Waltham Housing Summit, Independence Day, and Independents’ Day

The past couple of weeks have included more door knocking in Waltham’s Ward 3, and also participation in two well attended events: the Waltham Housing Summit and the Forward Party Summer Celebration.

Waltham Housing Summit

The Waltham Housing Summit on Saturday, June 29th was hosted by the Waltham Community Leadership Group in the First Parish Waltham church. I attended as a participant to learn more about what different community groups and elected officials are championing, saying, doing, and recommending about how to improve housing affordability and accessibility in Waltham.

The mayor of Waltham spoke about many of the efforts that the city has previously undertaken (and is currently contemplating) to establish more permanently affordable housing in the city. She also raised the legitimate concern about whether a broad approval of multi-family housing might result in excessive amounts of luxury housing to be built, pricing out existing residents.

I learned about efforts by some groups to organize tenant unions in some of the larger apartment complexes in the city, and I was introduced to the Chapter 40B laws that either permit or require (depending on your perspective) city zoning boards to follow more flexible zoning restrictions for properties that meet certain affordable housing thresholds when the city as a whole doesn’t have sufficient affordable housing.

The Waltham Inclusive Neighborhoods group hosted an information breakout session presenting and then doing a Q&A session about the current zoning ordinances in Waltham, the MBTA Communities Act, and other opportunities to introduce multi-family housing by right in the city as a means of improving housing affordability and accessibility.

Overall the frustration with the city government and in particular the city council for the lack of tangible action on this topic was palpable throughout the event.

Independence Day

Rather than campaigning on the Independence Day holiday, my wife Lauren and I took the time to host a vegetarian barbecue with some close friends and neighbors. We enjoyed the day and reflected on how lucky we are to be able to celebrate the founding of a country based on a free and open society.

While most of the conversation was fun and light-hearted, the specter of the upcoming presidential election came up at least a few times. With no great options (and one very bad option) at the top of the ticket, it is sobering to realize that the freedoms we have taken for granted in America over the past several decades are only guaranteed to the extent that we all collectively participate in society and government in good faith, and that each new generation is willing to take up the torch of democracy.

With the twin Supreme Court decisions to simultaneously undermine the authority of regulators to interpret legislation but also make “official acts” by a president subject to a presumption of immunity, it is not clear how things will progress at the federal level after 2024. What is clear is that at the state level, Massachusetts (and particularly the state legislature) needs to put safe guards in place to ensure that we continue to have a vibrant democracy and open society regardless of federal policy changes.

Independents’ Day

The Forward Party of Massachusetts hosted its Summer Celebration on Saturday, July 6th at Mighty Squirrel Brewery in Waltham. It was a great opportunity to meet voters, volunteers, and candidates from across the Commonwealth that support independent thought and collective action.

Sean talking to a Waltham resident at the Massachusetts Forward Party summer celebration event