I am pleased that two of us are running for the Ward 3 City Council seat I’ve held for five years. Democracy is stronger when citizens are engaged and people running for office are asked to explain their positions.
The principles that guide me as a councilor are pretty simple:
■Respond to ward residents when they come to me with concerns, aiming to solve problems no matter how large or small;
■Collaborate with colleagues and community groups;
■Advocate tirelessly for what is in the best interest of the entire city;
■Work for productive and respectful public discussion.
These are not complicated ideas, but they do take time and effort. My commitment to these principles has led me to represent Ward 3 with reasoned, thoughtful, well-researched contributions to City Council meetings and numerous city working groups. In communicating with residents, I listen to the issues that are important to them and work together with them to develop community-based solutions.
A concrete example: Parents of Bridge Street School students told me pick up and drop off was hectic and dangerous. Something needed to be done. I worked with the principal, the Parent Teacher Organization, the Department of Public Works, the Northampton Police Department, and school parents to make changes in parking zones, pick up and drop off times and locations for school buses. Flashing school zone lights were installed and we encouraged walking to school with a walking school bus program that builds community. We secured $921,000 that paid for improvements to the pedestrian approaches to the school.
Some of the issues before the City Council require careful thought and attention, including the matter of our police and emergency services.
I’d like to explain my June of 2020 vote against a 10% budget cut to the Northampton Police Department. Without a plan, I believed that would create a void in many of the services that have fallen on our police over the years, just the kind of duties the Northampton Policing Review Commission has recommended be taken on by the Department of Community Care.
I support all the recommendations of the Northampton Policing Review Commission. But this is also true: I do not want to abolish our police department, nor cut its budget to a point that it is not a viable department. I do not believe those two stances are in conflict with each other and I believe that going forward, the Department of Community Care will work closely with police in ways similar to innovative responder models in places like Toronto and Eugene.
The systemic racism that infects all areas of our country needs to be addressed. If I am reelected to serve as Ward 3 city councilor, I am committed to continue working on social justice issues as well as the day-to-day matters that come before the council, from traffic to affordable housing to zoning to climate change resiliency to the preservation of beloved buildings. It’s the job of city councilors to hold all of this and more.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I do promise to work together with the people in Ward 3 to address their concerns. I remain eager to discuss any issue in any forum where people agree to talk directly and respectfully. I believe listening to each other and working together is the best, surest way to find the answers that work for our city.
Jim Nash is the Northampton’s Ward 3 City Councilor.