Boston University freshman David Sipos sat in the audience as Brookline Town Meeting deliberated Article 9 on Nov. 19. The proposal would allow three-family homes in neighborhoods zoned for two.
Sipos listened as some Town Meeting members dismissed calls for action on the town’s affordable housing crisis made by other members of his precinct.
“These people don’t really represent me, and that’s disappointing,” he said.
After watching Article 9 fail — which he called a “minor solution, but an important one” — Sipos, who is studying political science and sociology and living in Brookline, launched his campaign to run for Brookline Town Meeting Precinct 1, seeking one of five available seats.
The election will take place May 6.
Along with running for Town Meeting, Sipos is a member of BU Urbanism Club and BU Democrats. He is collaborating with a pro-housing grassroots group, Brookline for Everyone, for his campaign.
Sipos’ campaign focuses on affordable housing, transit accessibility and climate action.
“For towns like Brookline, the most important thing we can do is build a better urban space,” Sipos said. “In the current national political climate, action on climate change is not going very far. I think it’s up to towns and localities to do something about it.”
Sipos also said he hopes to represent students living in Brookline who struggle with the cost of living.
“There’s a lot of BU students [and] Northeastern students who live in Brookline who share apartments and would like to live here afterwards but can’t, because rent is super expensive,” Sipos said. “I’m hoping to bring perspective of students and renters.”
Originally from Washington, D.C., Sipos established his residency in Brookline through BU Housing, living within Precinct 1 — the northernmost end of Brookline.
“We have three buildings that are in Brookline, and I got stuck in one of them,” Sipos said. “I’m not originally from there, but I’ve changed my residence. I pay taxes here. I vote here.”
Maxwell Palmer, a BU associate professor of political science and a town meeting member of Arlington, said Town Meeting members may be significantly older than its residents.
The median age of members in the current Brookline Town Meeting is about 61 years old, while Brookline residents age median is 42, according to the 2020 census.
Palmer also said homeowners are “way overrepresented” in Town Meeting —“an even bigger disparity than age” — and the size of a large town like Brookline’s may be challenging to have individual voices heard.
“You’re not going to have a voice at everything, but if you pick your place as well and make a compelling argument, you can have influence there,” Palmer said.
Town Meeting is responsible for ratifying the town budget, which Sipos sees as crucial to tackling housing and transit challenges.
“I hope that I would be able to vote for things that are going to make a difference,” Sipos said, referring to measures such as increasing the availability of housing in Brookline and improving transit accessibility.
Sipos said he believes when young people run for office, even if defeated, elected officials are forced to take them more seriously — tackling a “gerontocracy” requires more than just voting, he said.
“I think we need to get involved directly, and that’s something I want to prove as possible,” Sipos said. “I hope I could … be a vote in the direction that Town Meeting hasn’t been going in lately.”
Alexander Miller, a BU student helping with Sipos’ campaign, said Sipos’ status as a student will “definitely” help his campaign.
“David, being a student, and David, being on that kind of level, will be able to really get [students] more interested and more involved,” he said.
Miller said he admires Sipos running for Town Meeting and supports Sipos’ stances on zoning laws and housing affordability.
“If the housing prices stay as high as they are, [students] won’t be able to buy a home after college,” Miller said.
Sipos is currently gathering signatures from Precinct 1 residents to secure a spot on the ballot for May’s election. Candidates must collect 10 signatures from residents of their precinct and return their nomination papers by March 18, according to the Town Meeting’s website.
Though Sipos has previously canvassed for presidential campaigns and interned with congressional campaigns, he said running for office himself was “unexpected.”
“I’ve kind of known for a while that I want to get involved in politics, but I didn’t really think I’m going to show up to a random community meeting and decide that I’m running for office the next day,” Sipos said.
Sipos said he has two main goals in running for Town Meeting: winning to push for housing policy changes and inspiring others to get involved.
“If I can do it, you can do it, too,” Sipos said. “If you see that your government doesn’t look like you, isn’t listening to you, doesn’t reflect your needs, I think you should run. I think you should get involved.”
