‘Progressive’ can be a wiggly term in this community
Re “Bare knuckles Newton: How a political ambush was revealed” by Marcela García (Opinion, Nov. 6): What does being “progressive” mean in Newton? Since losing the election for Newton’s Ward 6 city councilor I have been asking myself that question. I ran for office because of my opposition to developers buying up Newton’s modest starter homes and replacing them with expensive mansions and luxury townhouses. I think this is a progressive value, yet some of our so-called progressive city councilors have been facilitating the developers.
In 2007, Wellesley dealt with the “mansionization” of its town by approving a Large House Review process. Yet in “progressive” Newton, the loss of affordable housing continues. In 2011, Newton started a zoning redesign effort, which goes on as the mansionization of Newton persists. Our “progressive” city councilors have done nothing to stop this. They say that the elimination of single-family zoning will lead to affordable housing. Meanwhile, developers are taking advantage of the current zoning laws to tear down modest two-family homes and replace them with two $1.7 million luxury homes.
Labels like “progressive” mislead. If we can get past these labels, we can make real progress addressing Newton’s zoning issues.
Barry Bergman
Newton
Whiff of this scandal will trail city councilor
In my 14 years of public service, I lost count of the number of times I was told I had committed political suicide because of an unpopular stand I took or a political stunt on the floor of the chamber, but I always lived to run (and win) another term on the Newton City Council. Councilor Emily Norton may survive this scandal of her own creation — a clandestine, anonymous literature drop attacking a candidate (in a different race) at almost literally the 11th hour — but no colleague will or should ever trust her again. And every progressive should denounce these dirty campaign tricks by Norton, a self-proclaimed progressive. We progressives don’t need friends like her.
Ted Hess-Mahan
West Newton
The writer represented Ward 3 at large on the Newton City Council for seven consecutive terms. He currently chairs Newton’s Fair Housing Committee, an advisory panel.
Republican candidate for council seat deserved to be called out for ‘Trumpiness’
Stop the presses! A Republican candidate for City Council in Newton was called out for being a Republican candidate for City Council in Newton! Wow. Who knew that letting people know the truth about a candidate was “bare knuckles” and “an ambush”?
In her column, Marcela García appears to be taking a cue from the Trump playbook in her defense of candidate Jim Cote, by attacking Newton City Councilor Emily Norton for the way she shared Cote’s own tweets — the kind that Cote would probably rather the public didn’t know.
Cote denies that he’s a Trump Republican, but in his Twitter feed, he congratulates Geoff Diehl, a huge Donald Trump supporter; criticizes Senator Ed Markey for his objection to the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett; and claims that Trump “created” the coronavirus vaccine and then mocks Senators Markey and Elizabeth Warren for getting their shots.
Sounds “Trumpy” to me, as Norton asserted.
García laments that poor Jim Cote won’t get a chance to help those “low-income” folks because he lost his City Council race. But Cote lost by almost 500 votes out of a total of about 2,500. Not even close.
I applaud Norton for standing up for her constituents in Newton.
A. Jackson
Boston
