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Health & Fitness

Walking the City Street by Street

The first Alderman – and in fact the first politician – I met in the City of Newton was Verne Vance.  It was 2003 and we had just moved to the City.  That October, I was outside cleaning up the yard of the two-family house we’d rented on Athelstane Rd.  Mr. Vance was walking along the road going from house to house catching people as he could on a beautiful autumn afternoon.

I don’t remember the exact conversation, but I do remember his cheerful greeting, his explaining who he was and why he was running.  I also remember asking what an Alderman was, not having encountered the term except in a Monty Python skit some years earlier.  It didn’t occur to me at ask what an Alderman-at-Large was or why he was canvassing on the Newton Centre/Highlands/Thompsonville border instead of in Chestnut Hill (as I believe he was from that part of the world).

Even though the conversation was brief, I remembered his name and that he was quite willing to talk about the things he thought the City should do for its residents.  He was also very happy to listen to what the voters had to say to him.

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Now, I am very conscious of being a first-time candidate for office, and that there is still a good deal that I’d like to learn from the City’s voters.  I have taken a page from Mr. Vance’s book and have already started to walk door to door across the City.  I started in Waban – my own neighborhood – to get my bearings a little, but have now covered quite a bit of ground and intend to continue to do so.

It’s been an interesting exercise for a natural introvert, but one that I have thoroughly enjoyed.  I appreciate all of the people who have been willing to spend a little of their time with me, to tell me about what’s on their mind and also to ask the critical questions like: “Why do you want to be an Alderman?  Why would you want to run if there’s not an open seat?  What makes you think you have the background to be in City Government?”

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The answers to these questions lie in my wife’s and my experiences in the time we have lived in the City.  Specifically, that this is a City that relies on its citizens stepping up to make a difference.  And, after serving in various volunteer and appointed roles, I feel it my time to ask the voters to allow me to represent them and bring my experience to the Board.  My professional experience in small business, in planning, economic development, and financial modeling all seem to be appropriate to the task.  Also, I’ve learned a lot from working with and as a part of community groups across the City and understand the value of talking with your neighbors across this great City.  It also helps to pick up a shovel, or a pen, or a hammer, or a sign and help out oneself.

Of course, I have also been able to hear more about concerns and ideas across the City, not just the ones we see in the blogs everyday.  People worry about the schools, the roads and potholes, taxes, and the City’s fiscal situation.  They also care about the affordability of the City and the character of the neighborhoods.  They care about the big projects that get press and what these will mean for traffic in their neighborhoods. And yes they care about the Board of Aldermen perhaps being too big.

The reason I thought to write this today is that just yesterday I went and knocked on the door of that same two-family rental house back on Athelstane.  The family there wasn’t nominally on my walk list, but I just had to.  Someone was home, and we had a delightful talk about the City.

Chris Steele is running for the city-wide office of Alderman at Large, Ward 5.  You can learn more at www.steele4newton.org or by contacting him at steelch@yahoo.com





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