Councilor-at-large candidate Paul Brasco

Paul J. Brasco has lived in Waltham his entire life.

“I was born and raised behind our family funeral home on the corner of Moody Street and Orange,” he said. He currently lives with his wife and children in a house on Juniper Hill Road near Bentley University.

He said his experience talking to people at the Brasco & Sons Memorial Funeral Home where he is now a partner inspired him to run for City Council. He remembers his mother was surprised but supportive when he first ran for office in 1999. 

“She said, ‘Whatever you do and set your mind to, we will support you 1,000%,’” recalled Brasco.

He said that message stuck with him throughout his many years serving as a councilor-at-large.

As both a councilor and a businessman, Brasco said he values the diversity of the Waltham community.

“I get to meet a whole bunch of people from every walk of life, and it’s the people that make Waltham so special. I’m not just saying that because I’m in politics. That’s my feeling, that’s my life,” said Brasco. 

He said he works with both the Sacred Heart Parish, a Catholic church on River Street, and the local Salvation Army in their efforts to support the community.

Brasco’s three kids attended Waltham Public Schools, which makes education one of his top priorities. In Brasco’s mind, education and public safety are closely linked. 

“Once you have the best public safety around, you can focus on the educational system,” he said. 

He said he believes the success of Waltham’s police, fire and EMT programs has allowed Waltham to focus on building the new high school and providing programs to support English-as-a-second-language and special education students. 

“Every kid deserves the best opportunity in education,” Brasco said, pointing to the city’s high per pupil expenditure rate as evidence of this. He declined to give policy specifics when given the opportunity.

Turning to other local issues, Brasco said he thinks Waltham is on the path to handling the city’s rat problem.

“The rodent population has gone out of control; however, I do believe that the city has got it under control and done everything in our power to make sure that we address that issue,” he said, noting that the city’s use of traps, ordinances and community education to face the issue.

If reelected, Brasco wants discussions to continue about the zoning legislation so that City Council can make a decision on zoning reform before the code is out of date. He wants to create more affordable housing for Waltham residents, whom he feels have been increasingly priced out as rent in the area gets higher.

Brasco has noticed the direct impacts of federal immigration policy and the economy in the community. To him, focusing on what’s happening in Waltham rather than dealing with federal issues on a local level is a better focus for the City Council.

Brasco remains hopeful that the impact of these issues on Waltham residents will lessen in the future. “I’m hoping in some way that people with common sense will come together and come up with a common ground solution for all of this so that we don’t have these issues affecting us the way they do right now,” he said.

Brasco said he is frustrated by the lack of resident involvement in civic affairs and, if reelected, will continue to encourage citizen involvement in local government.

He pointed to previous success when he and other councilors asked to get WCAC-TV coverage of City Council committee meetings in addition to the council’s Committee of the Whole meetings.

Brasco is a self-described fiscal conservative and social libertarian, which aligns with his goals as a councilor-at-large. “My goals and objectives are to have the least impact on the citizens of Waltham as possible, especially in the financial way of taxes and fees,” he said. 

He said he hopes that that comes across during City Council meetings but is aware some might have a different impression of him than who he feels he is in real life. “My personality gets caught up in what people see on TV and read about versus who I am,” Brasco said. “I’m just a kid who grew up on the South Side of Waltham who loves my community and would do anything for it.”