Newton’s housing crisis is a major issue driving Gross’ campaign. (Photo Courtesy of Ted Gross)
After decades in Newton and a life of service, Ted Gross has decided his next chapter is a seat on the Newton City Council.
With a campaign focused on creating affordable housing, promoting environmental sustainability, and improving city infrastructure, Gross is one of three candidates running for Newton’s two Ward 6 at-large city council seats
“I’ve been here for 64 years,” Gross said. “I was in the eighth grade when we moved, then I graduated from Newton South [High School] and briefly attended Newton Junior College.”
Following his time in Newton Public Schools, Gross later earned his degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University.
Now semi-retired, Gross serves on the board of directors for NewTV and as the Ward 6 chair of the Newton Democratic City Committee. He is also a member of the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee.
Gross has committed himself to generating grassroots support through door-to-door outreach and mailing lists. Newton’s housing crisis is a major issue driving his campaign.
“We want to be able to allow people to live here and have a rich mix of people in the community,” Gross said.
Gross prioritizes the development of low- and moderate-income housing, especially for seniors.
“Seniors need to be able to continue to live here, where their friends still live,” Gross said. “Sometimes they can’t afford to keep their homes, or it becomes too cumbersome. There should be some way for them to have some housing that is near the community that they’ve lived in.”
Gross is not only concerned about housing prices and support for senior residents, but also the environmental impacts of tearing down houses.
“When you tear down a house, it creates particles that get into the air, and that is not environmentally good for the residents of that area,” Gross said.
Instead, Gross proposes deconstruction, which he believes will be more productive for future home constructions and more environmentally friendly.
“[The houses] should be deconstructed, which is more environmentally sound,” Gross said. “Also, most of the material in a house is reusable, especially the wood, and that would also save on cutting trees, which contributes to the environmental issues.”
Gross did note that, in certain cases, refurbishment is the better route.
“Instead of deconstructing, which does add cost and time to whatever they want to build, the parts can be sold off and recoup some of their costs,” Gross said.
Another concern for Gross is the increased car traffic rather than foot traffic in Newton, particularly in how this affects small businesses reliant on pedestrians.
“Traffic is another thing that needs to be dealt with,” Gross said. “Businesses need foot traffic in the business areas to be able to survive. That also deals with parking where Newton is spread out, and there needs to be parking in some of the village centers.”
Gross also pointed to the city’s ongoing infrastructure and parking problems. A hot issue on the upcoming municipal election ballot is the winter parking ban, which limits nighttime parking during the winter for Newton residents and is up for repeal.
Gross did not specify a particular course of action for adding more parking and reducing traffic congestion. Instead, he emphasized his willingness to collaborate with the entire council to explore various solutions.
“That’s something that would be discussed with other councilors to see what might need to be done,” Gross said. “You do experiments. As you find out how things work and develop, you see what you will be able to readjust.”
The municipal election is on Nov. 4, and Gross faces Sean Roche and Lisa Gordon in a race with no incumbent.