During the eighth Laredo Listens session at the Lincoln-Eliot Elementary School, Ward 1 residents brought their questions to Mayor Marc Laredo, with issues spanning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), affordable housing, and Newton’s identity.
Laredo made a statement summing up his intended approach to city leadership, highlighting his work in prioritizing citizens’ voices. These listening sessions, which started in late January, are one way Laredo has worked to prioritize that goal.
“I am not spending my days in City Hall buried in detailed paperwork,” Laredo said. “Rather, it’s my job to do these types of sessions—to get out in the community, to talk to residents, to do what I did last Friday. I think I went to six different places in Nonantum.”
Investing in schools is one of Laredo’s main initiatives. He, his siblings, and his children all graduated from Newton Public Schools, and he was also a school committee member in Newton for eight years.
“[Schools are] where our money goes, quite frankly,” Laredo said. “That’s where two-thirds of tax dollars go. That’s why people move to this city—they move here because of the schools.”
Outside of schools, Laredo kept returning to characteristics of a healthy community, Nonantum’s identity, and what Newton as a whole should strive towards.
“Nonantum is filled with folks from all different places, all different cultures,” Laredo said. “Some have been here for generations that have stayed, and that’s absolutely wonderful, and others are brand new. People care, they come out to events, they are there for others in times of need, and they try to also provide a lot of joy, and we need to be replicating that all over the city.”
The discussion was full of detailed questions by Newton residents, and Massachusetts House Representative Jake Auchincloss, a Newton native, was even found quietly observing in the back.
ICE activity was brought up by residents. Despite having signed an order limiting Newton’s cooperation with federal law enforcement, Laredo was hesitant to talk about ICE, stating that he prioritized police safety.
“Our police officers are brave, they’re thoughtful, they’re well-trained, and I use that word deliberately,” said Laredo. “I cannot put our officers in a position where they’re going to be, potentially, in an armed conflict with ICE agents.”
Another major topic was addressing Newton’s affordable housing, with Newton resident Josh Lewis mentioning issues with senior citizens wanting to downsize their homes, as well as young adults who grew up in Newton struggling to find affordable homes.
“You know, it’s basically no secret that everyone who grows up here doesn’t stay here,” Lewis said. “And they’re getting priced out, and ideally, they will be going and living in the places that seniors used to live in. Housing mobility is limited because we have limited options.”
Laredo responded by pointing towards development projects intended to help fulfill the affordable housing demand.
“We are building Northland, we are building Riverside, we have Dunstan [East] on Washington Street,” Laredo stated. “We are never going to make this city, you know, completely affordable. We are a very desirable community right next to Greater Boston.”
Residents were also frustrated with developments taking over smaller homes, with one resident saying that it feels like the Zoning Board of Appeals treats public hearings as a formality.
In response, Laredo highlighted that developers must talk to affected residents, and city officials need to work to be as impartial as possible.
“I don’t care if you’re pro-development or anti-development,” Laredo said. “If that’s your mission, if that’s how you’re going to approach the work on a boarding commission, I don’t think you’re the right person to make those types of decisions. I want you to be like a judge.”
Ultimately, Laredo’s overall message was one of moderation and compromise.
“We tend to get so caught up in whatever our particular cause is that we forget that life is full of doubts and tradeoffs,” said Laredo. “We’re not going to make everybody happy all the time, and we try to think through that carefully rather than insisting that our way is the only way.”
