Allison-Ampe
Kardon
Greeley
Romano tells why she fell short on votes
UPDATED, April 15: Kevin F. Greeley won a record 10th term on the Board of Selectmen, beating back Maria A. Romano, who lost her fifth try for the board, on a rainy April 2 marked by low turnout.
For School Committee, incumbent Kirsi Allison-Ampe won her third term, and voters gave newcomer Leonard J. Kardon his first seat in results from the annual town election. They fended off a challenge from James F. Doherty, a former longtime member of the Board of Assessors.
The winners led by wide margins. The early, unofficial numbers showed:
Greeley, 3,054, and Romano, 1,442
Allison-Ampe, 3,175; Kardon, 3,006; and Doherty, 1,382.
Full, unofficial results: all precincts, summary >>
Other key town offices had these returns:
— Incumbent Robert E. Greeley, unopposed, Board of Assessors: 3,246
— Incumbent John D. Leone, unopposed, town moderator: 3,616
— Incumbent Nicholas C. Mitropoulos, unopposed, Housing Authority: 3,244
Turnout, voter impact
The turnout was 15.42 percent, according to the town website.
In the 2015 town election, turnout was 9.1 percent. Since 2000, the town election turnout has averaged 23 percent.
In an email April 3, School Commottee member Jennifer Susse wrote:
“Congratulations to everyone!! 40 new town meeting members (by my count) … and in every precinct where there was a contested election, the person who voted last year to cut $1 million from our schools lost.”
Current statements
Statements from candidates for major offices have been requested, and Kardon responded April 2:
“I want to thank everyone who came out to vote today. We have a lot of challenging issues facing our schools and I am honored to have the chance to join the School Committee and help work through them. I am thrilled to see a wave of civic involvement across town, and I look forward to working with the new and existing Town Neeting members and elected officials to address the increasing school enrollment numbers.
“I want to thank my wife, Leah Sugarman, and my kids, Oscar, Bea and Saul, both for helping with the campaign and in advance for allowing me to serve our town, and I want to thank my campaign manager, Lauren Boyle, and everyone who helped with my campaign.
“I hope people will continue to reach out to me at len.kardon[@]gmail.com with any questions or comments on issues before the School Committee.”
Romano releases a lengthy election statement April 3:
“This question of why did I not prevail against Kevin Greeley is multifaceted. Residents and businesses who complain about how things get done in our town and don’t go out to vote need to take a long hard look at themselves.
“I put part of the blame on them and then the other part of the blame goes to the town who chooses to have our elections on a Saturday, with no real issues on the ballot that will affect the average voter. Please this is not an excuse for the horrible voter turnout, but the truth that our town officials like it that way. Keep the election process quiet — don’t publicize it too much. This is the mind-set of Arlington officials.
“The truth is that up to six years ago my opponent never had any competition. I decided to get involved in politics when I noticed that the powers that be, the complacent elected officials do not listen to the residents and businesses and do for the few not the majority of average hard-working people of this town.
“Mr. Greeley, I was the only one with the guts and courage to call you on issues and decisions that you have made along the long 27 years as selectman. I am proud of my campaign and my supporters who did come out to vote. Arlington is my home and as a private citizen — I ask my elected officials to control taxes, wasteful spending because of bad decisions. Please be at your job as selectman more than just 22 percent of the time. You owe it to the people of Arlington.
“I stated right from the beginning that I ran for selectman to offer a choice at the ballot box. I also ran so that no one person can just walk into a seat on the Board of Selectman. That person should have to spend time and money doing so, because he or she had competition.
“We live in a democracy and the process keeps us honest and humble. I want the climate in Arlington to change. There is no room for ego, arrogance, stubbornness or self-serving agendas. I take responsibility as a candidate for losing this election.
“I had no delusions that this was going to be easy or that I would even win, but I can walk away from this election as in the past with knowing that I ran my campaign based on facts. I question my actions every day with regard to people that trust me, and I ask no less of my opponent in an election.
“Be clear, be honest and know you have a responsibility to be open and accountable for your decisions. The past matters, the present is crucial and will determine the future of our town. Treat our future with respect. Ask yourself the question: Is the uncontrolled taxing worth it for the few and force the majority to leave Arlington. The place people have called home for more than half their life. Many for over 40, 50 and 60 years.
“Will I still participate in town politics?
“I do not know what tomorrow brings, but I promise our residents and businesses that they can depend on me. I will speak out against plans that hurt the general population.
“I will not sit quiet when I see an inequity. I know that many of our elected officials, town employees and volunteers work hard and want the best for our town.
“It is the ‘MASTER PLAN’ that is predetermined and limits our vision. Contrary to its actual goal. I will continue to point out narrow visions, which produces a tunnel-vision product.
“Thank you for this time to speak from my heart about Arlington my home, Maria Romano.”
Greeley provided his postelection statement April 4:
“I am honored to have been elected to the Arlington Board of Selectmen for the 10th time.
“There are so many people to thank. My family and friends have been with me through all of these elections, and I had a great team that worked tirelessly on the campaign.
“But above all I thank the voters of Arlington. To each of you who braved the elements Saturday: Thank you for getting to the polls, for helping decide the direction of our community, and for your support. I congratulate Maria Romano for conducting a strong campaign.
“With great excitement, I look forward to helping improve our schools, our finances, our businesses, our town services, our Arlington!
“Thanks for the past 27 years and the opportunity to serve three more.”
Allison-Ampe revised statement
Allison-Ampe issued this statement revised from the letter in The Advocate on Friday, April 15:
“I would like to thank all of you in the Arlington community for the faith you have shown in me. I was honored to have been elected to serve a third term as your representative to the School Committee. We have many important decisions to make in the next months and years, decisions that will affect our students and our town. I look forward to continuing the hard work we have begun.
“Additionally, the School Committee will be looking for input as these issues are discussed, and I hope you will participate as these opportunities arise. I also invite you to contact me if you have questions or concerns about our schools or the education of our students. I would like to know what you are thinking, and be able to speak on your behalf. I am reached most easily via email at kirsi[@]allisonampe.org. If you don’t have access to the Internet, messages can be left with the School Committee Administrative Secretary at 781-316-3540. She can also provide contact information for all SC members.
“Finally, I want to say thank you. There are many people to whom I owe thanks: my campaign team who worked so hard on my behalf, especially Scott and Vesna Zaccheo, and my friends and family for their support. I thank my fellow candidates Len Kardon and Jim Doherty for raising interesting ideas during the campaign.
“My biggest thanks, though, go to the voters of Arlington, who braved a cold and rainy day to get to the polls. Without you none of this would be possible. With strong citizen participation, together we can decide our course for the future, and help our town thrive.”
Waiting for comment
Doherty has not responded to two requests from YourArlingtonfor comment, but his letter to The Advocate was published April 7.
Early statements give clues
The School Committee opening occurred in early January when six-year member Jud Pierce decided not to seek reelection.
The campaign was relatively quiet, as reflected in few fireworks at League of Women Voters’ candidates’ night. Read a summary here >>
The lone controversy during the campaign was raised by Chris Loreti, a former member of the Redevelopment Board, who filed a complaint in March with the Human Rights Commission charging Doherty with making a homophobic slur. Read a summary here >> The Advocate has yet to report the issue.
Early candidate statements provided pointers to the outcome. In Greeley’s case, his record on the board since 1989 spoke for itself.
“After a lot of soul-searching,” he wrote in January, “I’ve decided to run for a 10th term. Why? “I believe in the current members of the BOS and would like to continue to work with them to keep Arlington as one of the most desirable communities for people to live, work and visit.”
On Feb. 29, he followed up: “With the completion of the East Arlington [Mass. Ave.] construction project, we see how this has become a very vibrant part of the town …. Of course, growth also brings many challenges.”
The latter issue refers to the growth in school enrollment that has riled the community since August. The reference to the Mass. Ave. Corridor project raised the issue that Romano has long opposed.
‘Need your voice back’
Romano
For her part, Romano, had to run on a different issue. She began by citing her love for Arlington. Then in February, she focused on two reasons for running:
— Her supporters asked her to run; and
— “More importantly, we do not want any one person to walk into a position, without the voters making that decision …. You need your voice back.”
School Committee winners appeared to ride the benefits of their activism.
Kardon has been involved in school issues since 2011, when the parent of three children attending public schools joined FYArlington, the group supporting the $6.5 million override campaign that year. From 2011 on, he has been a member of Town Meeting and the Finance Committee.
Since 2010, Allison-Ampe has been the tortoise among the School Committee hares — carefully assessing issues with an analytical eye, as reflected in her statement to YourArlington:
“My biggest achievement of my second term was co-authoring Arlington’s letter of testimony to the Foundation Budget Review Commission. This commission was created by the state Legislature to review a key component of how the state allocates money to the towns for education.
Doherty
“I did a comparative analysis of actual spending with calculations from the foundation budget. We used this analysis to show how the state’s formula is significantly underestimating education expenditures, and thus underestimating state education funding owed to the town.”
Websites?
Doherty’s statement accompanying his run had a similar sound to that of Romano: “I have decided to run for a position on the Arlington School Committee after receiving strong encouragement from many residents.”
But then, it veered into the clear challenges the schools face — how to rebuild and potentially expand many of our schools, including new high schools for Arlington and Minuteman.
These are daunting tasks, but the candidate did not venture far beyond bromides. His statement said: “There are many
potential solutions, and we must remind everyone involved to keep an open mind, be creative and think outside the box.
Perhaps a cue to future hopefuls: The two candidates who did not prevail in the annual election had no websites; the three winning candidates did.
Town Election information
Annual Town Election Saturday, April 2
March 23, 2016: Town, school candidates focus on finances, for and against, and how to approach them
Read summary of Candidates’ Night comments >>
ACMi debates: Romano, Greeley | Doherty, Allison-Ampe, Kardon
Candidate profiles: Romano | Greeley | Allison-Ampe
League of Women Voters’ guide: How do candidates respond to queries?
Town Meeting candidates (School Enrollment Parent Group)
This report was published Saturday, April 2, 2016, and updated April 15, to add Allison-Ampe statement.
