Councilor-at-large candidate Christina Curtin

In 2009, Christina Curtin moved out of Waltham after college. But, like most people, she said, she boomerangs.

Three years later, Curtin moved back. With her father’s health declining, she said, moving home made the most sense.

While taking care of her dad and beginning her career as part of the Tufts Health Plan customer service department Curtin decided to go back to school. In 2019, she received her Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration from Southern New Hampshire University. 

Today, she manages customer service programs at Health Plans, Inc, a Massachusetts health insurance agency.

A member of the Waltham Ambulance Committee and the Health Assisting Program Advisory Committee at Waltham High School, Curtin’s community involvement reflects her background in healthcare.

Curtin, a 2005 WHS graduate, said the city is best described by Jack Cox, a longtime WHS history teacher.

“He used to say, ‘It’s like Hotel California, you can check out but you can never really leave’ and I didn’t appreciate that until being an adult and coming back,” she said, referring to the popular 1970s Eagles song.

The city is people-oriented, Curtin said, but connecting those in need with people that can help is challenging.

“There’s no good way to connect those two groups,” Curtin said.

With her six years as part of the Waltham YMCA advisory board including two years as vice chair and two years as chair, now coming to a close, Curtin said she believes serving as a councilor-at-large would help her be the connection for residents. It would also allow her to help the community on a larger scale, she said.

Issues of public safety are a priority, according to Curtin, and supporting ward councilors in improving traffic is key.

At a recent Traffic Commission meeting, Curtin said she saw ward councilors fighting to be heard.

“People are scared to walk around their neighborhoods,” she said, adding that she believes the city’s walkability is “one of the best parts of Waltham” and fears “we are losing that because it’s gotten so crazy.”

Additional public safety resources, specifically an ambulance bay on the city’s Northside, would supplement measures to keep both residents and first responders safe and increase revenue, Curtin said.

Supporting public services, according to Curtin, also requires listening to the experts.

“It’s listening to our teachers, listening to our first responders and having them tell us what they need and then taking action on that,” she said.

Budget initiatives to support technical career education programs and the expansion of technical careers would play a role in the city’s job market and create positive growth for the city, according to Curtin.

With a rise in housing prices, identifying strategies to increase affordability need to be creative, Curtin said.  

Reducing construction size requirements for homes is a place to start, she added.

“It’s time to start looking at the impacts of all these creative solutions that people do have in other areas,” she said.

For Curtin, keeping residents informed about local government is key in keeping it transparent, noting that a citywide newsletter sent to residents “just to say, ‘Here’s some info, you don’t have to go chase it down’” would help support this initiative.

Curtin said that while she’s not sure what Waltham can do regarding the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the city, the community can continue to support its residents. She said support means addressing fear and assisting one another

“I don’t want kids to not go to school because they’re afraid,” Curtin said. 

“It’s really just supporting each other as humans. That’s what we can do here.”