Election 2019

Town Council At-Large Profile: Tony Palomba

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Background

I have been a member of the Town Council for ten years. I have served on six of the Council’s standing Committees, including the Committee on Public Works and Committee on Rules and Ordinances, as well as on the Ad Hoc Committee on Transportation. I have chaired the Committee on Human Services since 2010 and most recently, chaired the Committee on Media and Public Outreach. I am co-chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Victory Field II. In addition to my official Town Council responsibilities, I am an active member of the Steering Committee of the Watertown Youth Coalition, the Task Force on Substance Use Disorder, and the Watertown Transportation Task Force.

Election 2019

Town Council At-Large Profile: John Gannon

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Background

I’ve been a municipal attorney for 25 years, advising over 100 cities and towns of Massachusetts every day on the issues that are currently facing Watertown. I’ve been a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals in Watertown for 10 years, I’ve been former Acting Town Attorney, working as Watertown’s lawyer. But I think more importantly, I’m a native of Watertown, a product of the Browne School, West Junior High, and Watertown High School; my upbringing in Watertown is an important part of who I am. I went on to Brown University and then to Suffolk University Law School, where I became lawyer to bring innovative approaches to cities and towns.  After starting a family here, I became a homeowner, taxpayer and ratepayer. Like others who chose to come to Watertown, I chose to stay here.  Watertown is a wonderful place in so many ways, and I’m here to help give back some of what this community has given to me.

Election 2019

Town Council Hopefuls Discuss Building Support, What Inspires Them

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On Nov. 5, Watertown voters have a choice of seven candidates running for the four Town Councilor At-Large seats, which are elected by the entire town. To find out more about the candidates, former Town Councilor At-Large Aaron Dushku asked each a series of questions about what they would if elected, with the answers to be published by Watertown News. This is the fifth in a series of five pieces featuring the answers from the Watertown Councilor At-Large candidates. (Note that Michelle Cokonougher declined to submit answers).

40B Project

Watertown Asserts It Has Met Affordable Housing Goals, Can Prevent 40B Projects

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Watertown officials believe they have found a seldom used way to meet the state’s affordable housing requirements, which would mean developers could not build high-density residential projects without having to go through the town’s normal zoning rules. The state law made to encourage the creation of affordable housing, often called Chapter 40B or just 40B, requires towns with less than 10 percent of its housing units that are officially designated as affordable units to allow projects with 20 percent or more affordable units to be approved in a streamlined process. Meeting the requirement is known as reaching “safe harbor.” Watertown has not reached the 10 percent threshold. There is, however, a second method to reach safe harbor, which is having 1.5 percent or more of a community’s land devoted to affordable housing.

Election 2019

Council Candidates Talk About What Subcommittees They Prefer, How They Deal With Defeat

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On Nov. 5, Watertown voters have a choice of seven candidates running for the four Town Councilor At-Large seats, which are elected by the entire town. To find out more about the candidates, former Town Councilor At-Large Aaron Dushku asked each a series of questions about what they would if elected, with the answers to be published by Watertown News. This is the fourth in a series of five pieces featuring the answers from the Watertown Councilor At-Large candidates. (Note that Michelle Cokonougher declined to submit answers).

Election 2019

Town Council Candidates Speak About Budget Priorities, Accomplishments

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On Nov. 5, Watertown voters have a choice of seven candidates running for the four Town Councilor At-Large seats, which are elected by the entire town. To find out more about the candidates, former Town Councilor At-Large Aaron Dushku asked each a series of questions about what they would if elected, with the answers to be published by Watertown News. This is the third in a series of five pieces featuring the answers from the Watertown Councilor At-Large candidates. (Note that Michelle Cokonougher declined to submit answers).

Election 2019

Candidates Look at the Big Issues They Expect to Face as Town Councilors

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Candidates for Councilor At-Large, from right, Michelle Cokonougher, Jummy Mello, Clyde Younger and Caroline Bays. On Nov. 5, Watertown voters have a choice of seven candidates running for the four Town Councilor At-Large seats, which are elected by the entire town. To find out more about the candidates, former Town Councilor At-Large Aaron Dushku asked each a series of questions about what they would if elected, with the answers to be published by Watertown News. This is the second in a series of five pieces featuring the answers from the Watertown Councilor At-Large candidates.

Elections

Missed the Town Council Candidates Forum, See the Video Here

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Candidates for Town Councilor At-Large appeared on Thursday. Shown here, from left, are Anthony Donato, John Gannon and Tony Palomba. The candidates for Councilor At-Large appeared at a candidate forum on Thursday night. If you missed it, you can watch it free on the Watertown Cable website. Along with the Councilors At-Large, other candidates running unopposed had the chance to speak beforehand at the event held at Watertown High School.