"5 Thoughts I've Had" for the week of December 17, 2007

I have not posted anything on this blog in a month. It was an effective (and fun) tool for me as a campaigner (note: when my 4-year-old's preschool teacher asked her what her daddy did for work, my daughter said, "He's a campaigner."). With the campaign over, I've been getting ready for the upcoming term to begin in January 2008 as well as reconnecting with my family, my day job, and a million other things.

As to the blog, for now, I'm going to attempt a once a week post, probably on Monday, with some thoughts on Newburyport current events and anything I can conjure up about other important things in our lives like the Red Sox.

1) My Blog Plan
I'm going to steal an idea from one of my favorite websites (www.hardballtimes.com) in which one of the writers posts about the "10 Things I Didn't Know" each week during the baseball season. So I'm going to write '5 Thoughts I've Had' each week. "My Blog Plan" counts as Thought #1.

2) Master Plan
Mary Baker is so right in her post that the Master Plan is still relevant. I'm sure that the document wasn't easy to pull together at the time. However it should be considered 'must reading' for elected officials, stakeholders, and concerned citizens.

3) Municipal Energy
Maybe I am a dreamer (see below John Lennon) , but I think it would be great if Mayor Moak's Energy Advisory Committee looked at the possibility of our own humble community forming its own municipal electric company. True, a 'muni' hasn't been formed in Massachusetts since 1926 according to Globe columnist Steve Bailey here. While it may be a common sentiment in some circles that government screws everything up, take a look at your next electric or gas bill (actually your next gas and electric bill may be combined since Keyspan and Nstar are now one company) and remind yourself that the private sector doesn't always get it right. Many other communities in Massachusetts control their own utilities this way as you can see here on the State's website.

4) Newbury's Little River Transit Village and 'Our' Water
I keep hearing concerns about the potential impact on Newburyport water and sewer capacity if we enter into a deal with the town of Newbury. Maybe my public school math is a bit fuzzy here, but if the numbers in the recent Daily News article from December 12 are correct, the proposed Village at Little River south of the commuter rail station in Newburyport doesn't seem to have that big of an impact on water and sewer (assuming Newburyport goes along). According to the Daily News, Newburyport uses (or will use when Plum Island is all connected) 2.4 million gallons a day. The Transit Village would use, and this is the high estimate, 50,000 gallons per day. So 50,000(Little River)/2,400,000 (Newburyport) = 2.08% increase. There are other reasons for Newburyport to be wary of this development (like traffic, retail competition, etc), but water and sewer volume doesn't seem to be a deal breaker. In fact we should be looking at this as an opportunity to bring resources to maintain our water and sewer infrastructure, which is in need of upgrade.

5) Bruce Menin
Around the time I moved to Newburyport, I was looking in the Newburyport Adult Education catalog and noticed the name of a guy named Bruce Menin who was teaching a class examining the Who album "Tommy." I thought this was a very cool idea. About 6 years later, I had the esteemed pleasure of MC'ing a screening of the Bill Lee documentary "Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey" at the Firehouse. The event was a fundraiser for the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival. As I was standing on the stage with Bill Lee, some mustachioed man in the audience with a cast on his leg asked an obscure question about the late 1960's Mets starting rotation. That was the first time I'd met Bruce in person and I continue to get a charge from everything he says and does. My thought for the week: "Thank you Bruce for reminding us about John Lennon's passing 27 years ago December 8." Bruce, you may be a dreamer...and you're not the only one.

Why

I have my own theory, grounded in my experience of the last several months, as to why I won.

In April 2007 at the Annual 2 Cities and 3 Towns Democratic Breakfast (the 2Cs and 3Ts being Amesbury, Newburyport, Newbury, Salisbury, and West Newbury), John Walsh came to speak. John had been Deval Patrick's campaign manager and had recently been chosen to head up the Massachusetts Democratic Party.

If you've ever seen me at a public meeting or a debate, you will often see me scribbling things down on small scraps of paper. Months later, usually when the wallet becomes painfully large, I'll pull these notes out. After months of campaigning, I finally got around to the wallet cleaning this week and came across those April scribbles.

What John Walsh said that morning in April resonated with me as I was about to embark on a campaign. He talked about a new (and yet very old) way of campaigning, "going to where people are and talking to them about what they feel is important." John talked about how busy people are in their lives, but if you can find a way to connect, there is an "accumulated wisdom" that can recognize and solve problems and inform public policy and decisions.

Grassroots campaigning was really what I was doing, although I didn't telegraph it during the campaign.

• I started knocking on doors in late June, when most experienced local campaigners were telling me to wait until after Labor Day. It was time consuming. There are 1200 or so voting households in Ward 4. I knocked on all at least once, most twice, and some three times.
• Modern political campaign theory talks about 'targeting voters.' I did the opposite: I knocked on the door of every registered voter whether they were unenrolled, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or Green. Once the signs came out in the fall, I made a point of talking to folks with Fowler signs because I knew they were going to vote. If I didn't win their vote, I always learned something.

After introducing myself, I would always ask one basic question to start off: "What are your concerns about City government?"

My slow slog through the summer and fall helped me understand what was on people's minds. Those conversations helped me become a more knowledgeable candidate. And as a Councillor starting in January, I want to continue to find ways to keep the channels of communication open, so that that accumulated wisdom can help Newburyport be a better place for all of us.

Ed

Thank You

If you haven't read your Daily News yet, in yesterday's Ward 4 City Council race, I received 514 votes and Councillor Fowler received 438 votes. Daily News article is here with other post election commentary at the blogs of Mary Baker, Tom Salemi, and Bruce Menin.

I want to thank the voters of Ward 4 -- whether they voted for me or not isn't really relevant -- for participating in the process and helping me as a candidate learn about what's important to them. The resounding message for me was that voters are tired of missed opportunities. Those missed opportunities aren't the product of any one elected official, but something we all own. In the next two years, we need progress on municipal finance, on educational quality and value, on the waterfront, and finally we need progress on a Senior Center.

I want to acknowledge Councillor Fowler's service to Newburyport for many years and in many ways. Maybe for the first time in American political history, we have a case of a candidate (me) growing more fond of an 'opponent' (Erford) during a campaign. I especially appreciated meeting many members of his family during the cold, wet signholding on Election Day. And perhaps the highlight (warmlight?) of the day/evening for me was sharing hot apple cider with Erford after 12 hours of mutual wet misery. And thank you Bill Van Etten for running home and bringing warm refreshments to all the signholders!

Now it's time to put out the trash and recycling, clean the car, and rake leaves....and move ahead on the business of the City. I'm looking forward to working with the Mayor, the City Council, and the School Committee on the important issues before us: municipal reform, education, development, and a Senior Center.

Lastly and most importantly, I want to thank my wife Susanne and daughter Anna for their support and encouragement. All the work and effort was really about making Newburyport the best place it can be for them and all the other families and individuals who live here.

Ed Cameron

The Most Important Issue Facing Newburyport

I'm sure you all remember the movie Casablanca.

Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?
Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!
[a croupier hands Renault a pile of money]
Croupier: Your winnings, sir.
Captain Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much.
[aloud]
Captain Renault: Everybody out at once!


If you were in attendance at the various forums of late, you too might have been struck by the similarity in candidates' responses to questions on the most important issues facing Newburyport. Some candidates' answers (not everyone mind you!) tend to be very vague and non-specific. I'm not sure if it's political caution or "groupthink" but I think the times demand more.

To me, the most important issue facing Newburyport is LEADERSHIP. We need leadership that doesn't put its head in the sand and deny problems, leadership that doesn't pander, leadership that prioritizes its resources, leadership that is inclusive, strategic, and solution-oriented.

We have a lot of opportunities and challenges ahead.

Please vote Tuesday and give your input. For voters from Ward 4, I ask for your consideration.

Thank you,
Ed Cameron

Best Line of the 2007 Newburyport Campaign Season

I've heard a lot of things from voters and candidates over the last several months. I've heard insights, wisdoms, opinions, facts, and untruths.

I've heard some very funny things....but without a doubt, I give the TOP AWARD (capitalized in honor of his signs) for funniest quip of the season to (insert drum roll):

Bob Kelleher's answer on the Daily News question on drug sniffing dogs. If you didn't read it in the paper, click here and make sure you scroll to the bottom.

I happen to agree with him on principle, but he certainly found a great way to get his point across!

Ed

Your Turn To Be The Candidate: Long-time councilor faces new challenger in Ward 4

In today's Daily News, the candidates for City Council Ward 4 are profiled here.

There are space restraints, so my and Councillor Fowler's responses are brief when the issues are always more complicated.

I've talked about these issues with hundreds of voters over the last six months. And I have learned a lot....although I have to say, the 'dog sniffing' question has never come up in conversation.

So in that spirit, I thought it would be fun to try to get YOUR responses on this blog. Below are the questions as posed by the Daily News. Hit the comment button and send me your answers. Whether I agree with your answers, I'd be happy to post them as long as they are not slanderous. If you want to be anonymous, you can do so.

Top priority:

QUESTIONS:
-- Do you think there should be more or less than 250 parking spots on the downtown central waterfront?

-- Do you think historic districts -- ones that restrict what people can and cannot do with and to their properties but at the same time help preserve historic structures and help to increase property value -- are good for the city?

-- Would you support a tax override to raise property taxes in order to help fund the school system, which says it needs money or faces more cuts to its staff and services??

-- Is the practice of using drug dogs to sniff out those with marijuana on Inn Street a tactic Newburyport police should be using?

Support Your Local Radio Station!!!

Yes, I know it's important to buy local. It's also important to listen local...especially when you can be greeted in the morning to the dulcet tones of Ed Cameron's new ad, one of the top two candidates for Ward 4 City Council. The ad is running in the morning weekdays up to the election.

I've been told that I have a face for radio and this ad proves it.

Give a listen at 1450AM for local news and interviews and cool music...and great Irish music on the weekend. Their website is www.wnbp.com.

Ed

Waterfronts Gone Wrong

Lifted directly from their website at www.pps.org, Project for Public Spaces "is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain public spaces that build communities."

I stumbled across the website a few months ago and, lo and behold, it turns out that other citizens in Newburyport also find it a valuable resource.

Here are 7 Mistakes according to this group. The link is here.

Happy reading and thinking!

Ed Cameron

Newburyport Mothers Club Forum

The Newburyport Mothers Club and the Institution for Savings sponsored a forum for candidates for School Committee, City Council, and Mayoral last night.

The Club has a membership of 500 in Newburyport alone and has done a great job organizing an important constituency.

Below is a summary of my remarks to the audience and you can also find Bruce Menin's comments on the forum here.

Summary for Newburyport Mothers Club, October 24, 2007

I want to thank the Newburyport Mothers Club and the Institution for Savings for sponsoring this forum.

My name is Ed Cameron and I'm running to represent Ward 4 on the City Council.

My wife Susanne, our daughter Anna, and I live on Oakland Street. And we feel blessed to live in a vibrant, historic, and beautiful city.

As working parents with a 4 year old who will enter Newburyport Public Schools next year and with our own parents now in their seventies, my wife and I are dealing with many of the day-to-day concerns you face.

In my personal and professional life, I've tried to match idealism and hope with pragmatism and a commitment to the hard work necessary for results.

With over twenty years of progressively responsible experience in the nonprofit and government sectors, I currently serve as Associate Executive Director for Housing and Homeless Services at Community Teamwork, Inc, a nonprofit in Lowell, where oversee a staff of 50 full time employees and a budget of $26 million. I also worked for the Mayor of the City of Boston and at the Pine Street Inn homeless shelter.

I have an MBA in Public and Nonprofit Management from Boston University and a BA in Government from Clark University in Worcester.

I want to focus on three areas:

Education

The children of Newburyport may represent 18% of our population but they represent 100% of our future.

If classes sizes continue to rise, if teaching positions continue to be cut, if foreign language instruction continues to be foreign to elementary and middle school classrooms, and if sports, arts, music, and transportation are only available to those whose parents can afford them – we will all feel the impact in our property values, in our economic vitality, and in the strength of our community. And our children will most certainly feel the impact.

The City Council, the School Committee, and the Mayor need to demand excellence in our schools and -- with State officials, with school administration and with the teachers union --push for reforms and cost-efficiencies at all times - not just during budget crises. As a last resort -- and only if steps are taken by the teachers union and if impact is minimized to seniors on fixed income – I would be open to putting another override vote on the ballot.

Municipal Reform

Our current form of government with a two-year mayoral term does not work. We need a local government that is effective and efficient, which can move us beyond gridlock, paralysis, and inaction. As many other cities and towns have done, I want Newburyport to create a Charter Commission with members chosen by voters, not by current elected officials, to look at other options for governance. For instance, we would be better served either by:

• a Mayor with a 4 year term with City Council terms remaining at 2 year or
• a professional City Manager hired by the City Council.

A basic service provided by most other cities and towns is a senior center. After years of inaction, Newburyport seniors deserve a Senior Center. I share Mayor Moak's position on locating a Senior Center at Cushing Park retaining the current playground and some parking.

Development

We need more than a stagnant downtown seasonal economy and a limited industrial sector if we are to have a strong tax base that places less burden on residential taxpayers. Because it has such great public value as destination open space and will complement the historic tourism of Newburyport, I am in favor of more park at the two dirt lots currently owned and managed by the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority. We should retain a limited amount of parking for senior and handicapped access. The citizens of Newburyport have spoken repeatedly in favor of this solution.

I believe I have the qualifications, energy and creativity to make a contribution. I'm asking not only for your vote on Tuesday, November 6th but also for your ideas and energy. With your support, we can make a difference.

Please feel free to contact me via email at edcameronNBPT@gmail.com, cell at 978-518-0786, or via my website and blog at www.edcameronNBPT.com.

Thank you,

Ed Cameron

Waterfront....again and again

The most depressing thing about being a candidate is that you find ample evidence of the old canard "The more things change, the more they stay the same." I came across this headline in the Daily News: "Design of Park Plan is Shown".....October 15, 1999. Cecil Group was involved then too.

Maybe it can happen now: we can create and maintain a waterfront public resource.

As reported in today's Daily News which you can find on your porch this morning or online at www.newburyportnews.com, the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority will be hosting a forum at 6PM, Wednesday October 24th at City Hall. This is an opportunity for the public to give its input into the 'what' question: What do we want to do on the waterfront park?

If you see me slipping out early, it will be because I'm on my way to the Newburyport Mothers Club Candidate Forum.

Here's one of my votes for the waterfront: a skating rink. Call me crazy but I think it would be a way to draw people down there during the winter. If you've been to Boston Common anytime in the past 5 years and seen the year-round Frog Pond and skating rink, you'll see what I mean. At a 'coffee' the other night, a Ward 4 voter talked about a public skating rink she had seen in Newport, RI. Not to take away from the outdoor skating at the Bartlett Mall, but I think it would be great if you had a little cafe for hot drinks and a place to rent skates.

Tom Salemi has an interesting post today about the waterfront and Mary Baker has many many great commentaries on her blog. A great resource for 'public spaces' is here.

Bring your ideas. Remember we need to pay for all this, which I think is eminently doable without breaking City finances.

Or we can all meet in 2015 and hash this out yet again.

Ed Cameron

Newburyport to Wealth is like Red Sox to Offense

I went to the educational funding forum at the Nock Middle School on last Wednesday night, sponsored by the task force which is looking at ways to fund our public schools.

Featuring an excellent presentation by Dr. Ralph Orlando which really helped to de-mystify the State's educational funding formula AKA Chapter 70 and active facilitation by Dick Sullivan Jr, the bottom line is that the City should not expect the State and Federal government to solve our educational funding crisis anytime soon.

You can find Dr. Orlando's presentation here and the Newburyport Current article here.

I believe all School Committee candidates were there. Current member and candidate Bruce Menin's thoughts on the forum are here.

"Wealth" (ie property values and income) in Newburyport was a point of discussion. And when you look at all the relevant state statistics (ie the State pulls all the property assessment data and they strip the numbers off our State income tax forms, so it's pretty accurate), it is true we are a wealthy community on AVERAGE and by MEDIAN.

But if I stuck my left foot in a bucket of ice water and I stuck my right foot in boiling hot water, on average I'd be feeling pretty good.

Look at it another way. The Red Sox were 3rd in the American League in runs scored in 2007, a very good offensive team. However, we still had our Julio Lugos and JD Drews bringing up the rear in the regular season.

So yes, we're a wealthy community when you look at the average and the median compared to the rest of Massachusetts. But when you ask those on the lower end of that average wealth to pay more in taxes when they're already tapped, you will hear them scream like they stuck a foot in boiling water.

I don't blame them. Elected officials (and those hoping to be elected officials) ought to take these constituents' needs into account and find ways for tax fairness while at the same time we try to prevent our schools from being decimated again next fiscal year.

Ed Cameron

Stephen Karp, Norman Leventhal, and Development

Please check out an excellent post at the blog of my neighbor (full disclosure: friend and fellow Red Sox nut) Tom Salemi at www.tomsalemi.blogspot.com. Tom has found a video of a recent interview done with Mr. Karp on Nantucket. Although Mr. Karp was referencing Nantucket, the phrase "high-end consumer" stuck out for me.

And although I'm not a journalist like Tom, I did a little digging of my own at the Sec of State's database of the Corporations Division.

When you get to the search page, check Search by an Individual, then punch in "Stephen" for first name and "Karp" for last name.

You'll either be really impressed or really scared or maybe both. The man's been busy and not just in Nantucket and Newburyport....

All this talk of developers made me recall an interview in the Boston Globe Magazine with 90 year old Norman Leventhal, a man who created many outstanding Boston landmarks including Post Office Square which is a tremendous example of a successful public-private partnership.

Thinking of our own park/parking squabbles over our waterfront, I particularly loved this from the interview:

Q: Should the New England Patriots stadium have gone down on the waterfront, as was once proposed?

Leventhal: Idiotic! You don’t do that with the waterfront. The waterfront is too valuable.

One last comment about the waterfront: I recently stumbled upon a great website for the Project for Public Spaces. In particular, they have a great writeup on How to Turn Waterfronts Around.

You will find it interesting, I'm sure!

Respectfully,

Ed Cameron

Signs, Signs, Signs...

With activists like this... Newburyport's future is very bright!!!!

Left to Right: Future 2021 Mayoral Candidates Kelly Kane, 'Baby' (lower middle), Anna Cameron

Senior Center---Why, Where, and How

The most important and interesting aspect of campaigning door-to-door is simply asking voters what’s on their minds. Sometimes the answers are not what you expect.

In talking to seniors about a Newburyport Senior Center, a frequent comment I’ve gotten is “I’ll be dead before we have one.” Sometimes it’s said with a little grin, sometimes with a grimace.

When I say I support building a Senior Center -- I also have courageous stands on other controversial topics such as the Red Sox, the American flag, and Mom's apple pie -- a question I often get asked back is “How are we going to pay for it?” In fact, this is the best response a voter can give to any promises by a politician or candidate.

At the risk of touching another one of Newburyport’s third rails, I offer these thoughts.

Why Do We Need One and Where?

To me, it’s a basic city service just as we provide schools, libraries, roads and sidewalks. The services offered for seniors help to connect them to their peers, help them stay independent and active, and let them know that their community values their contributions.

Out of a total population of 17,000, Newburyport’s population over the age of 60 is over 3,000 and expected to rise to over 5,000 people as the baby boomers age in the next 20 years.

Salisbury recently renovated its senior center, Amesbury is building one as part of a transportation center (good idea!), and Newbury is looking to incorporate a new senior center into the Little River Transit Village.

Newburyport has been talking about this for years with sites ranging from the Armory on Low Street, the waterfront, and Cushing Park which has emerged as the preferred site under Mayors Clancy and Moak.

I think Cushing Park, while not perfect, is a viable site:

1) it is centrally located, some seniors will be able to walk there. While it is not close to senior housing located downtown, it is closer to senior housing located at Horton Terrace.

2) the City owns the land, lowering overall cost. Site control is key to any development project.

3) it can fit into the neighborhood and I would say this if I lived right there on Kent Street. It will look better than what is there now—a dilapidated parking lot. Snow emergency parking needs can be met by allowing parking on a designated side of a street.

How Do We Pay For It?

The cost of construction will be $5 million. On going operating costs will be similar to what is spent now, since many of these services are already delivered in multiple sites. I think we could also generate revenue by renting out conference space in a way that doesn't impact senior activities or the neighborhood.

Obviously, the City doesn't have $5 million tucked under the mattress. Cost of construction will need to be covered by a mix of fundraising, City and State funds (House Speaker Sal Dimasi pledged $600,000 in October 2004 according to the Octobe 8, 2004 Daily News), and we should also work with our U.S Senators and Congressman Tierney for assistance.

The excerpt below spells it out. According to the Daily News article “Moak begins process for senior center in Cushing Park” (March 8, 2007):

The mayor said once Cushing Park is set as the place for the senior center , the design process can continue, which will allow estimates and concept designs to be finished.

And with those documents in hand, Moak said, he can start a fundraising campaign to help pay for the center, which will decrease the direct cost to the city's taxpayers.

"It may be down the road a while before we ever get to this. But I have to find a location, because we can't do a design of the building until we have a location," Moak said. "And we can't begin to look for money through state or federal grants or local fundraising until we get a design."

The mayor has pushed for months to make Cushing Park the location of the senior center, which is estimated to cost $5 million. At the park now is a small playground and a large parking lot, used mostly by residents during snow emergencies. A senior center would eliminate some of that parking but preserve the playground.

Moak said there should be no concern about this project taking money away from this year's budget process. He said this represents the first step in a long process.

"I'm just getting it in line," he said. "This is not a competition of any money this year or even next fall."

The mayor said he is keeping the center on his horizon because during the last 12 years serving as mayor and city clerk, the need of a senior center has yet to be met. Doing this now, he said, is a way to keep the process moving.

The entire article can be found in the Daily News online archives at www.newburyportnews.com.

I share the Mayor’s position on the Senior Center as do many current Councillors and candidates and many many seniors. Let’s keep the process moving. I’m 45 years old and I’d like to see it built while I’m still around.

Development--Tourists, Visit Us and Leave Your Car Behind

Why can't we do this in Newburyport? The blurb below (with a beautiful beach photo which I can't seem to import) is rotating on the homepage of www.mbta.com:

Escape to the beach with your bike through Columbus Day Weekend!

Our special Summer Weekend commuter rail has been so popular, we're extending service through October 8th, 2007. This handy short cut to the shore takes you and your bike from North Station to North Shore beaches for only $15.50 round trip. Our specially equipped Rockport Line Bike Coach accommodates 39 bikes and 42 passengers!

View Rockport Line Bike Coach schedule.

Read additional information about taking your bike on the T.

Personally, there are two types of people in the world I don't like: Yankee fans and tourists.

In both dislikes, I feel somewhat conflicted. As to the Yankees, I had the great fortune to marry a wonderful woman from Connecticut, who like her 4 grandparents, is a very devout Red Sox fan. Unfortunately, her parents (my in-laws) and her brothers (my brothers-in-law) pray to the pinstripes. Up until the 2004 World Series, this was a problem, but now we're doing okay.

As to tourists, I confess to being one myself. I've set foot in 41 of the 50 states, I've biked from San Francisco to LA, I've been to Scotland, England, France, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Denmark, Czech Republic, Belgium, Holland, China, Japan, Guatemala, Mexico, and Canada. I traveled so widely that my father, a Navy vet with politics somewhat to the right of Archie Bunker, was sure that I must be working for the CIA. Nope, I just like seeing places old and new.

I personally like being a tourist here in my own hometown, especially when there are few other tourists around.

I like what tourists' money can do for our local businesses. So I say, dear tourist, visit Newburyport, leave the car at home, use our bike paths which have caused so much local distress, go to our beloved Plum Island, spend your money, and keep our economy going.

Rockport? Let's talk to the MBTA and get our own promotion next year!

Development

My guiding principle on development is that the public interest needs to be valued both short and long term. Public interest requires a vital, sustainable local economy both downtown and in our industrial areas that strengthens our tax base and provides jobs to local residents.

On the Waterfront and Downtown…
I am in favor of more park at the two dirt lots owned and managed by the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority retaining a limited amount of parking for senior and handicapped access. The riverfront is too valuable and precious to pave over and it would be a travesty of the highest degree to miss this opportunity.

Parking needs ought to be addressed by a comprehensive and inclusive process ---one process--- that includes all relevant stakeholders, not limited to abutters, but including the entire Newburyport community. In the past we have had countless studies, self-selected adhoc groups and processes. What we need is one process to move this along towards a comprehensive solution we can agree on. The citizens of Newburyport have spoken repeatedly on park/parking and our leadership needs to resolve this issue so that we can turn our attention to the ensuing development of Waterfront West by Steven Karp’s team.

In terms of Waterfront West, we need to work with the developer very assertively. We should not be waiting for a plan from the developer. We should be telling the developer what will be there in accordance with the Overlay District which was passed several years ago.

The Waterfront includes further up the river into Ward 4. We need a City Councillor who will monitor the upcoming Towle Riverwalk Condominiums project and who will push for more public access along the river.

Transportation…
Take a look at a passing and often empty Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority #51 bus and you will know that we need better planning.We need better connections between the commuter rail station, the Park and Ride on Route 95, and new/old ways of getting around like bicycles. For an example of a community which has embraced a more comprehensive approach to transportation and parking, we could learn from Portsmouth's approach, in particular how they operate a 'seasonal downtown loop.'

In the Neighborhoods…
I am in favor of the ‘infill’ ordinance passed by the City Council 10-1 in December of 2006 which balanced neighbors’ concerns with individual property rights. That ordinance did not prevent all future 'infill' nor am I in favor of banning 'infill' altogether. As many citizens have stated, "There is good infill and bad infill." That ordinance was rigorously discussed at the time, the community bought into it, and struck a good balance.

Senior Center…
It’s long overdue, every other local community has one, and we need to move ahead. Mayor Moak has proposed a site which needs to be considered carefully by the Council. Any more delay is not acceptable.

Each of these topics is obviously lots more complicated! I'd welcome your comments.

Transparency and Communication

Now that the preliminary election for Mayor is over, we've reached the end of the beginning of this election cycle. As we ponder the meaning of low turnout --is it contentment? is it apathy?-- I wonder why we can't do a better job of notifying the voters that the election is coming up.

Yes, I know the signs and the enthusiastic signholders were a dead giveaway. I know there was a debate. I know the Daily News and the Current have been writing about it. I know Newburyport blogger Mary Baker at www.marybakerart.com/newburyport has been performing yeowoman's work encouraging participation.

But I also know that many voters I've talked to as I walk around Ward 4 weren't quite sure when the preliminary was being held.

Maybe they saw the names on the signs but figured it was a ways away. Maybe they were part of the crowd that was turned away from the debate at the Firehouse after the capacity of 195 was reached; maybe they were Comcast customers who found the taped version of the debate incredibly hard to hear with garbled audio. Maybe they don't get the Daily News or choose to leave the free Current on their doorsteps for weeks. Maybe they don't have access to the internet to look these things up.

Many local governments in Massachusetts publicize the date of upcoming elections with signs in crosswalks and banners proudly displayed. Why can't we do that? Maybe we'd get a few more voters.

With those post-preliminary thoughts behind me, I offer a few modest suggestions.

Transparency and Communication

Many citizens are disconnected from their local government, not for lack of interest on their part but because our municipal systems are not set up to keep citizens informed nor are these systems designed to solicit citizens input.

For example, if you want to look up the Fiscal Year 2007 budget, I invite you to look at the City’s website at www.cityofnewburyport.com where you won’t find it (although several months ago I did find the FY 04 budget) or you may go to the Newburyport Public Library where you will find one copy in the 2^nd floor reference section. Or you can go to City Hall if you can remember which night it's open late (that would be Thursday.)

In this day and age, a useful and functioning website is a necessary component of good customer service. Good customer service and an informed public are vital for good governance.

Building a more functional website is important and not necessarily more expensive than what we’re paying already. In fact it might save us money while providing a better customer/citizen experience through on-line transactions. In fact, earlier in 2007, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts laid out how to do it in a manual called A Recipe for Success Building a Citizen-Centric Website with a specific outline for how to make the transition.

While some progress is being made with the City's website at the City Clerk's page and the Office of Planning and Development's page, we need to do more. Check out these websites in large and small communities and you will get a sense of what we ought to have in Newburyport.

- Boston: http://cityofboston.gov/

- Cambridge: http://www.cambridgema.gov/index.cfm

- Marlborough: http://www.marlborough-ma.gov/Home/

- Newton: http://www.ci.newton.ma.us/

- Shrewsbury: http://www.shrewsbury-ma.gov/

- Somerville: http://www/ci.somerville.ma.us

- Weymouth: http://www.weymouth.ma.us/

- Tolland: http://tolland-ma.gov

In order to have faith in our local government and our local leadership, citizens need access to information. The improved website will move us toward that goal.

We also need better communication, back and forth between the public and elected officials. If am elected to represent the people of Ward 4 on the City Council, I pledge to hold at least one community meeting each month in places that are accessible to everyone in the Ward especially seniors. I also pledge to communicate with all residents in Ward 4 on a monthly basis either through email, my website, or through regular mail if a voter doesn’t have internet access. If elected, you’ll have my cell phone number and my email address and you will be encouraged to communicate with me on all matters great and small.

Education and Daniel Webster

And now, dear reader, today’s history lesson is from one of Massachusetts’ greatest citizens. In 1837, at a time of national discussion of new approaches to education, Senator Daniel Webster said:

"I apprehend no danger to our country from a foreign foe - Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence, I must confess that I do apprehend some danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants, and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men, and become the instruments of their own undoing. Make them intelligent, and they will be vigilant; give them the means of detecting the wrong, and they will apply the remedy."

The children of Newburyport may represent 18% of the population but they represent 100% of our future.

As the product of Massachusetts public schools, as the son of a retired teacher who taught for 30 years in a junior high school, and as someone who has worked with homeless people for 20 years, I can attest to the value of education.

I grew up in Bridgewater, Massachusetts--a historic community not unlike Newburyport. When I grew up there in the 1960s and 1970s, it was mostly a middle class community. As a high school student in the late 70’s during a period of fiscal crisis which led to Prop 2 ½, I could see the difference in learning between small classes and large classes, between qualified and unqualified teachers, between care and indifference.

In public school and later at college, I had always been interested in data about countries, states, and cities. I had always read in encyclopedias that the United States had a literacy rate of 99%, right up there with Switzerland, Japan, and the Soviet Union. When I became an adult working at the Pine Street Inn shelter in Boston, I was shocked to find the reality. Filling out forms and applications with people who couldn’t read them was more telling than a statistic in an encyclopedia. And later in other jobs with other clients, I found the same illiteracy and the same correlation: a poor education means no future.

Now I’m not taking the leap that Newburyport students are going to live in homeless shelters if classes sizes continue to rise, if teaching positions continue to be cut, if foreign language instruction continues to be foreign to elementary and middle school classrooms, and if sports, arts, music, and transportation are only available to those whose parents can afford them.

What I am saying is that right now – in this era of globalization, of rapid technological change, of economic and climactic uncertainty – in our little corner of the world we need to come together to find ways to support education. And we need to do that in ways that are not injurious to those taxpayers living on fixed income or little income.

During the campaign, I’ll be talking about my ideas for how we get there as a community and I would very much like to learn your ideas.

Candidate with Junior and Senior Advisors

HANGING BY A THREAD--WAGES IN MASSACHUSETTS STILL BELOW 2003 LEVEL

A new report by the nonpartisan Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MBPC) reconfirms the obvious -- incomes have not kept up with increases in housing expense, utilities expense and property taxes. Although there was an increase in the Massachusetts median wage in 2006, we still lag behind the wage level from 2003. Besides less money in our pockets, the consequences of the flat incomes of this decade have been less State revenue, hence less local aid and, yep you guessed it, higher property taxes.

As I've been knocking on doors of Ward 4 this summer, I've talked to more than a few families who, in their own words, are 'hanging by a thread' to stay in Newburyport. In some cases, folks are talking about the increases over the last several years in property taxes. In other cases, folks are talking about the quality of the public schools.

Over Labor Day weekend, I met two households on Howard Street whose situations illustrate the pressures. For a retired couple with a fixed income, property taxes are the main issue in this campaign. For a younger couple at the other end of the street, schools are the most important issue and at the same time they too are feeling the pinch (or perhaps vise-grip is a better analogy) of local property taxes.

To me, lowering reliance on the property tax and providing for an excellent public education experience are not mutually exclusive. Every municipality in Massachusetts is dealing with these problems. Each community needs to find its own path and that path needs to include finding efficiencies and reducing expenses in all areas of municipal governance, making the property tax less burdensome to households on fixed incomes by increasing utilization of certain exemptions, and a common plea from all 351 cities and towns for more State assistance, particularly for education where locally controlled school districts struggle under well-intended yet under-funded State and Federal mandates.

Oh, if you're thinking of moving/escaping to New Hampshire, remember they have local AND State property taxes---the 3rd highest property taxes in the Nation. Massachusetts 'only' ranks 9th. Their meals tax is 8% instead of our 5%. The grass isn't always greener...

The wage report and other informative publications are available on MBPC's web site, www.massbudget.org.

Ed Cameron Announces Run For Ward 4 City Council

ED CAMERON

4 Newburyport City Council

Contact Person: Ed Cameron

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 2, 2007

Email Address: edcameronNBPT@gmail.com

Ed Cameron Announces Run For Ward 4 City Council

Local resident seeks to strengthen Newburyport

NEWBURYPORT, MA - Monday, April 2, 2007 – Newburyport resident Ed Cameron today announced that he will be running for Newburyport City Council to represent the people of Ward 4.

“Newburyport is at a crossroads in many ways and our citizens expect their City Councilors to provide solutions,” Cameron said. “The issues before us require strong, pragmatic leadership from our elected officials – leadership to identify common interests and agree on a way forward rather than passivity in the face of real challenges.

“I’ve never run for office before but I believe that I have the qualifications, energy, and creativity to make a significant contribution. I look forward to a positive grassroots campaign, listening and learning from the residents of Ward 4 over the coming months.”

Cameron outlined three quality of life issues he will focus on:

• Development (within the neighborhoods of the Ward, on the waterfront, and downtown)
• Education
• Property Tax Relief

“The interests of Ward 4 residents don’t stop at the borders of the Ward,” Cameron said.

Cameron believes that citizens have repeatedly expressed their desired outcomes about development, education, and City services and that the elected representatives of the people need to do their best to translate that input into reality.

“We need leadership that will ensure that private interests don’t run rampant over public values,” Cameron stated. “In terms of neighborhood, downtown, and waterfront development, we need to preserve what is good about Newburyport while we seek to make changes that will reinvigorate local businesses and improve quality of life.”

Cameron believes that the City Council and the School Committee and the Mayor need to demand excellence in our schools and push for reforms and cost-efficiencies at all times, not just during budget crises.

Cameron added, “We need the wise expenditure of our property tax and local aid dollars. At the same time, we need to preserve the ability of seniors to live in the community they have called home their entire lives. I will support efforts by our State elected officials to increase the senior tax exemption and at the local level work to educate seniors to take advantage of this exemption.”

Cameron currently serves as Associate Executive Director of Housing and Homeless Services at Community Teamwork, Inc in Lowell, MA assisting low and moderate income people in the Merrimack Valley find and maintain housing stability. He oversees a staff of 50 full time employees and a budget of $26 million.

In his 20 years of nonprofit and government experience, he served as Director of Policy and Advocacy for Horizons for Homeless Children in Boston leading a successful advocacy effort to improve services for homeless children in Massachusetts; he served under Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino in that City’s Emergency Shelter Commission; and he worked at the Pine Street Inn overseeing operations at a large shelter for homeless men.

In addition to his work experience, Cameron has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in Public and Nonprofit Management from Boston University and a BA in Government from Clark University in Worcester. In 2006, he volunteered as co-coordinator for the Deval Patrick campaign in Newburyport.

Cameron has been a resident of Newburyport since 2002 and lives on Oakland Street with his wife Susanne, daughter Anna, dog Maya, and cats Theo and Boras. He is a lifelong Red Sox fan and it is no coincidence he is announcing his candidacy for City Council on a day when hope springs eternal: Opening Day for the Boston Red Sox.

Ward Four extends from Jefferson Street to the Merrimac River to Carter Street to High Street to Toppan’s Lane to Low Street to North Atkinson Street to High Street back to Jefferson Street.

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For additional information, contact Ed Cameron, cell 617-518-0786, email edcameronNBPT@gmail.com