Incumbent councilors reflect on their role and challenges in an uncontested race

With all of the incumbents running unopposed to represent the city’s nine wards in this year’s election, Waltham’s ward councilors fielded questions about their past accomplishments and future plans at the League of Women Voters of Waltham’s forum on Oct. 29. The councilors spoke about their time representing their wards, fielding questions drawn from readers’ responses to The Waltham Times pre-election survey. They spoke on issues from traffic and housing to transparency and community trust.

Seventeen residents attended the event at Government Center. The Waltham Times, Channel 781 News and WCAC-TV covered the proceedings.

Several councilors expressed surprise at the lack of challengers this year and were concerned about low voter turnout. The election, Ward 6 Councilor Sean T. Durkee said, “is our report card. Even when we’re unchallenged, it’s important for us to know that you’re aware that we’re there [by voting].”

Traffic and housing dominate the conversation

Ward 5 Councilor Joey LaCava, the council’s vice president and member of its Finance and Economic and Community Development committees, emphasized expanding public transit across Waltham. “We need to get the MBTA servicing more parts of Waltham. I think that’s quite obvious,” he said. He supported reducing parking minimums to one space per residential unit and developing housing along transit corridors under the MBTA Communities Act to curb congestion. 

Ward 1 Councilor Anthony LaFauci, chair of the Finance Committee and member of the Public Works and Public Safety Committee, described the hardships residents faced during the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s installation of a new 36-inch water main on Lexington Street. “It’s something that we were basically told to deal with and manage but really had no say on the day-to-day operations,” he said. He recalled putting on a safety vest and going out into neighborhoods to help residents cope with disruptions.

“Ward 7 is going to see a huge increase in new and potential housing,” said ward Councilor Paul S. Katz, pointing to 500 new apartment units on Main Street and a 631-bed student apartment building at Brandeis University. The area around the Charlesbank Gardens apartment complex is being rezoned under the MBTA Communities Act to allow for more than 1,500 housing units. “We have concerns about traffic and school capacity and infrastructure and neighborhood character,” he said. The ward could also see a quadrupling of commercial space,” he added. He referenced the West End traffic study as well as continuous collaboration with the city’s traffic engineer as efforts to address traffic in his ward.

Ward 3 Councilor Bill Hanley discussed efforts to manage traffic and parking issues sparked by the opening of the 200 Trapelo Road playground. “I’m working to ensure development is thoughtful, protecting the character of our neighborhoods while keeping our city vibrant and among those with the lowest residential tax rates in the state,” he said. “Looking ahead, we need to continue balancing progress with preservation.”

Ward 9 residents indicated on The Waltham Times survey that traffic safety was a top concern, followed by homelessness and rats. Councilor Robert G. Logan cited his attendance at Traffic Commission meetings and a recent Southside neighborhood meeting, in collaboration with Ward 8 Councilor Cathyann Harris, among his efforts to address traffic safety. He also noted the installation of solar-powered trash receptacles and the hiring of an additional health inspector as efforts to control rats by limiting access to food sources.

Transparency, Communication, and Trust

The councilors fielded questions about transparency in city government, which the reader survey indicated was a top concern. 

“Earlier this year the City Council asked the mayor to consider moving the city’s official legal notices from the bulletin board behind City Hall to a city website to increase transparency and public convenience,” the LWVW moderator noted. Addressing LaCava, she asked, “What actions can the City Council take to persuade the mayor to require that legal notices are placed on a widely available website?”

LaCava responded, “I don’t know what the city council itself could do to force the mayor. I think we can continue to ask her to make sure we are being transparent across all avenues. I think transparency is important. That’s why we do events like this evening.”

Harris agreed that online access needs improvement. “Even I struggle to find information on the city website,” she said, adding that the council is working on a Welcome to Waltham portal to help residents submit issues directly to departments and ward offices.

Councilors also spoke about connecting with constituents. “I strive to be accountable, responsible, and available,” Logan said. “When I was running the last time, one of the promises I made was that I would do a monthly newsletter. And I’ve kept that promise. Every month I send out a newsletter.” He encouraged everyone to sign up for it.

“There’s no hiding,” LaCava said. “People know where we live.”

Environmental and civic priorities

Ward 4 Councilor John McLaughlin cited Waltham’s open spaces, tree-planting initiatives, gas leak reduction efforts and plastic bag ordinance as local environmental successes. 

Durkee emphasized the importance of  preserving open land such as the Waltham Fields Community Farm, saying, “Imagine 10,000 apartments where WFCF is. We preserve these areas so we don’t have more chaos.”

LaFauci and Durkee highlighted the council’s role in funding new mental health personnel for the Police Department. “Listening to professionals and giving them what they need is our job,” LaFauci said.

Ward 2 Councilor Caren Dunn addressed a perception that only homeowners will care about municipal elections, even though 50% of the electorate are renters. “​​I think people vote when the issues are important to them. People vote when they’ve made a connection to you. People vote when they are interested in their community. And that does not distinguish between a homeowner or a renter,” she said.

“I think it’s important for people to participate in democracy,” Durkee said on the subject. “There were many questions [tonight] about things that we don’t have any control over. The public doesn’t necessarily realize we vote on the budget. That’s what we do. So if you need something funded, we’ll do it.”

Most councilors closed on optimistic notes about the city’s financial health, livability and civic culture.

“We’re financially strong,” McLaughlin said. “We work for you, and we take that seriously.”

The municipal election will take place Nov. 4. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters can find their voting location on the state’s election website.