With the city's election Tuesday, Nov. 3, The Daily News Tribune has asked the 8 city council candidates in the four contested wards races the same questions.
1. In your opinion, what is the most pressing issue now facing the city as a whole and how would you address it as councilor?
GLORIA CHAMPION - WARD 1
Traffic congestion concerns everyone I meet and residents are worried about what will happen when Polaroid and Fernald Developmental Center are redeveloped. Key intersections are so non-functional that improved traffic signalization and timing would have little effect. I am the only candidate who has advocated for a connector between Main Street and Totten Pond Road to relieve the pressure on the Totten Pond Rd/Lexington St/Bacon Street/Dale St/Tomlin St./Prentice St/Prospect Hill Road/Main St corridor. People use this route to avoid the Winter Street area. This should have been done years ago. I would work to make it a reality.
DANIEL ROMARD - WARD 1
Unequivocally, our biggest issue is the city budget and the reduction in the original $17.4 million in state aid Waltham is slated to receive. This is precisely why I entered this race. Despite what others regard as a rise in the economy, revenue sources and jobs continue to diminish. Therefore, as an accounting and finance professional, I know I can add value here. As a councilor I will commit to evaluate all budgetary expenditures and line items. I will work to seek additional revenue sources before ever recommending tax increases or expense cuts in education or city services.
JOE GIORDANO JR. - WARD 7
The budget is the most important issue facing our city; impacting education, public safety, transportation and public works. My focus is two-fold: revenue and spending. I will work hard to ensure that our tax base is enhanced while striving to lower taxes on our residential properties. I will also work with the mayor to ensure the efficient delivery of services at the lowest possible cost.
PAUL UMBRELLO - WARD 7
In my opinion, the most pressing issue currently for the city is over development. I continue to see the impact that over development has on the city, especially in the form of traffic and on the infrastructure. While I'm not completely against development, I am against the over development that continues. I feel that while major commercial developments do bring in revenue for the city, there is even a greater cost, in the impact that it has on the city and our residential neighborhoods.
STEPHEN ROURKE - WARD 8
Being able to afford to maintain and upgrade our infrastructure is costly work that must be done for health, safety and economic reasons. These systems are among the most basic of the services we provide to homeowners and businesses. Many of the components of these systems have been in service for over a century. As a councilor, I have supported funding of all infrastructure work, and supported the failed mayor’s proposal to establish an infrastructure mitigation fee - new development helping to pay to upgrade the systems. I will continue to support such expenditures as priorities, and search for ways to fund them adequately.
ALBERT BAKALIS - WARD 8
I believe it is crime. All around the City it seems robberies are up. Brazen robberies of Gas Stations and Jewelry Stores. Assaults near Liquor stores. People exposing themselves in front of young women. Child molesters targeting children. Most of these crimes we hear about because the person or persons were arrested.
ROBERT LOGAN - WARD 9
The most pressing issue facing the city today is the budget problem caused by declining local revenues and decreased local aid from the state government. In order to manage our finances in these difficult economic times, we first need to work hard to reduce costs and find efficiencies in local government operations. In the face of decreased local aid, we also need to find ways to increase municipal revenues without negatively impacting residents and homeowners, many of whom are already struggling in the down economy.
ANDREW DRISCOLL - WARD 9
We need a new cemetery. Parking too high on Main Street. Need Main Street to have a frace period like on Moody Street. Porr response from upper management in city departments. The business interests for Waltham companies seems to end before the west end. Affordable housing, building new luxury apartments, where do the blue collar people live? Not enough enforcement of pedestrian right of way. The noise ordinance is selectively enforced. Do not develop Prospect Hill.
2. Narrowing the scope of the previous question, what is the most crucial issue facing your ward and how would you deal with it while serving on the council?
GLORIA CHAMPION - WARD 1
Land Use is our most crucial issue. I supported Related’s proposal for redeveloping Polaroid. As Councillor, I will work to ensure that any new developer will honor the promises made to the city to provide traffic improvements, protection of Berry’s Farm and land for a surface connector. As a member of the Met State Hospital Reuse Committee I fought to prevent large-scale development there, preventing a traffic nightmare on Trapelo Road. As Councillor I will fight to ensure that the Reuse Plan for Fernald fits the needs of the community without overtaxing our roads, schools, police and fire, or infrastructure.
DANIEL ROMARD - WARD 1
Near term, the development of the Polaroid site on upper Main Street. Through communication and involvement, I will ensure the development of this parcel works in harmony with the neighbors and neighborhoods, and has minimal impact on Moody Street businesses. In addition, I will work to divert traffic away from downtown. Long term, the most crucial issue is the preservation and conservation of open space. As a member of the Waltham Land Trust, I commit to working in tandem with them and other local groups and agencies to protect Prospect Hill, Clark’s Pond, the Storer Conservation Land and the 20-acre Berry Farm.
JOE GIORDANO JR. - WARD 7
The redevelopment of the Polaroid property requires a careful review of the proposal with an eye towards protecting the neighborhood. I will demand that the development be sensitive to the needs of the residence while being economically viable. This project must improve our tax base and address neighbors' concerns.
PAUL UMBRELLO - WARD 7
Whether or not I am elected, I will be involved with the pending development at Polaroid and the impact it will have on the Ward 7 neighborhood. When I first heard about the potential development from a neighbor, a few of us got together and held meetings in my home to inform and discuss issues with the residents.
Communication with the residents is a major issue that needs to be addressed. If not for the neighbor that came to our door, we would never have known the scope of the development at Polaroid, and the effect it would have on our neighborhood, traffic, and our property values.
STEPHEN ROURKE - WARD 8
Ward 8 is a densely settled older section of Waltham. Streets are overdue for total re-construction - eliminating lead water pipes, upgrading sewer lines, and replacing ancient leaky gas lines. We need to accelerate our investment in improved infrastructure. People should feel safe in their homes, confident that their water and sewer services are the best, and know that the utilities lines do not pose a threat. I will continue to fight for our ward’s fair share of the limited dollars spent on street re-construction. I will also work with others in city government to prioritize infrastructure upgrades, find ways to fund them, and increase the rate of street reconstruction.
ALBERT BAKALIS - WARD 8
Moody Street has had all of these types of crime in or around it the past month or two. We desperately need a Beat Police Officer. Maybe more resources can be placed at the disposal of Police Officer. They can then conduct a more targeted effort towards this part of the City without losing coverage elsewhere.
ROBERT LOGAN - WARD 9
The health of the Downtown has long been and continues to be of primary concern to me as Ward Councillor. We need to encourage private investment in the Downtown through zoning incentives and upgrades to the public infrastructure in the area. For example, the parking lots were all built during the Clark Administration over 25 years ago and haven’t been touched since. They need to be repaved and the landscaping needs to be upgraded. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
ANDREW DRISCOLL - WARD 9
We need a light at Winchester Crane Apartments, 101 Prospect St. The parking lot is in total darkness. Also need a police speed trailer to enforce speeding. Something needs to be done about Banks School. There is a huge puddle on Prospect Street, near Vernon Street, that has been there all fall. The water is not running off. This needs to be fixed.
3. Some say Waltham is in danger of being overdeveloped, while others say the city needs to be more welcoming to commercial and residential development to spur growth during the downturn. What is your view on encouraging new development in Waltham?
GLORIA CHAMPION - WARD 1
Waltham is the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. It has always supported a vibrant business/commercial base, as well as a broad range of residential properties. People want to live here. While working on the Waltham Rediscovered Project, I learned about Waltham’s history as a center for innovation and creativity. Our city services, police and fire protection and public schools are the envy of our neighbors. Waltham will continue to thrive if we balance new growth in the business sector with updated infrastructure to support it. In that way we will keep Waltham livable, viable and sustainable for future generations
DANIEL ROMARD - WARD 1
I am a strong advocate for maintaining balance. While development stimulates growth and provides for increased revenue for a municipality, overdevelopment can lead to overcrowding and a diminished quality of life. I encourage re-development - achieving balance by embracing our past while providing for the future. A prime example was my support for the restoration of the Waltham Watch Factory. I would like to see more retail and shopping options in downtown Waltham. I firmly support incentives to landlords and small business owners on Moody Street to promote retail and services that align with the numerous restaurant options that currently exist.
JOE GIORDANO JR. - WARD 7
I make the distinction between new development and redevelopment. I do not support cutting down trees or using precious land for development. But I would like to see old, dilapidated properties be given a chance to be restored.
PAUL UMBRELLO - WARD 7
I encourage development built within rights of city zoning and ordinances. While development does seem to be a major concern, how we bring it in to the city and manage it, is also a concern. There are also many smaller issues that affect residents that could be easily remedied. Various Ward 7 neighbors are concerned with the following; having a city tree taken down, a dilapidated city fence that needs to be removed, private roads being paved, better regulation of heavy truck traffic though residential streets, and many other issues. Are these smaller issues unimportant?
STEPHEN ROURKE - WARD 8
With new development, "balance" is the watchword. I welcome development that is in scale with our current and potential capacity to handle its impact, and the likelihood it has to benefit residents, through its usefulness and its contribution to the tax base. The concept of having developers fund the work needed to mitigate all impacts of a project is one that we have not leveraged to the fullest degree. Traffic, parking, fire, police, educational services, etc., must be factored in to insure that a project will not strain the finite limits of what Waltham can absorb. I will continue to favor redevelopment over new development on open space; to support new development that meets my criteria for balance; and withhold my support from proposals I feel are not right for either the immediate neighborhood or for the city in general.
ALBERT BAKALIS - WARD 8
Waltham is not over developed. We have groups that are pushing for more housing at the expense of commercial property. This is not a good idea. If we lose commercial property and someone is looking for it to develop a business in our City. We will miss out. There is plenty of land for both. We need both and trading one for the other is not practical if we want to live and work in Waltham.
ROBERT LOGAN - WARD 9
It seems that there are those who would like to stop all development. This is an extreme and shortsighted view. Waltham has always enjoyed a relatively low (compared to other communities) residential tax rate and a high level of public services, due to our strong commercial tax base. We need growth to maintain that advantage. However, we need to manage growth through smart growth planning and practices. An excellent example of such is the development at Main and Moody streets recently approved by the City Council. High density, mixed use development near public transportation is the very definition of smart growth.
ANDREW DRISCOLL - WARD 9
Where is the Master Plan. Since 2006 it has not been on the docker.The dust must be thick on that paperwork. There needs to be effective management to get this ball rolling. Achieving results means a choice in City Council in over-development, good and bad. When was the last time a councilor held a neighborhood meeting, and not during re-election?
