The real deal with Somerville politics?

[wallacestreet.livejournal.com]

I read lots comments about pro-mayor this and anti-maor that, and there appear to be a good number of contested races in the city this election cycle. Anyone care to enlighten me (and hopefully others) on what the sweep of citywide politics looks like from where you sit, and maybe a little of the history that went into it? Major points of contention? Anywhere I can read more? Thanks in advance.

Comments

[wallacestreet.livejournal.com]

That was a joke, right? Please, please tell me there's more to it than that. This is exactly the kind of uninformative, dare I say it, drivel I'm trying to avoid. Please tell me that there is some forum where people speak plainly and talk about the candidates' stances on the issues, or even what the issues are, rather than whether they are "men of integrity" or "a complete nut" or run with a "band of traveling thieves". If the link you posted indeed represents the height of political discourse in Somerville, it is truly a sad state of affairs. Or maybe that was your point.

Please someone, we can do better, can't we? I just want to know what the important issues are to others around here and, perhaps, what all the sotto voce accusations are really about and whether they have any merit.

[ron_newman]

I suggest attending tomorrow night's meeting of Progressive Democrats of Somerville, 7 pm at the College Avenue United Methodist Church. Plenty of intelligent people there to talk to.

[abilouise.livejournal.com]

Even though I won't be there due to scheduling conflicts, this statement is still very true.

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

Broadly, the issue is control of city government between the long time Irish-Italian largely blue collar residents of the city and the newer-wave college educated residents that started buying up housing stock in the late 1990s. The current battles seem to be between getting out the vote of the older residents vs. convincing the newer residents (and migratory student population) to vote.

Turnout is always depressing. Part of the issue is that they're all Democrats, so the dividing issues aren't about being lefty, they're about how far lefty you should be.

So, broadly, the disagreements run like this:

The Democrats are old-style machine politicians. While that may sound bad, in practice they're very responsive to voter complaints because they know they need those votes.

The Progressive Democrats don't want big box, including Ikea, and advocate "Smart Development" (which, as far as I can tell, means mixed use). The Democrats see the need for a tax base to fund schools and public services, so they're willing to try a proven source of tax income now (Big Box) vs. the possiblity of "Smart Development" later.

At the same time, the Progressive Alderman for Ward 6 seems proud of the Big Box going up in Davis Square right now, so I may misunderstand their platform.

The Progressive Democrats also advocate giving the vote to non-US citizens who are residents of Somerville. I haven't seen a concrete proposal on how they'd work that, but they'd do it to give the large immigrant community a voice in local politics. The Democrats are (mostly) very firm about only having US citizens vote.

They're all pro-choice, pro-gay marriage (Curatone actually went out on a limb for that one), anti-war, pro-social programs, etc. etc.

Like Ron says, if you go to the PDS meeting they'll be only too happy to tell you how they're different than the old school Democrats.

[ron_newman]

Do you mean the CVS? That's not what most people mean by a 'Big Box' store.

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

In that it isn't all one store?

[ron_newman]

I think of 'Big Box' as meaning a large one-story retail building surrounded by surface parking lots, like our K-Mart and Target. The new One Davis Square will be a three-story building with CVS on the first floor, Boston Sports Club on the second floor, offices on the third floor and basement, and no parking at all.

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

Soooo... the Ikea isn't big box because it has two floors?

No parking? Really? I missed that one!

[ron_newman]

The new One Davis Square will cover 100% of its lot, just as the old one did. I wouldn't say that Rebekah was 'proud' of it, but it was approved while the previous alderman was in office, and she couldn't do much to stop it even if she wanted to.

I guess there are a few multi-story Big Box stores such as the proposed Ikea, but nobody calls a CVS a big box store.

[turil.livejournal.com]

I do. It's big, it's boxy, it's a big box! :-)

Though, I think it's more useful to describe what we do want, rather than what we don't want.

And what I want is for the city to encourage a diverse range of locally owned businesses that try to source their products and services locally whenever possible, so that Somerville is more independent and self-sufficient and able to employ more people with meaningful jobs who can contribute a healthy tax base to the community.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

*nod* One Davis sounds like mixed-use to me, or at least close to mixed-use. Not "big box," though.

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

I am not an expert in developer-speak, but the first hit I got from Googling "Big Box Development" seems to fit that building pretty well:

http://growthmanagement-icsc.org/bigbox/

[gildersleeve.livejournal.com]

The new One Davis Square may or may not be 'big box' by some definitions, but for some historical context it will indeed be a multi-use building - certainly the most uses for that piece of land in its recent history, for the whole old building was built in the 20's as Parke-Snow, a department store, and it was that one use for most of its existence. When the department store closed, it became strictly office space. The new building will have retail and office space together, so while CVS and a gym may or may not be the greatest use of the space, there is no denying that the new building has more variety than anything that has existed there for over 75 years.

[lena-a-mermaid.livejournal.com]

I don't think the description at that link fits that building at all.

[lena-a-mermaid.livejournal.com]

If by "Progressive Democrats" you mean PDS, they have no such platform that advocates giving the vote to non-US citizens.

They also have no stance directly against IKEA. They do advocate for Smart Development and Mixed Use space.

The new building in Davis Square may be big and it may be square, but it is not a big box development. It is a mixed use building which will contain a CVS, a gym, offices etc. Mixed Use.

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

"If by "Progressive Democrats" you mean PDS, they have no such platform that advocates giving the vote to non-US citizens."

When they asked the question at a debate, Marty said he was in favor and the other two candidates said they weren't. Other PDS folks I've spoken with have also advocated giving the vote to non-US citizens. If it isn't a plank, it is being advocated by its members. I can provide links if you'd like.

"They also have no stance directly against IKEA."

When Marty came to my door looking for my vote I asked him if he was pro- or anti- Ikea. He was clearly in the anti-Ikea camp. When I asked Jack about it, he was definitely in favor of receiving those tax dollars and bringing one of the most respected and progressive employers in the world into Somerville.

If I've gotten the positions of the Progressives wrong, it is only because I've been talking to their candidates and their members.

"The new building in Davis Square may be big and it may be square, but it is not a big box development. It is a mixed use building which will contain a CVS, a gym, offices etc. Mixed Use."

You're right about that. I didn't know they wouldn't have parking. So is it an example of "Smart Development?"

[ron_newman]

There can be a difference between an official PDS platform position, and the position that a PDS-endorsed candidate has on some issue. I think this is one of those differences.

Ikea is going to happen. The 'anti-Ikea' folks (including many PDS-ers) have made it a much more environmentally-friendly development than it would have been without their activism.

[lena-a-mermaid.livejournal.com]

Marty did co-found PDS, however he is not a spokesperson for PDS. Marty as a candidate has his views on issues and PDS as an organization has its official views on issues. These views are not identical. PDS does not need to agree with every statement one of their endorsed makes.

Everyone has a right to their own opinion however their personal views are not necessarily the official position of every organization they belong to.

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

So would you say that the majority of PDS members don't share Marty's views on these two issues?

[lena-a-mermaid.livejournal.com]

I would not presume to speak for the members of PDS as individuals.