Newton VOL 1, NO 4
NEWTON’S VOICE
NOVEMBER 1-14, 2016
Photo | Joshua Resnek Apple store at Chestnut Hill Mall on a recent afternoon.
No surprises here about who local leaders are voting for By Alexander Culafi
The Voice With Election Day nearly upon us (heck, it’s already happened for some of us), a lot of questions come up for November 8’s final showdown of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The questions are as endless as they are unanswerable. Of course, “Who’s the better candidate to run this country?” is arguably the most important question among many others in Newton, and you may have already answered for yourself many of them. Then again, the most important question might well be, “Who is the lesser evil of two candidates that the American people don’t tend to trust or to admire?” But after that, you might be interested in knowing whom your already-elected officials are voting for. How well do they represent your interests? Well, we called up some people, did a bit of research, and asked. In Newton, Mayor Setti Warren is the major endorsement of note for Clinton. “I fully Support Hillary Clinton,” he said. “I find Donald Trump abhorrent.” Joining Mayor Warren? Both of our senators, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, alongside all our
In the middle of this election is Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, who is a Republican. He refuses to openly support either majorparty candidate.
can’t support,” Baker said speaking to the press in May. “At the same time, I do believe Secretary Clinton has a huge believability problem.”
On the other side, I asked Tom Mountain, Chairman of the Newton Republican City Committee, about his involvement in the election. Take a guess.
“The things (Trump) said about women and Muslims and religious freedom, I just
For
“I am the MA/NH Trump Campaign Director for Jewish Outreach.”
By Joshua Resnek
congressmen and women in the House of Representatives, and of course, President Barack Obama, has also endorsed Clinton and the Democratic slate.
The Voice
“I would say most Democrats are utterly appalled at everything Trump stands for,” said Sean Fitzgibbons. “Hillary is incredibly qualified to be president and Donald Trump would be an unmitigated disaster.”
A popular website has named Newton among America’s 50 Best Cities to Live In.
And in a bit of ancient history, when President Nixon ran for his second term in 1972, he lost only one state, and that was Massachusetts.
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No surprises with this vote
Then there is the chair of the Newton Democratic Party.
For better or worse, this Massachusetts love of Clinton is no surprise. Before even touching on this unique election cycle, few states get bluer than our Bay State. The last election Massachusetts went red for was 1984’s Ronald Reagan/Walter Mondale election. However, that was not a close election; the only places Mondale won were Minnesota (his home state) and Washington D.C.
the
Certainly, this comes as no surprise to residents here who are all, for the most part, well-educated, upper income, living well in fine homes, sending their children to top-notch public schools, able to find wonderful eating venues while living in an environment almost free of violent crime, among a host of other attributes those living in other cities others would die for. 247WallSt.com ranked Newton No. 21 out of the 50, which included cities like Portland, Maine, Concord, North Carolina, Norman, Oklahoma, and Portland, Oregon. The website’s researchers apparently based their rankings on a list of variables, including the crime rate, unemployment growth, educational attainment, and housing affordability.
Newton is largely unaffordable for the middle class and the working class. However, Newton’s higher median income did not hurt its position in this top 50 category. Also, measuring higher than affordability in this effort to find the top 50 cities to live in was access to outdoor activities, beautiful parks and sports clubs, and the type of amenities that often set apart certain communities from others. In addition, the study found many of the best cities are located near major cities, as this proximity provides residents with access to good schools and safe neighborhoods, while also allowing them to enjoy the amenities available in the nearby larger ones. Newton fits this pro forma to perfection. Categorizing cities in the other direction – that is, the worst cities in America to live in, also done by the same website – were Flint, Michigan, Birmingham, Alabama, Fall River, Massachusetts, Detroit, Michigan, and Miami, Florida.