.
Born in New Hampshire but growing up in Texas, I came East for college and law school. After a judicial clerkship, I worked in South Texas as a legal aid lawyer, returning east in 1988. I spent the rest of my professional life (in both private and government practice) representing victims of discrimination in the workplace. My wife Cathy Corman and I have lived on Pleasant Street since 1998. We are parents of adult triplets who attended what is now the Ridley School. Retired since the summer of 2021, I was eager to serve the community my family and I have been so lucky to live in. I have been a TMM since 2022 and served on the Advisory Committee from 2022-2025. Endorsed by Brookline PAX, Brookline for Everyone, and Progressive Brookline.
I am running to stay engaged with, and help with, the political and economic development of the Town. The principal challenges facing the Town are on the revenue side (Prop 2 ½ and override issues), the spending side (e.g., health care costs rising much faster than the 2.5% cap) and the rising cost of housing. While on the Advisory Committee (Subcommittees included Public Safety, Human Services, and Land Use, Zoning, and Sustainability), I took leading roles in the passage of the expanded Tree Ordinance and geothermal energy for the new Pierce School. I will continue to focus my energy on voting pragmatically to further progressive ideas.
We chose to make Brookline our home more than 20 years ago. We love the mix of a walkable part of town that is close the city, that has trees and natural beauty, that has some great stores and an environment, and where we have made some of our closest friends. My wife and I have raised our multiethnic, multicultural family in Brookline and now have two kids in college, one kid in middle school and our dog, Churro.
I am a technology transactions lawyer and help clients come together to bring the future to the present by licensing, developing or commercializing technology. That naturally makes me future oriented and with a view toward economic concerns and tradeoffs. It also means I think through second order consequences and incentives.
Housing in Brookline is too expensive . However, too much housing in one area will overwhelm schools and other town services. As a result, we have to carefully plan to ensure that development is spread to not strain town services.
We also need to keep up the quality of our schools, which are at risk of falling behind. Town meeting does not directly impact the quality of schools; I will back candidates for School Committee that want to push our children to do their best in school.
Our roads and sidewalks have been neglected for far too long. This directly impacts our senior population that wants to enjoy this walkable town. It also impacts commuters in cars that can lose a tire and cyclists that can crash. I will support funding roads.
Brookline resident since 2011, TMM in P2 since 2022. Chair, Pedestrian Advisory Committee since 2018. Advocate for pedestrian safety & walkable streets to Transportation Board, Select Board, Town Meeting, Advisory Committee. Steering Committee member, Brookline Community Aging Network since 2017. In 2021 led completion of final report of Select Board’s Pedestrian-Friendly Lighting Committee. Member, Moderator’s Exterior Lighting Committee.
Endorsed by Brookline PAX, Brookline 4Everyone, Brookline Progressives, Brookline By Design.
Primary professional: 1982-2010 managed central business information systems departments for University of Chicago. Good at listening, analyzing, translating between disparate groups, bringing people together.
High taxes, particularly hurting long-time residents. Increase Town revenue through new development, especially commercial. Accept reality: there’s no place to build substantial commercial in Brookline without discomforting someone.
Safety along our streets and sidewalks, whether seniors facing tripping hazards or parents whose kids face dangerous traffic between home and school. Challenge DPW to find better solutions for sidewalks heaved by tree roots, and keep on slowing traffic down for everyone’s safety.
Residents feeling left out of Town decision-making and services, from seniors feeling ignored to public housing residents seeing basic needs unaddressed. Expand Senior Center funding, push the State for better housing funding.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
