‘ The expansion of colleges and universities into Allston-Brighton was the dominating issue at the Boston City Councilor-At-Large candidates forum, sponsored by the Brighton Allston Improvement Association, Thursday night.
The eight candidates were never all together at once, with City Councilor-At-Large Stephen Murphy and candidate Felix Arroyo leaving early on in the forum, and candidate Tomas Gonzalez arriving late. City Councilor-At-Large John Connolly and candidates Doug Bennett, Tito Jackson, Andrew Kenneally and Ayanna Pressley were on hand for the entire event to answer questions, submitted from the audience of about 50, which covered mainly development and education issues.
‘Harvard has lost the trust of the community,’ Kenneally said, when asked about Harvard University’s commitment to develop an area of land in Allston that was once the Brookline Machine Co. but currently sits vacant.
Several candidates said the process of development in the city had to be reformed to ensure that land planned for redevelopment does not remain vacant for too long.
‘It looks like a bomb went off in the center of Boston,’ Bennett said, referring to the site that was once Filene’s Basement. ‘The city needs to be looking good.’
‘The reason why companies don’t come here are because of the burdensome permit process,’ Jackson said. ‘It’s also why projects don’t get finished.’
Bennett, Gonzalez and Pressley raised their hands when asked by moderator and blog ‘Brighton Centered’ editor Michael Pahre if they thought the city should create a planning department and take the power of planning away from the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Kenneally and Connolly chose not to take a stand on the issue, keeping their hands down when asked if they disagreed with the statement.
Nobody raised a hand when asked if the BRA should be abolished, a stance that City Councilor-At-Large Michael Flaherty has taken in his run for mayor.
‘I think we all know there’s a lot of frustration with whether communities feel heard in the process,’ Connolly said. ‘It’s not just the BRA.’
Connolly was visibly agitated when some of his challengers were being asked about neighborhood-specific developments in Allston-Brighton.
‘It’s really unfair to do ‘gotcha’ questions for challengers who are running for the first time,’ Connolly said. ‘They aren’t going to know what every development going on is.’
BAIA President Donal Carroll said after the forum ‘there was no intention to victimize anyone with gotcha questions.’
Jackson, who was one of a few candidates stumped by questions specific to the Allston-Brighton area, told The Daily Free Press he did not think it was a problem.
‘We all need to learn that the City of Boston almost has micro-communities,’ he said.
The Payment-in-Lieu-of-Taxes program was also discussed, with several candidates pledging to reform the program.
‘We’re not going to give [universities] a permit to expand unless you increase your payment,’ Kenneally said.
In an interview after the forum, Pressley said the key to reforming PILOT was through better relationships between universities and the community.
‘The fact that they want to expand speaks positively to Allston-Brighton, it has something to offer,’ she said.
The never-ending debate between public schools versus charter schools was also discussed. Apart from Kenneally, who said charter schools steal money away from the Boston Public School system, most candidates spoke favorably of the city’s charter schools.
‘Parents need choice, and charter schools serve a great need,’ Gonzalez said.
Unlike the mayoral debates, which have been marked with personal attacks and accusations, there was no criticism of someone else’s position among the city councilor-at-large candidates.
‘You don’t beat somebody by tearing them down, you beat them by building yourself up,’ Kenneally said.
Susan Rutkiewicz of Brighton said she did not know who she would be voting for, but was impressed by Kenneally, Bennett, Jackson and Pressley. She was not a fan of Connolly, she said.
‘I just felt like he’s aligned with Menino and we need a change in Boston,’ she said.
Brenda Pizzo of Brighton came away from the forum impressed by the candidates’ performances, she said.
‘I think the decision is even tougher now,’ she said. ‘I wish I could choose six instead of four.’
The candidates next have been invited to debate at Boston University by the BU Student Union on Oct. 26.
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