In an election close to home, some students will cast their vote on Nov. 6 to elect the mayor of Somerville. Incumbent Mayor Dorothy Kelly Gay is the front-runner in her race against Vietnam veteran and metal worker Bill Baro. Both sides are focusing their campaigns on affordable housing, relations with Tufts, and the future of Assembly Square.
Kelly Gay, who was elected in 1999, outshone her opponents -including Baro - in the September primary election. The results of the primary, however, only reflect the preferences of 4,500 of Somerville's 35,000 registered voters.
In their campaigns, Baro and Kelly Gay are asking voters to exercise their democratic right and demonstrate that the terrorist attacks have not broken the spirit of the American people.
Both candidates also expressed similar sentiments about affordable housing in Somerville. The 4.1 square mile city is home to 80,000 residents.
"In Somerville, it's tough to make room for affordable housing," Baro said in an interview.
Kelly Gay, however, said her administration has made progress over the past two years in efforts to increase the amount of affordable units in the city. "It is one of the priorities of my administration to increase affordable housing," told the Daily. "I am very proud of the job we have done."
Somerville is involved in various housing partnerships, including one with visiting nurses, that have created over 100 housing units, some of which opened over the past two months. These houses provide affordable and assisted living for handicapped citizens. Somerville has also bought 50 units of affordable rental housing on Linden and Wheatland streets.
During her tenure, Kelly Gay changed some of the rules for developers seeking to build in Somerville. "We [now] get the leakage money upfront that goes into an affordable housing trust fund," she said.
Despite the accomplishments of her administration in increasing affordable housing, Baro criticized Kelly Gay for hiring non-Somerville residents to positions in her office. "We have more than enough competent people here," he said. "We need people who live in this city to help run this city."
Kelly Gay recognizes that many of her office heads live outside the city, but she said yesterday that there was a different job market when she came into office. "At the time, I would be offering less for office head positions than people could be making in other jobs," she said.
In fact, Kelly Gay attributes much of the success she has had in office to her top appointees. "I am not just handing out jobs," she said. "That is why we have done the things we have."
As for the relationship between Somerville and Tufts, both candidates say they enjoy housing at least part of a prestigious University in their city. "We have a lot to offer [Tufts] and it has a lot to offer us," Gay said.
Kelly Gay says she is excited by the prospect of working with the new University president, Larry Bacow, and hopes to "sit down and work on some substantive issues" once he gets settled in.
But Kelly Gay's relationship with Tufts has not always been positive. The mayor rejected a proposal last year to bring the Boston Breakers, a Women's United Soccer Association team, to Tufts' Zimmerman Field, saying she was worried that the team would bring excessive traffic, noise, and pollution to Somerville. Her decision was criticized by students and administrators, who worked hard to attract the team.
The fate of Assembly Square also hangs in the balance during this election. Baro has expressed a desire to encourage the development of "mixed usage" for Assembly Square, which would result in zoning the area for office spaces, restaurants, and retail stores. Any changes would affect the Swedish furniture company IKEA, which owns a 17-acre plot in the square. The company has agreed to a "mixed use" of its land.
Both candidates say they are confident of their chances in the Nov. 6 election. "I am more than confident than I am going to be on top," Baro said.
Kelly Gay, however, said her success should be enough to keep her in office for another term. "I am confident in my record," she said.
A Youth Vote registration drive on campus last week registered an estimated 55 students to vote in Medford and Somerville, according to senior Natalie McCabe, who helped organize the drive.
Students registered to vote in Somerville will receive an e-mail with details about the mayoral election.
Most students, however, registered for absentee ballots for their home districts. "There's been a huge decline in students becoming involved in local politics," McCabe said. "I think with the tragedy now students are feeling a lot closer to home."
Students registered to vote in their home states must request absentee ballots for each election, a time-consuming process. "We really try to encourage them to register in the state of Massachusetts because it's that much easier," she said.
