Thank You

Letter from Alderman Ken Parker:

Dear Friends and Supporters:

Thank you for your support for my candidacy for Mayor of Newton.

I’m very proud of our effort and I hope you are too. We raised important issues and got people thinking about the future of Newton.

In the past few days, I have received hundreds of calls and emails of condolence, regret, and disappointment from all corners of Newton. The outpouring of love and support has been humbling, as was the support for my candidacy. I want to let you know that I have no regrets about the campaign or about my eighteen years of service on the Board of Aldermen. Together, we accomplished great things.

I also want to congratulate Ruth Balser and Setti Warren for their victories in the Preliminary Election and for their dedication to public service.

Thank you again for your dedication to our community and for your friendship and support. See you around!

Ken

Newton 20/20 Co-Chair Dan Fahey Endorses Ken Parker for Mayor

Dan Fahey, a local citizen activist in Newton, and a co-chair of the group Newton 20/20, has decided to throw his support behind Ken Parker for mayor.

"Over the last year I have had the privilege of working with all of Newton's current candidates for Mayor.  After much careful thinking, I have decided to support Alderman Ken Parker's candidacy.  Newton is at a crossroads.  Difficult economic times, a crumbling infrastructure and a lack of long-term planning have led to a staggering $50 million deficit."

Fahey is concerned that the approach that local elected officials nhave applied to governing our city in recent years simply can not continue; the costs are too high. 

"We're in a big hole, and we need to think in new and innovative ways to find a way out.  To me, Ken Parker has proven himself to be the type of leader who is ready to take on these challenges."

Although there are several solid candidates, Fahey feels that Ken is the most likely to take the bold actions that are required to reverse the years of status quo management from the current administration.

"I have truly enjoyed getting to know Dan over the past 18 months," said Ken Parker. "His business management experience and creative thinking have been invaluable as we put together the Blueprint for Newton's Future last year, and he has worked since then to encourage local leaders to embrace best practices as a way to make local government more efficient."

Dan Fahey is the founder and co-chair of Newton 20/20, an organization focused on more efficient, transparent local government.  Previously Dan served as a financial services executive for BankBoston and elsewhere.  In retirement, he's been actively involved with the MBTA's RIDE program.

To read Dan's full column explaining his endorsement, please click here.

TAB Column: Entrepreneur and venture capitalist who was part of the founding management teams of Staples and Zoots on why Parker is the Chief Executive Newton Needs

Newton businessman, entrepreneur and Parker Campaign co-chair Todd Krasnow highlights in the Newton TAB why Ken Parker is the leader Newton needs during these challenging times. 

The city of Newton needs a new CEO with vision of a well-managed city and the skills to implement that vision. As a business leader who has hired dozens of corporate executives, I am convinced that Ken Parker is the leader Newton needs to serve as our next mayor. Ken has the unique combination of management skill, knowledge of city operations, and open, collaborative style we need to lead Newton through the significant challenges that lie ahead.

As part of the founding management team at Staples, I helped grow a startup into a $7 billion company by finding people like Ken Parker to take on key responsibilities.

At Staples and other companies, I had no interest in hiring executives long on references but short on accomplishments. Effective leaders don’t take the path of least resistance. Leadership is about listening to numerous constituencies, setting clear goals and objectives that best address their needs, and then making those goals and objectives happen.

Ken Parker’s leadership is best demonstrated by his unmatched record of accomplishment as alderman.

In addition to his business experience, Todd Krasnow is a dedicated community servant.  He served on Parker's Finance and Management Working Group, which identified cost-saving measures that were later recommended by the Blue Ribbon Commission and adopted as policy by the City, and also served on other local volunteer citizen commissions.  To read Todd's full column, please click here.

Cohen Responds To Alderman Parker's Request to Implement Badly-Needed Capital Improvements

Mayor Cohen responded to Alderman Ken Parker's request to implement badly-needed capital improvements for Newton's school buildings today, saying he would like to make the improvements but will hold the necessary funds in reserve until learning whether Governor Deval Patrick will make additional cuts to local aid.

This is welcome news for Newton taxpayers. By implementing these capital improvements the City will save money through reduced energy usage and longer life of our physical infrastructure.

I appreciate Mayor Cohen's flexibility in this matter and his willingness to listen to the group of current elected officials and candidates for office who have asked him to make these badly needed school repairs a top priority and not forcing them to compete with space needs for a small pool of bonding funds. This has been a team effort and I can't thank enough all of the Newton leaders who co-signed the letter with me. Standing up and being counted does make a difference.

- Alderman Ken Parker

In July Parker sent a letter to Mayor Cohen which was co-signed by more than a dozen elected officials and candidates for public office urging him to implement capital improvements planned by the City and recommended by the Citizen Advisory Group. At the time Mayor Cohen dismissed the request, saying the City would wait for the completion of an environmental study being conducted by an independent firm.

This week, Parker followed-up on his July request by asking the Mayor to use $2.2 million in back taxes paid to the City by Verizon Communications to fund the capital improvements. The Mayor agreed to this request and said he would hold the funds in reserve until learning the Governor's decision on local aid.