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Brookline Town Meeting - Pct 17 - One Year {_getChooseLabel(this.selections.length)}

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.

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  • Candidate picture

    Rhea Paul
    (NPE)

  • Candidate picture

    Joseph Valencia
    (NPE)

Biographical Information

Biographical Data:

What three issues are most important to your constituents, and how would you address and/or resolve them?

Attendance Not Incumbent Town Meeting Member
I went to college and lived in the Boston area for ten years after graduation. When I retired from full-time work, I moved back to the part of the world that most felt like home. I've been in Brookline since 2021, and have loved the wonderful combination of urban and small town feeling of living in Coolidge Corner. However, the exorbitant cost of living in Brookline has been on my mind since coming back here. I became involved in working toward passage of the MTA Communities Act plan for Brookline, and came to feel strongly that I wanted to be part of working toward broadening opportunities for a broader range of people to enjoy Brookline's quality of living. Running for Town Meeting seems to be one way to influence Brookline's future.
1. Affordable housing: Working toward modifying zoning regulations to expand opportunities for multifamily housing at all economic levels. 2. Supporting our schools: Brookline schools are known for their excellence and they add value to to town. But schools are suffering from insufficient funding to maintain this excellence. We need to think about enabling new development that provides added revenue to the tax base, as nearby towns such as Newton are doing. 3. Sustainability: We need to enhance our "green" infratructure for new construction. Brookline has begun this process, but we need to provide incentives to developers to increase the level of "green" components, such as heat pumps and solar capacity.
I am 27 years old and moved to Brookline last year, when my partner and I were drawn to Greater Boston as an ideal place to pursue our careers in medicine and biotechnology, respectively. I am about to start an industry position as a researcher helping to design vaccines, after recently graduating with a PhD in computer science from Oregon State University.
I am running for Town Meeting because I believe that affordable housing is a prerequisite for economic stability and mobility. I see where I live in Coolidge Corner as a model neighborhood and hope to support policies which increase the supply of affordable housing near transit and urban amenities. I also believe strongly in environmental sustainability and will support measures to help decarbonize our local economy. Finally, I will advocate for policies that help young workers and families with children so that Brookline can become a more welcoming place for people at all stages of life.