The Tufts Daily - Thursday, October 19, 2023

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T he T ufts D aily THE

INDEPENDENT

STUDENT

NEWSPAPER

OF

TUFTS

UNIVERSITY

E S T. 1 9 8 0 Medford/Somerville Mass.

Thursday, October 19, 2023

VOLUME LXXXVI, ISSUE 7

UNIVERSITY

MA field coordinator for RFK Jr. campaign discusses electoral strategy Estelle Anderson

Deputy News Editor

Ti m o t h y Ke n s i n g e r, Massachusetts Field Coordinator for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign, spoke to students on Oct. 11 about the campaign’s priorities and strategies for the upcoming election season. Organized by Tufts Republicans, the event took place only days after Kennedy, who was formerly registered as a Democrat, declared that he would be running for president as an independent. According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, 14% of voters plan to cast their ballots for Kennedy, compared to 33% for Republican front-runner Donald Trump and 31% for current president Joe Biden. An environmental lawyer and member of one of America’s most legendary political families, Kennedy’s candidacy has sparked fears that he will siphon votes away from both the Democrats and the GOP. “I think the appeal with Bobby is he’s not going to pan-

COURTESY PAMELA DREW / FLICKR

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pictured in 2021. der to either party,” Kensinger said. “He’s an independent. He has his own views. And I think just the genuineness of not being beholden to party politics … is going to … be the way that we get a lot of independents and people that don’t vote to vote for him.” During the first portion of the event, Kensinger discussed the main issues that Kennedy

would tackle as president, including increasing border security, revitalizing renewable energy infrastructure, cutting interest rates on student loans and fighting the powerful influence of large corporations on the federal government. “Big money is so influential in politics these days,” Kensinger said. “That’s something Bobby wants to break.”

Kensinger emphasized Kennedy’s goal of reining in U.S. military spending and instead funneling those funds into bolstering domestic prosperity. Noting that the U.S. spent $877 billion on defense last year, which is more than the next ten highest countries in defense spending combined, Kensinger emphasized the need for the government

to focus more on internal concerns such as rebuilding railroads and other infrastructure. “This is one of those issues where we really need to reprioritize our government spending on making the lives of the American people better, instead of worrying about our empire growing,” he said. Kensinger then transitioned to Kennedy’s perspectives on healthcare, one of the primary issues of his campaign. As Kensinger explained, Kennedy’s view is that too much money is being spent on developing pharmaceutical drugs, rather than studying the causes for rising chronic diseases, especially among children. Kensinger also addressed Kennedy’s reputation as an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist. Often deemed the face of the vaccine resistance movement, Kennedy is the founder and chairman of Children’s Health Defense, an activist group that has been identified as one of the main sources for spreading misinformation on see RFK, page 2

LOCAL

Somerville residents, civil employees convene at city’s first Civic Day Joey Montalto Staff Writer

Somerville hosted its first-ever Civic Day on Sept. 30, where visitors were invited to learn about a variety of city-wide departments. In an interview with the Daily, Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne shared details about the city’s aspirations and priorities. The event, which took place at Somerville High School, focused on introducing residents to the city’s government services and programs. Along with the mayor, the city’s Rat Czar and several councilors were also in attendance. “The number one comment that I’ve heard today is: I didn’t realize there were so many departments,” Ballantyne, who greeted visitors at the entrance, said. At a wide range of information booths, guests were able to have one-on-one conversations with staffers. The event featured booths for the Community Preservation Committee,

the Digital Bridge initiative, Community Outreach Help and Recovery, participatory budgeting, the Somerville city council, the treasury, the SomerViva Office of Immigrant Affairs, parks and recreation, racial and social justice, the 311 service center and public health nursing. Employees at each table voiced a recurring concern: Many residents are unaware of the breadth of services their departments provide. The Participatory Budget program gives residents as young as age 12 the opportunity to vote on Somerville projects. “Our primary goal is to get many people involved and excited about [our] projects and feel ownership over them,” a staffer for the Participatory Budget explained. The Digital Bridge initiative is committed to providing internet connectivity for everyone in the city, and envisions Somerville to host 100% internet connectivity amongst residents. Not only does the initiative connect residents

with federal discounts for their Wi-Fi costs, but also works with the city to provide internet connectivity in public spaces, including parks and buildings. The Community Preservation Committee held a poll at Civic Day as to which project should receive more funding. More affordable housing had a significant majority over historic preservation or open space preservation. Housing shortages and higher rental prices have hit Somerville particularly hard with some neighborhoods facing some of the largest increases in the Greater Boston area. In her plan, Ballantyne will try to flatten residential taxes with a “mixed-use development concept,” which combines retail offices and housing into multi-purpose buildings. As Somerville’s real estate taxes have increasingly come from commercial rather than residential sources, this greater revenue stream has enabled the city government to build Somerville High School and open three new offices: the Office of Housing Stability, the

CHARLENE TSAI / THE TUFTS DAILY

Somerville High School is pictured on May 1. SomerViva Office of Immigrant Affairs and the Department of Racial and Social Justice. The Office of Housing Stability works to prevent residents from eviction and rehousing the homeless. SomerViva provides services for non-native English speaking residents by providing translators to connect them with adequate legal help, housing options and more. The Department of Racial and Social Justice prioritizes eliminating racial inequities, social disparities and injustices.

Features

Arts & Pop Culture

Opinion

Sports

Stanzas in the station

Saintly songs

MBTA madness

Cross country conquers

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THE HEARD Listen to the latest episode!

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Ballantyne reflected on the opportunities offered at Somerville’s first Civic Day event. “I thought it would be a good idea to have a Civic Day so people in the neighborhood could meet the city departments and ask them one-on-one questions,” Ballantyne said. “Not behind an email or something, but you actually are meeting the people and trying to puzzle through whatever questions [there are], and maybe you [get to] learn something.” News Science Features Arts & Pop Culture Fun & Games Opinion Sports

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