Brookline Town Meeting - Pct 11 - Three Years Choose 5
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.
Biographical Information
Campaign Phone
617-777-4844
Attendance
29 of 30
Biographical Data:
I grew up in Brookline. I work in health policy and care about community, the environment, good education, and improving access for all.
What three issues are most important to your constituents, and how would you address and/or resolve them?
Current issues in Brookline are housing, education, and budget, while national issues like the environment, civil rights, and science are also critical.
Biographical Information
Campaign Phone
617-738-6131
Attendance
30 of 30
Biographical Data:
Brookline resident since 2003; Precinct 11 homeowner since 2005; married with twin graduating 12th grade this spring, including one from BHS. Family law attorney by day (and night); passionate about sustainable agriculture, vibrant public spaces, equitable education, and truly affordable housing at all times. First elected to Town Meeting in 2012.
What three issues are most important to your constituents, and how would you address and/or resolve them?
We must adapt our municipal landscape to various transportation and access needs, such as safe bicycle lanes and pedestrian crossings, and create affordable housing and vibrant commercial space that complements existing streetscapes while advancing diversity and equity throughout our town. We must also develop a reasonable, long-term approach to our budget. Proposition 2 ½ imposes artificial and unsustainable financial limits, causing us to lose quality employees and fall behind peer communities. Brookline should and can remain an excellent community with top-notch schools, if we are willing to accept the realities of inflation, competitive compensation, and changing departmental needs.
Biographical Information
Campaign Phone
617-921-4418
Attendance
29 of 30
Biographical Data:
A forty-year resident of Brookline, David has served the community in many capacities over the past three decades. A member of the Building Commission from 2005-2013, he was elected to the School Committee in 2013 and served as chair from 2017-2019. He has been a Town Meeting Member since 2016 and currently chairs the Brookline Advisory Committee’s Land Use, Zoning and Sustainability Subcommittee. David has also served on the boards of the Brookline Education Foundation and the Brookline Music School.
David is founding partner of Abacus Architects + Planners, an award-winning firm specializing in affordable and public housing, community and senior centers, and smart growth community planning for Massachusetts cities and towns.
What three issues are most important to your constituents, and how would you address and/or resolve them?
Our incredible, resource-rich community needs to remain safe, vibrant and affordable for all of our residents. Careful land use planning is critical, and that is the area where my efforts and expertise are most useful and applied. In addition to chairing the AC Land Use Subcommittee I also serve on the Chestnut Hill Commercial Area Community Advisory Group which ties into the next imperative - supporting Brookline's long-term fiscal health. Growing the commercial tax base is critical, but so is recognizing the structural deficit and working to pass sustainable operating overrides to maintain the excellence of our schools and public services. Meeting Brookline's affordable and workforce housing needs is vital to keeping our community strong.
Biographical Information
Campaign Phone
617-699-5224
Attendance
30 of 30
Biographical Data:
I am a professor emerita of electrical engineering from Suffolk University and I also spent several years teaching at the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology. While I did engineering research in understanding how fluid forces affected how inner ear hair bundles and animal whiskers responded to sounds of different frequencies, as well as research in understanding inductances and other effects of magnetism in electrical devices, I also focused on successfully graduating students from underrepresented groups with electrical engineering degrees and obtained funding from the National Science Foundation for that purpose. I am a wife, mother, and grandmother, and have lived in the same house in Brookline for over 35 years.
What three issues are most important to your constituents, and how would you address and/or resolve them?
1. Problem: High property taxes. Solution: More commercial property which would add to tax revenue. Not easy to do, but I believe that a city form of government with a mayor may facilitate commercial growth. To that end, I am on the Town Moderator's Committee that is looking into other forms of government and I am part of an effort to bring the question of a City Charter to the ballot.
2. Problem: Lack of affordable housing. Solution: Building more housing by easing zoning codes.
3. Problem: Antisemitism. Solution: Speaking out against it whenever I encounter it.
Biographical Information
Campaign Phone
617-230-2166
Attendance
Not Incumbent Town Meeting Member
Biographical Data:
Principled and pragmatic, I bring demonstrated experience in advocating for Town to work well for its many residents with diverse strengths and needs. 30+ years experience working to create and sustain affordable housing. Bring expertise in municipal finance, zoning, budgeting, and leveraging state and federal resources to maximize public impact of any local investment. Dedicated volunteer – Girl Scout leader, Driscoll KEEP Club, Temple Beth Zion, worked on numerous progressive campaigns in Georgia and beyond. Served in Town Meeting 2011 – 2024; led initiatives to make Town Meeting participation more feasible for working & volunteer experience with fossil fuel free transition and environmental issues.
What three issues are most important to your constituents, and how would you address and/or resolve them?
In Precinct 11: striking the right balance of various transportation modalities (bicycle, car, pedestrians), ensuring Town government is attentive to needs of renters as well as homeowners and protecting open space.
Critical townwide: 1) Budget -- how to balance investments in schools and other important services, such as public health, libraries, services for seniors, road repairs and schools. 2) Ensuring that all residents, including low income folks, can participate actively in Town government and decision making. 3) Creating appropriate forums for emotionally charged conversations of public concern, such as the war in Israel & Gaza, so that the other important work of the schools and Town government can continue.
Biographical Information
Campaign Phone
617-680-0637
Attendance
Not Incumbent Town Meeting Member
Biographical Data:
A native of Newton, I graduated from Newton South in 2001. I attended Macalester College as an undergrad and received my MA in Geography from University of Texas at Austin. After working for the better part of a decade in Washington, DC, I was happy to move to Brookline full-time in 2018. My wife and now our young son have subsequently joined me in our apartment on Beacon Street. I teach US History at Wellesley High School and serve as a trustee on our condo board.
What three issues are most important to your constituents, and how would you address and/or resolve them?
One: Town Meeting needs to ensure that the town's finances are stable. Brookline has taken on a number of ambitious project in recent years, particularly the rebuilding of several schools. Consequently, debt has grown substantially. We need to set priorities more deliberately and be cautious about taking on new spending.
Two - Brookline residents enjoy many wonderful amenities, from town services to open spaces and livability. These attributes are more fragile than they appear. I support policies to conserve, maintain and, when sustainable, expand them.
Three: The high quality of Brookline Public Schools has eroded. We need to explore why. For my own part, I want to make sure that BPS' budget is generous but focuses on the classroom.