Guests District 5 City Councilor Enrique Pepin, Senator Lydia Edwards, & SJC Clerk Elect Allison Cartwright!
WBCA Podcasts
Talk Of The Neighborhoods
[ Silence ] >> Good evening and welcome to Talk of the Neighborhoods. I'm Joe Heisery-Hos, coming to you from the B&N Live Studios in Eggleston Square. Tonight, we're also being simulcast on our sister radio station, WBCA 102.9 FM. Tonight, two-part show, all politics, as is our usual want. First up tonight, we'll check in with the first-year city councilor, Enrique Pepin. He's the district five city council pulled a major upset in the race last fall, and we'll catch up with him on what he's up to at the city hall. Then in the second half, more politics, you'll meet the SJC clerk elect, I think that's the correct phrase, for Suffolk County Alison Cartwright comes back and joins us to talk about her primary win in the September election, joining her one of her biggest boosters, Senator Lydia Edwards, the state senator from the third Suffolk district, all that and more. Tonight on Talk to the Neighborhoods, stay tuned, we'll be right back. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] All right, we're back with Talk to the Neighborhoods, I'm Joe Heisler, who's tonight, two-part show, and I'm very pleased on this first half to have joining me, he's a new Boston city councilor for district five, that's Rosalindale Hyde Park and a little piece of, I think, Jamaica Plain and Matapan as well, from Rosalindale and Ricky Pepin. Joining us, nice to have you here. Joe, thanks for having me, so nice to see you. Well, you know, as I said, I don't think we talked since you won your race, but a lot of people were surprised by the outcome, I don't think I was, I could see how hard you were working and, you know, there was a lot of different factors going into that race. How's it going, how are you liking this gig? It's amazing. Is it what you expected or? It is, and it isn't, in good ways, because, you know, you always, you know, you run for the job, you knock on the doors, but once you get there, you really get a sense of what it is, and it has been a really great learning experience, a great opportunity, this is an honor to be a Boston city councilor, so the first nine months have been a blessing. Well, and I know you worked in public service before, so you're familiar with dealing with the myriad of issues that come up for residents, but, you know, it's a different thing being an elected official, you know, all of a sudden, you know, this responsibility placed on you, you feel on the pressure? You know, the residents, they're doing their job of making sure that they're advocating for what they believe in. We're trying to, we are active as possible in the streets. We're doing these things called field Fridays, where every Friday we are going to different corners of the district purposely, and what we do is we gather the emails and the phone calls that we get throughout the week, and then we see where they are, and then we go to the residents in person in the district to figure out how can we assist which departments we need to bring with us so we can resolve the issues. What are you seeing are the biggest, what are you getting the most calls on, the most, what's the biggest issue? I know when you were here before, of course, we talked about the housing situation, and I know that's not a lot better, it's just a tough situation, not the rental-wise especially. Absolutely, housing continues to be an issue. The affordability of housing is the issue, but also traffic safety is probably one of the number one things we get in our office. Just residents concerned with speeding vehicles, a lot of accidents in our district unfortunately, people, they want to see more speed homes, they want to see more stop signs, more traffic enforcement, so that's something that we do with on a day-to-day basis. And then obviously you get the educational calls, you get the calls about wanting a, for example, a Hyde Park Health Center, which is something I want to talk about later, but it's a myriad of issues. What have you felt, you know, the most encouraged by, you know, you're just nine months into it, I get it, so it's still getting your feet wet to a certain extent, but what do you most encourage at this point that you've found? I'm encouraged by the activeness of my residence. I only represent a small sliver of the city, which is Ross in the Hyde Park in Mattapan, but every single one of those neighborhoods have very active community groups that are endlessly meeting, they're reaching out to my office, trying to work with me to figure out how can we make the quality of life better in the entire district. And I feel like I'm out alone, you know, it's, yes, I may be the counselor, but behind me is a large community of people that are advocating for what they want to see be brought to their home. So it's not just you. And conversely, what if you felt is maybe the biggest frustrations that you've had so far? And, you know, and if you love your job, it's not frustrating. I understand that, and I know you love your job. But you're dealing with 12 other individuals that, you know, lots of times you want the same things, but sometimes not. Right. And I think that that's healthy. It's representative of the city. I mean, I can't lie, Joe, and our own households, we probably don't agree with everyone in every single day, on one single topic. Imagine an entire city. So it is important for us to hear different perspectives. I want to know what's happening in District 1. I want to know what's happening in District 9, because although I'm District 5's city counselor, what I do in District 5 is going to impact the rest of the city. And I have to make sure that we are speaking to each other. We have respectful debates, because that's healthy for the city. That way we actually get to solutions. Well, that wasn't always the case, at least in the last Boston City Council session or term, I should say. Is it better now? And I know you weren't there to witness all that went before, but was described variously as this toxic environment where everybody was kind of like at each other. Yes. Is it better, do you think? You know, I speak from what I am experiencing now, and it is that we are working together. I mean, every day there will be differences. And there is different priorities from the city, but we are having conversations. We are working together. I'm noticing that a lot of folks are co-sponsoring different hearings together. I, myself, have teamed up with so many of my colleagues from Councillor Flynn to Councillor Kalata to Councillor Worrell to make sure that each of us are working collaboratively to find solutions. Well, I know, you know, Councillor Murphy was here last week, and we talked to a few weeks back, Councillor Flynn. And they didn't always feel like the things that they were bringing up. And I'm playing with Devil's Advocate here, of course, but the issues that were important, I won't say issues, but I think probably resolutions, legislations, whether it's ordinance or not, we're getting a fair hearing. Are you experiencing that? Are you seeing that? Have you been excluded, or anything that you wanted to deal with, then prevent it? No. I've been, the things that we've pushed forward on the floor. My colleagues have all been very helpful, including Councillor Flynn and Councillor Murphy, who I remember the first hearing that I held as a chair of the, as the chair of city services committee. It was a hearing order that Councillor Flynn and Councillor Murphy pushed forward, and it was good to see that happen, that kind of camaraderie happen. It's the type of leadership that I want to bring to the council, where I'm not excluding anyone. I want to know how they work. I want to know what their constituencies are based on. I want to know what their priorities are. That's why it's important for me to work with, not just them too, but all 13 of us. Well, I mean, of course, your, you know, city council is lots of times the sounding board for things that people are feeling, issues, that kind of thing. And, you know, it's a bit of a bully pulpit at times, you know, you can, but you don't always have control over what doesn't, doesn't get done. That's the strong mayor form of government. We have here in Boston. Have you felt that the, how about the mayor? Have you felt like that she has been responsive? Now I know you're from the same neighborhood here and, you know, try as you might, how you probably bump into her on a regular basis outside of the office. But, do you feel like that she's been responsive to, you know, what you're seeing and the issues you're bringing forward? I will say yes. I do have the honor of being her District City Councilor and representing Rosalindale. And whenever I have an issue, I'm able to see her as a colleague, someone that I can see as a collaborator, to be able to bring the resources that my residents were asking for. Again, I mentioned earlier, it's a small city. And I'm pretty sure that she's hearing the same thing that I'm hearing in the neighborhood, not just Rosalindale, but the entire city. So it's important for us to be, at least the eye on many things. So no surprises. Do you feel, and I know I asked you about this when you were running, you worked for her. You worked in her administration, I should say, before being elected. Do you feel, are you feeling pressure to kind of get in line, so to speak, any, I mean, she doesn't seem like the type that's going to be leaning on you too much anyway. But she has shown a real knack for kind of pulling together, you know, her own kind of collaborative group to get some things done. You know, Joe, I, in my, in my career, I've worked for Marty Walsh, Joe Kennedy, Teedle Jackson, and Mary Wu. And I all view them as mentors in this field. And right now, I'm very excited that I get to be the counselor and make decisions on my own. And I love that. My constituency is looking at me as a leader. And that's what I'm looking forward to be. Well, I'm hearing good things. Again, City Councilor and Wieke Pappen is here. He's a District 5 City Councilor, Hyde Park, Rosalindale, parts of Madepam. And you do have a little sliver, JP, if I would, no, look at that. You never know when they get done drawing those lines. Well, can you get the buses to work on time? Those are really tough issues. But important issues, especially if you want to build some confidence in the Boston Public Schools and build some confidence in that the city is making progress on that. What's the latest? And I'll view kind of dealt with the issue. You know, Joe, on the first day of school, I actually went over to the Bolden Building to speak with the leadership of the BPS Transportation, trying to figure out what was happening. And it was a mixture of using the new app, which is called the Zoom app. Bus drivers trying to get adjusted to it. Some of the routes were not updated. A lot of the students still didn't have the right bus designation. I think that that really played a role into the tardiness of arrival and dismissal time for the buses. But we're in almost a month now. The numbers aren't getting better. But you have to acknowledge that there's still parents that are facing some difficulties. And the students are getting to school. Parents are endlessly waiting for the buses to get home. And my job is to make sure that the BPS is progressing. To make sure that we can rely on them. I used to be someone that took the school bus from kindergarten to fifth grade. So, it's personal. For me, it's personal. I have kids that are about to go into the BPS system. And I want to make sure that parents feel like they can rely on the city to make sure that their child can get to school on time. Well, your colleague, District 2, I think that's 2, Councilor Flynn, has suggested that maybe the state needs to step in somehow. Is that the right move, do you think? I think it's a little bit premature. It kind of shows that we're throwing in the white towel. And I don't agree with that. I think that we really need to figure it out, internally, to make sure that our bus drivers feel supported, our school system feel supported. Because if we start to rely on someone else, I don't think that's the right solution. Well, and some other issues percolating, of course, I don't know when the next quarter tax bill is going to go out. But of course, the mayor and the council supported adjusting the tax levy or the tax, not rates, but it would affect the rates, but the percentages between commercial, industrial, and residential. No luck so far with the state legislature. Is that kind of like here? Here comes the weight beginning to fall. I think that one, I do want to acknowledge that it has happened before under the Menino administration. And I do want to give credit to State Representative Rob Gonzavo, who was the one that brought it forward on the floor on the state legislature. Right? That's my colleague from Hyde Park. And the reason why it's so important for someone like Gonzavo and myself, our district is heavily homeowners. And most importantly, Mad Appendant Hyde Park represents the highest percentage of Black and Latino homeowners in the entire city. So I want to make sure that those folks are able to stay there, have taxes that they can actually afford. Because if not, they're going to see a sky rocket increase in their taxes that it's going to hurt them. And essentially, I'm pretty sure some folks are going to feel tempted to sell their homes because they can't afford it anymore. Right? Well, and it's caused the housing situation. It's causing such a problem anyway. Just who can afford to live. There's also been some suggesting of lifting the residency requirement for Boston employees. What do you think of that? We have to be creative. Just the other day, I was at a groundbreaking for a 100% affordable senior housing in the district. It's in Hyde Park on 1201 River Street. And it just shows that there is momentum. We really want to continue to build affordable housing. But we need to do more of that. We just had a hearing the other day about how can we convert old municipal buildings and old school buildings into housing. There's an example of that called the pride in Hyde Park, the old Roger School. Right? And it's another 100% affordable building where we have to start looking elsewhere other than the traditional approaches. And I think that we're on the right path. The administration announced that they're putting $6 million of the ARPA money that is left from COVID to affordable housing to make sure that we are given BHA residents an opportunity to put a down payment on a house. Those were Section 8 vouchers. We were just out of ribbon cutting for someone that was able to purchase a home in Dorchester. So it's about finding different solutions, viewing this problem from different angles in order for us to find a place where we can say people can remain in Boston. There's a site you were talking about River Street on the L, the Hyde Park L had towards Reedville. There was a major housing development proposed. And I think it has one approval now from BPDA or whatever it is. Not everybody, of course, is all in on housing. They're more worried about the density, the quality of life. How do you balance that? How did you weigh in on that? What was your... That one was passed before I got into the office. So I'm now seeing the actual project going up. But in order to talk to residents that are concerned about density, we have to make sure that we're not just focusing on housing. It's about city services. It's about making sure that our transportation also works, working with our state legislature to make sure that the public transportation is running smoothly, to make sure that folks can have opportunities to get out of their vehicles, to have the opportunity to say we want more neighbors and we know we can all live together in a way that makes sense. Well, and I know you talked about interesting, speed bumps, speed humps, whatever you want to call them, bike lanes, and I get it, the idea behind it, to create other means to kind of transport people. But it also slows traffic and it also makes it harder to get around and it also discourages some people. How about that? How are you dealing with that? You said that a lot of people want those speed bumps. I just, when I was driving here, driving down Amory Street, within one block area, there were three speed bumps, you know, and I'm like, whoa, you know. And how do you kind of deal with that, you know, on the flip side of it, on that same street, there were some nasty potholes. They're putting in the speed bumps, but you know, what about the, how do you deal with that? And what do you tell people? They're serving as purpose. Speed humps are meant to slow drivers down. And I'm a big fan of that. Glendauer wrote in Rosin, though. It is a cut through street. Oh, I know that one, yeah. You go from popular street to Washington street. What happens is that when folks are stuck in rush hour traffic or not even rush hour, they can just be driving on a regular Sunday. They're speeding down residential streets like Glendauer, where there's children playing on the street, people trying to cross the street. And what has happened on streets like Glendauer, we've even had a situation where two vehicles have flipped over already. Residents have gathered together. I met with them when I was running in about a few weeks ago where they are experiencing their, the rearview mirrors are getting, they're getting hit. They're finding scratches on their car because of speeding vehicles. So it's not that we're going to get speed humps on the major roads. It's not, they're going to go to Washington street, popular street. They're there to protect the residents that live on those streets because why are we driving on 40 miles per hour, 50 miles per hour, when there's people living there trying to live safely. And we know that if you're speeding, it could hurt someone and it has happened, unfortunately. And what about bike lanes? Of course, you know, people point to, and I know it's not in your, your district, but center street in West Rockford. You know, whoa, you know, not universally loved. But how are you dealing with, are you hearing from people? About that? Like, like any issue in the city of Boston, there's going to be people that support it and people that don't. We just have to make sure that when we're going through the process of thinking about implementing them, that there's a community outreach in that there's a collaboration, that there's conversations. I don't represent center street in West Rock'sbury, but I drove, I've driven on it and it looks safe. It's safer. It feels safer. You know, I'm crossing the street, go to Rick Crayo coffee shop, amazing locally owned coffee shop in West Rock'sbury. Now I feel like I'm not going to get hit by a speeding vehicle. And I know it adds another mode of transportation that folks can take. And I know that pedestrians feel safer. It's not just about the bike riders either. It's about walkers. Yeah. Well, very interesting. We've got just a few minutes left. So what, what are your priorities going forward? What do you, what do you hope to accomplish the rest of this year? And looking forward in next year, next year is an election year, of course. So it becomes a little bit of a wash. But certainly, you know, plenty of time and lots of issues to come and deal with. What do you, what do you see on the horizon? I want to make sure that I'm representative of all three neighborhoods. Yeah. I represent three major business quarters, Matipan Square, Cleary Square, and Rosalind Square. I want to make sure that Matipan Square's main streets are built up. I want to make sure that they are receiving the resources, not just the city services, but the economic resources, so that their businesses can continue to build itself up. Are you talking about the main streets program? Correct. Yeah. Correct. So they're not having executive director at the moment. We're working to find someone that is a strong candidate for that, so we can help those businesses on both Blue Hill Avenue and River Street. High Park, I mentioned this earlier, we really want to bring a High Park Health and Wellness Center. It's one of the largest neighborhoods in the city, and it's the only one without its own health center, the only one. And unfortunately, it's the neighborhood of some of the highest numbers of diabetes, cardiac arrest, heart issues, Matipan has some of the highest numbers of childhood asthma, so we want to make sure that there's a beautiful, welcoming health center in the heart of High Park. Are you looking at a particular location? Are they? I think we're still too early on that conversation. We're trying to figure out what kind of health and wellness center we want in the neighborhood. Well, and I know at one point I'm probably dating myself here, but in the Muni building, they had some kind of health services, but I'm sure it wasn't a full service center, and I know Brigham and Women's has a place there in High Park Ave, but same thing, you know, it's a clinic, right? But what are you talking about? What are you thinking of? Something that provides many services. Think about the greater Rosano neighborhood health center right across from Adams Park. Think about Brookside Community Health Center, right here in Jamaica Plain, right? And it's, we have to bring that over over there because if not, the residents of High Park, depending on Milton Hospital, the Faulkner, which is all the way here in JP, or they're going, they can't even go to the car anymore, right? So that's a whole other issue. So we have to make sure that we're prioritizing some health in High Park. And one last topic that I'll say, it's the zoning of a Rosano square in High Park Square. We want to make sure that we're building where it makes sense. We want to make sure that if we are talking about density, we're doing it where there's pedestrian movement, where we know we have small businesses that need more foot traffic, where there's public transportation available. So those are some of my goals going into the end of my term here and into next year. Well, the MBTEA Communities Act puts an emphasis on building in areas near Mass Transit, and I guess that was that project down on the High Park Ave, which is a big one. Certainly, they have access to a couple of lines there. What's your thought? We've got just a minute or two left here on dealing with the housing situation. As you said, get creative with different buildings. Is there any estimate of the number of facilities? Because I know the BPS population has dropped quite beds in the last 10 years or so. What might be gained from that or what might be achieved? It's important for us to work hand-in-hand with BPS to know what schools are going to be merged in the pipeline, down the pipeline. And I think that once we work with BPS leadership and know that, for example, in my district, the Sumner School and the Philbrook School are being merged, and they're going into the old urban building. They're not in conversations right now about making those old schools into housing. But who knows? That could be a possibility. There's certainly schools right in the middle of residential neighborhoods. Right there. And it's right off of main corridors, right next to public transportation. But housing is that number one topic right now in the city of Boston, where we really need to take it seriously. Because if not, a lot of folks are going to not be able to call Boston home anymore. Well, I hear you. So are you thinking about running again last night? Absolutely. And there's been talk that Mayor Wu, who sounds like she is planning to run again, but that she could get an opponent, which could make for a very interesting election cycle. You know, she has weighed in in support of various candidates, including you, which I know she endorsed your candidacy. Do you see her as being vulnerable? Are you worried about yourself being vulnerable to a challenge? Of course, you know what it's like. You ran against an incumbent and successful. But and that doesn't happen often, but it did happen. So I think that the beautiful thing about Boston, but the United States as general is a country is that we are a democracy. And that if someone wants to run for a public office, it's welcoming. And that's it just shows a healthy democracy that we have, not only in the city, but in our country. And as long as I'm doing my job, that I'm taking care of the residents that I'm be responsive, we're showing up in person, not forgetting about why we're doing this. I think that that speaks for itself. And as long as I continue to remind myself about that, I think that we're in a good place. Doesn't matter if we have a challenge or not. As long as my heart is in a good place, I care about my district, I will continue, I will continue to serve. And Mayor Wu, do you think she could be vulnerable? You know, again, someone could run against her. Someone cannot. At the end of the day, as long as she's doing her job, making sure that she's being responsive, I think that she's doing as much as she can. And I think she's doing a good job. Well, we shall see. I think a lot of people feel that way too, although, you know, politics brings out some strange bedfellows as we've come to find out. Again, Enrike Pepin is the district private city council representing Hyde Park, Rosalindale, and a big chunk of Madipan. And here tonight, catching up with him on his first year in elected office. And thanks so much for coming and joining us. Thank you, Joe. Nice having you. When we come back with more of talking to the neighbors, well, it's more politics. And speaking of surprise winners, well, I don't know if it was a surprise, but you'll meet the SJC clerk elect for Suffolk County, I believe that's the right term. Alison Cartwright joins us along with one of our biggest boosters, if not the biggest booster, Senator Lydia Edwards. When we come back with more of talking to the neighborhoods, stay tuned. We're getting close to the first pitch here at Fenway Park, but no sign of only the great monster. [Music] [Music] Ladies and gentlemen, it's Wally. [Music] This year's Boston Local Food Festival featured over 100 of Boston's local farmers, restaurants, and vendors. With the goal of shedding more light on why choosing local is what's best for our communities and our environment. Local food production is one of the most important topics in current events right now due to the fact that our food system is based upon global exports and that's going to slow based on climate change. So the best chance we have to ensure food for the future is to support our local farmers. Local food is so important because when you buy local, you also help grow the community. When you spend money outside of the community and dry and grocery stores, or big box stores, that money is gone forever. We're never going to see it again, but when you spend it locally, it goes back into the community, helps grow the community. And then you get to know your farmers too, which is really important. By choosing to buy local, we invigorate our community economies and support local farmers, ensuring that everything from honey to flowers, barbecue sauce to fresh produce, high quality products can reach residents who might otherwise lack access. If you don't have a local place like a market next to you, or if you have to spend all your dollars at these big corporations, I would say look to your local farmers, look to your local community, see what other resources that you have. Can you build you a garden in the backyard? These are things that us as Americans, all over the world, we need to really focus on keeping ourselves in a clean, sustainable environment, having organic products put down our body, because your body is what fuels your life. You can't do anything without your health. Local food production is very important to us because it is more financially sound, and it's much easier to be able to afford to have the quality of food that is also financially something that a family can afford. Attendees learn that eating food that doesn't travel too far is an easy way to get the freshest, most nutritious food possible while supporting New England farmers. I would say getting on board and eating local food has a great advantage, supporting the farmers that are here locally, but also eating inherently healthier food that doesn't have to travel miles and miles away. So you get the food with an extra nutrition and as it's freshest as it can be. Eating local means not only like fresher and higher quality, it also means that you're investing in your local communities, in your local farmers, and those people in turn pay it back. We use peppers from other farmers who are growing in Massachusetts and Maine. We are using herbs that are grown in Massachusetts, so by buying our honeys you're also investing in those farms as well and where your neighbors. Hey, Bobo, do trees tell each other stories? I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know that. Hey, why don't we go find out? Listen. Do clouds take naps? I couldn't tell you. Dad, do stars visit their friends? It's time yet. It's time. Donating pet food is one of the many ways you can help families in your community. Pets and people belong together. Learn more at petsandpeopletogether.org. All right, we're back with Talk of the Neighborhoods. I'm Joe Heisler, your host. In this second half, well, we shift gears as still all politics and we'll be catching up in just a few minutes with the SJC clerk elect for Suffolk County. Alison Cartwright will be joining us, but joining us now, perhaps one of her biggest boosters, maybe her biggest booster, as she ran in the Democratic primary in September. Well-known face, former Boston City Council, now the senator from the third Suffolk District from East Boston, Lydia Edwards is here. Nice to have you here. Thanks so much for coming in. We've got a few minutes, so Alison comes here and I know want to talk with her about her victory and with you, but all you did to help her, but good opportunity to catch up with the latest from the Senate. There was a lot of progress made in this session. I think that's fair to say, but there were some big pieces left laying on the table, including the mayor's proposal to adjust the ratio of taxes, tax liabilities, and that's still there. Any update on that? That's a tough one, isn't it? It's a real, yeah, it's a tough one and it's a real one. We understand that it impacts people's lives, and part of the conversation is really figuring out with all the stakeholders together if they can hopefully figure it out together. I really do trust the mayor and her analysis of the situation, the dire situation, and I also do know that there are stakeholders who are concerned about whether this is the right time to place any kind of burden on our commercial interests. In post-COVID, whatever the burdens that have kind of fallen in the vacancies and et cetera, et cetera. There was a meeting apparently last week. I don't know if you were back and I should say that the senator just returned from basic training in the U.S. Army, so I know you're getting a feedback on the ground after six weeks away. All that was said was a good discussion, but no one had much of an update. We didn't land the plane. We didn't land the plane. We lost it. Is there progress being made though in your opinion? I hope that there will be. I do know that any time someone says let's set a table and all parties come to it, that's a sign of progress. I honestly, if no one bothered to show up or if people walked out, and that didn't happen, so I am encouraged by the fact that when a table is set, people want to come to it. That means people really do want to come to a resolution. Now, are we going to? It's still left to be seen. I'm really hopeful. Well, and I know the language or the package at the house approved on their side was somewhat different than what the mayor and the council initially proposed, but Senator, I should say, President Spilke has kind of spoken. I don't want to dwell on this too much because it's not much more than I think probably that can be said about it, but it seems to be some, I'll call it misunderstanding or at least on the mayor's part as to how that worked up there, and she might have ruffled some feathers up there. Did you get that feeling? No, the process is the process, and you'll note that night that we were trying to get a lot of things done. There were a lot of things that just didn't happen. We had a climate bill that didn't happen. We're looking forward still, and I addressed again our substance abuse bill will be happening. We're still waiting on econ dev, so it's not as though everything got through, and then this one thing happened, and then there was a personality conflict. There were a lot of things that are still in the works, and conversations are still happening around them. Well, and you have the advantage of having seen kind of both worlds that haven't served on the council, and now on the senate, how have you found it working in it's a little larger body than the council to say the least, but not so much so. It's 40 senators versus. You know, at the end of the day, the functional role of both bodies is relationships matter, and you've got to always be able to talk to people, even if you disagree with them, even if they don't vote with you, even if you hate their policy stances, you have to always respect that they were elected by some people, maybe not in your district, but they were elected. They are somebody's voice, and it's really important that you consistently form a relationship with them. I'm proud to say that, you know, I've done bipartisan legislation with my Republican colleagues, I have, you know, Bruce Tar, who's the head of the Republicans, he and I call each other Sonny and Cher, you know, because we had one time where we really were in sabbatical together on a bill, and I don't think that's going to be the last time, but the point is, I also work very well with Frank Baker, Ed Flynn, Marc Siamo, Tim McCarthy, and these are all my former colleagues who we disagreed on a lot of different things, but I would go to their fundraisers, I would support them and want them to succeed because it meant that the voice that they represented, but also the city was going to win, and it's the same in the other house. It's a little different when you got 21 votes to try and organize versus 7, but at the end of the day, if you don't have the art of relationship building, you will not do well in either campaign. Well, and I think it probably, maybe I miss understanding, but I don't think the bill that allowed for the additional liquor licenses in the city would have happened if there weren't some relationships up there because of course in informal session, the only way you can pass anything is if there's no objection, is that correct? See, highlight all the things we got done, highlight what we got done. We got done, this is the 225 liquor licenses, or it's going to be a game changer, and it's a massive economic boom for my neighborhood of East Boston, but also for Matapan and so on and so forth, and both houses and both sets of leadership with obviously it was bipartisan, got that done. Do we wish that there were more examples like that? Of course, but it's important for us to focus on the good as well as where we're still working on finishing the job and other things. Well, and speaking of good, and again, Alison Cartwright will be joining us in a few minutes, but what do you feel since you've been in there as been one of your biggest accomplishments that you're most proud of? I'm proud of, honestly, I mean, you can only take so much credit. She was incredibly articulate, incredibly qualified, and when I met her, it was just a matter of making sure her light can be amplified as much as possible, so I'm proud of being able to help garner a lot of those resources that help to amplify her, but Alison, yeah, so that's how I saw my role in this, you know, but at the end of the day it was, you know, Attorney General Campbell, Senator Will Brownsberger, there were so many people who when they were in and met Alison and heard her speak, were inspired like I was to put in the work, Mayor Woofers, Congresswoman Niana Presley, Senator Ed Markey, and so what that means to me is, you know, amplification is a good thing. I will not take total credit for her, I didn't give birth to her, I didn't train her. You were very out front-child. She was very out front-child. Because I, you know, I felt a certain kind of, listen, if you get someone to run for office, who is, you know, she's a single mom by choice and she's already got her good life and a good job, and I'm going to convince her to put it all out there and run in this crazy jungle of politics. It's like you're a successor in District 1, right? You've got to stick, you've got to see it through, but not just to say, hey, okay, go run, good, you know, whatever, but I mean to be with her, to be with her on the doors, to be with her, like you're wondering, am I going insane, what is going on, to be with her during the debates? And I took that as part of what you do. I was a co-chair of a campaign, that's what you do. Well, and it sounds easy running for office these days. It's a different atmosphere, and especially in the presidential year when there's all kinds of various things being tossed about. And it's been tough, and it's hard to find, I think, in many ways, good candidates anymore. Who would want to? You know, you see the abuse that people go through, following you with cameras, they were yelling at Michelle's kids, you're dealing with so many different horrible ways in which people can treat you as a politician. So you have to wonder sometimes, like, are we scaring away some of the best and brightest? Forget the financial hurdles, right? So not, you know, not everyone can afford to quit their job or take leave to run for office. So there's, I would love to look at some reforms and campaign finance reform to assure that the middle class, the working class, that's a voice that we need, but we need that voice at the table. So we need to talk about campaign finance reform, to look at how we make sure that voice isn't drowned out. Well, what do you have in the works up there? I should say, just one second, we're going to take a quick break and bring in Allison to join us here. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] So we implemented the alumni entrepreneur program last November in partnership with the Boston bid and we saw an interest and decided to do it again this year and incorporate it back to school fashion show. We're going to have some members, ages six through 18, walk the runway along with some Boston and Chelsea educators. They're wearing brand new clothes from Macy's. They'll strike their little clothes, do their little thing, and the kids are over the moon excited. They've been getting ready for this for over a month now and it's all about the kids. I'm here today to be represented as a future alumni at the Boys and Girls Club. Right now I'm a teen and the Teen Center at the Boys and Girls Club and I am currently working there during the summer. So I'm doing Canvas work and it's kind of like my happy place because I'm able to draw how I'm feeling and stuff on Canvas and share with other people. And I'm here to provide education to people that are interested in home ownership. I think it's very important for people. All right we're back with talking to the neighborhoods and joining us now the SJC clerk elect for the Suffolk County. She just came off a highly successful primary win and is with no Republican opponent is all but certain to be the next clerk of the SJC here in Suffolk County. We're talking about Allison Cartwright. Nice to have you here. Thank you so much. Congratulations. Thank you. How are you feeling? I'm sure it's a long and stressful campaign but have you recovered? I am recovering but feeling really good about the campaign and everything that we did to get us to this point. How did you do it? How did you tell us what was the key to your victory in your opinion? Well quite frankly the key to my victory was Senator Lydia Edwards. I called her my chief architect. She was deferring to everybody else but I know you had a lot of help from Senator Edwards among many. Yes among many and it was really about being grassroots and getting out there and meeting with people because a lot of people had not heard of me. There was a good group who probably had given the work that I'd done but a wide group of Suffolk County did not really know who I was and once I started going out meeting people, discussing my qualifications and my plans for the office I think it became a lot. The path became a lot more easy to travel. Well it's not for everybody as you've got to go out there and open yourself up and ask to be judged and not everybody's comfortable with that. You obviously took a liking to it. Well yeah but that was the hardest part especially initially and Lydia can vouch for that. It was very difficult for me to talk about myself and especially given that as a public defender I'm not used to talking about myself. I'm used to talking about my clients telling their stories and sort of not being so much in the foreground. So that was difficult at first but then it did become easier. Repetition makes for practice makes perfect. That's what I was looking for yeah and well congratulations on that. You did very very well in the city of Boston and of course the Suffolk County includes Chelsea, Winthrop and Revere as well so you're never quite sure and I mean election night you're trying to figure out how do you get those numbers from from all over but you seem to do well from just about all parts of the city. Yes we did. I believe we all but four wards we were able to carry those wards. So Boston has what 22 wards yeah so we did quite well and it just it's just a testament to the hard work that everyone put into the campaign because it wasn't trust me it wasn't me it wasn't just me because I was new to this world and the folks who came and supported me and embraced me that's what made the difference. And for those of our viewers that are not familiar with that position yesterday she clucked position tell us tell us a little bit about what you'll be doing there what's the key part I know you had a lot of experience as you know public defender and also the head of the Roxbury Public Defenders Bureau do they call them? Well the Roxbury Defenders unit unit and now I'm a managing director over Suffolk and Norfolk counties. Oh so you got that as well. But this position the fun part is swearing in new attorneys and welcoming them into the bar so that's one of the the the nice responsibilities of the job. This clerk must also certify other attorneys like student attorneys, provisional attorneys who are coming from other jurisdictions and most importantly this clerk has to run the single justice session and that's an emergency appeals session so that's that's the most critical function of this office is running that session for the SJC. Which is cases that come to it from all over the state is that correct? That is absolutely correct but it just so happens to be a position that's elected in Suffolk County. A lot of people don't quite understand and I'm not sure there's a good reason for it but it just it is what it is. Right and I believe it's probably because the SJC that it's seated in Suffolk County so that's probably the reason why it began with being elected. Yes yes. John Adams courthouse. Well you know it's not easy while there was no incumbent. Maura Doyle was is retiring as the the clerk now you're running against an at-large city councilor who'd been elected twice I believe and so now an easy thing when my lady will bring you back to this. When you were first talking with Alison did you tell her well you know how hard it is because you ran for the Senate before and came up short actually you know what that's like. I don't know what a wind feels like but just to be clear in terms of timeline Alison and I started talking around February late February Alison filed her paper work to run early March at that time she had no opponent. Right. So the opponent in our at-large city council came in after the fact. And at that point you know it was it was really up to her to decide you know this has become quite more a little bit more challenging now. Am I going to see this through and keep going and she said I'm in and I said I'm right there with you. So that is I just want people to know it wasn't as though we we saw a challenge and said let's go for it. We saw an opportunity for her talents to serve the county and the commonwealth and that I'm proud we took it. And so and in terms of when we knew who our opponent was going to be well there were several people's names who were popping up we weren't sure exactly right that we got our signatures in and Council Murphy got her signatures in and so it was kind of clear about who the opponent would be and of course it is intimidating you know I will take no nothing away from her as an elected official getting incredibly high count of the vote everywhere that's what people say about her. So it was going to you know name recognition and we have to capture the narrative which is its name recognition versus you know qualifications look at this resume and so that's you know kind of the narrative we had to really push a lot of. Well hindsight is always 20-20 but did it seem rather daunting when you first uh you know at times it did but I absolutely have but nonetheless did you feel the weight of it you've never run for office before correct. Correct I did feel a huge sense of responsibility to particularly to my fellow members of the bar. I thought it was really important and critical that this clerk remained an attorney. Mora Doyle was an attorney long before she became clerk so and when you see all of the changes and things that she did to that office to make it work and function in a way that supports what it's supposed to do that's because of her legal skills and that's what I wanted to make ensure continued so that's that was my real sense of responsibility and weight went toward trying to make sure that it did remain in the hands of an attorney. It did very well and it campaigned very successful. Now I don't mean to be negative or bum me out but you know what they call those those county positions the velvet coffin May I interject? It caused a velvet coffin for people who are doing it for political reasons but if you're doing it for the right reasons for professional reasons then it could be an excellent opportunity to serve. So just want to be clear about that. Okay, it's a velvet coffin for political careers. Don't company you up. I can't help it. I'm proud of her. I'm really I'm genuinely listening to my dear friend. I'm proud of her and I look forward to the service that she's going to provide. Well there were several other interesting races county race on the ballot. No opponents to those but and this particular one was the race and it turned out to be the race to watch. A lot of people were were very interested. Some thought that there would be such a low turnout that who knows what happened in a low turnout race. It changes the dynamic and the calculus certainly say the least but whatever it is the figures they they all came up right for you. Well we've got just just a few minutes left and so as you look forward now what are you hoping to do? What are you hoping to accomplish? What's your first big goal once you take office? Well one of my goals is to make the court more accessible to people and also to have more engagement from communities throughout the Commonwealth not just Suffolk County but for other counties and citizens to be able to to actually come in and and see the court in action and to to be more engaged in what it is the court does and I would also take myself you know to the community as well so it's not just the community having to come to the court but you know the court being represented by me coming out into the community which is something I've done for quite some time anyway speaking with students. So don't wait to be a defendant to find out about how the court just works. I think that's you know I think that's probably true I think a lot of people really do not understand how the system works and and and sometimes that leads to you know people denigrating it and you know I know you know people at work in those positions work very hard and it's oftentimes a thankful job again. I think it's key that's true for media I like the positions right yeah but being out there being transparent showing what the system is and being acknowledging where there are imperfections where there's things that can be overcome that builds trust. I mean you want people to trust our courts you want people to trust our politicians and our legislative process that's that's vital to democracy. Fortunately I think we have a lot more trust here than we do in the nation's capital. But unfortunately we're out of time for tonight. Again Alison Cartwright just elected to the SJC clerk position for the Suffolk County. It's a six-year term and congratulations again of course Senator Edwards, Lydia Edwards here from the third Suffolk joining us. You've been watching Talk to the Neighborhoods here on the Boston Neighborhood Network. We're here tonight and every Thursday night. We'll be back next week until then for the entire Stafford crew here at BNN. Thank you for watching have a pleasant evening. Good night. [Music] [Music]