May 7, 2024, Town Election
Biking Brookline Candidate Questionnaire
Brookline’s annual election for Select Board, Town Meeting, School Committee, and Brookline Housing Authority Commission is on May 7, 2024.
The five members of the Select Board are the chief Elected and Executive Officers of the town. The Select Board appoints the Transportation Board, and has significant influence over decisions affecting the town’s bicycling infrastructure.. There are five candidates (Bernard Greene, Sana Hafeez, Alec Lebovitz, Susan Park, and David Pearlman) running for two seats.
Town Meeting is Brookline’s Legislative arm of government. It consists of 255 elected members representing 17 precincts. Town Meeting is responsible for passing a balanced annual town budget, and enacts all town bylaws. There are contested elections in all precincts except precincts 4, 10, and 15, where there are five or fewer candidates for five seats. You can find your precinct at this link.
The Brookline School Committee consists of 9 members who are elected town-wide to three year terms of service. The main responsibilities of the BSC, as per state statute, are to evaluate the superintendent, review and approve budgets for public education in the district, and to establish educational goals and policies for the schools in the district. There are four candidates (Miriam Aschkenasy, Jesse Hefter, Sarah Moghtader, and Carolyn Thall) running for three seats.
The Brookline Housing Authority is an autonomous local government agency which owns and operates state and federal public housing properties throughout Brookline. The five-member Board of Commissioners oversees the Authority's overall direction. Four of the members are elected by Town voters and one is appointed by the Governor. There are three candidates (Shawn K. O’Neal, Kimberley Richardson, and Lynne D. Sweet) running for one seat.
Information on Voting
The Town Clerk's web page has detailed voting information, including resources to determine your precinct and view the complete list of candidates and open Town Meeting seats.
Candidate Questions
Biking Brookline asked the Select Board and Town Meeting Member candidates the same four questions, while the School Committee and Brookline Housing Authority candidates were asked questions specifically related to the roles of School Committee and BHA. The questions we asked the candidates, along with the background information we provided the candidates with each question, are copied below.
Select Board and Town Meeting Member Candidate Questions
Question 1: Vision Zero and Adequacy of Existing Town Policies Around Traffic Safety.
Recently, Brookline's Select Board-appointed Vision Zero Committee started working towards developing a Vision Zero Policy to be proposed for adoption by the Town. Vision Zero is “a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all.”
The creation of the Committee was prompted in part by two separate incidents: one person was killed, and another seriously injured, when they were struck by motor vehicles while walking in crosswalks. Unfortunately, these two tragedies are not surprising given the large number of motor vehicle collisions with pedestrians and bicyclists in Brookline (an average of 80 a year from 2016 - 2021, with an average of 35 resulting in injury).
For the two year period 2022 - 2023, the police reported that there were 68 crashes between motor vehicles and bicycles, 6 crashes between bicycles and pedestrians, and 71 crashes between motor vehicles and pedestrians.
The Town currently has several policies designed to promote traffic safety and sustainable transportation: the Complete Streets Policy (2016), the Traffic Calming Policy (adopted 2012, updated 2018), and the Sustainable Transportation Warrant Article 31 (Fall, 2019, Supplement No. 1, pages 93 – 98).
Question: Do you feel that the Town has made adequate efforts and has adequate policies to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries, and what do you think about Vision Zero?
Question 2: Benefits of Safer Bicycling Accommodations
Question: How do you think safer bicycling accommodations would benefit Brookline residents, and, based on the benefits you have identified, how important a priority do you believe it is for Brookline's streets to be accessible for bicycling by people of all ages and abilities?
In answering this question, you might find it helpful to consider the benefits of bicycle friendly streets outlined on page 3 of the Brookline Green Routes Network Plan and this article from AARP.
Question 3: Assessment of Brookline’s existing bicycling accommodations
The Brookline Green Routes Network Plan (page 16) states that “Brookline has failed to advance its bicycle planning strategy at pace with national trends,” and that “the list of funded improvements to bicycle infrastructure for 2022 and beyond is modest when compared with improvements being made in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville.”
Question: Do you agree with this assessment, and are there specific bicycling-related changes in regulations and infrastructure affecting Brookline’s streets and its development patterns that you would like to see piloted or implemented?
In answering this question, you may wish to look at the descriptions and photographs of different types of bicycling infrastructure on pages 29 - 33 of the Green Routes Bicycle Network Plan.
Question 4: Role of Bicycling in Achieving Brookline’s Climate Goals
In Spring, 2021, Brookline Town Meeting resolved in Warrant Article 37 (pages 651 - 652) to create and adopt an aggressive and strategic Climate Crisis Action Plan, setting a new target for net zero carbon emissions with a goal of 2040 and establishing a plan for carbon neutrality in the earliest economically and technically feasible timeline. In Massachusetts, transportation represents 37% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Question: With many trips in Brookline being five miles or less, how significant do you believe bicycling can be in helping Brookline meet its 2040 climate goals, and what are the best ways to maximize bicycling's potential?
School Committee Candidate Questions
Bikiing Brookline asked the School Committee candidates the following three questions:
What do you see as benefits of children getting to school by walking, biking, or rolling?
Do you think there is a potential to encourage many more students to walk, bike, or roll to school? If so, what steps do you think the Town would need to take to achieve this goal?
In your role on the School Committee how would you assist PSB administrators to prioritize and communicate school drop off guidelines for everyone, including people in cars, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, and walking?
Brookline Housing Authority Commission Candidate Question
Biking Brookline asked the Brookline Housing Authority Commission candidates the following question:
What obstacles exist to Brookline Housing Authority residents getting around by bicycle, and what steps could the BHA take to encourage and enable more of its residents to get around by bicycle?
Overview of Candidate Replies
A large majority of the Select Board and Town Meeting member candidates who responded agreed that:
Brookline should make greater efforts and improve policies to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries;
Safer bicycling accommodations are an important priority, with respondents citing a wide range of benefits both for people who bicycle and those who do not; and
Brookline has fallen behind neighboring communities in making bicycling improvements.
All the School Committee candidates agreed that there are many benefits to students biking (as well as walking or rolling) to school and that the Town should work to encourage more students to do so.
The two BHA candidates who responded to the questionnaire identified many obstacles to BHA residents getting around by bicycle, and made many suggestions to make bicycling more accessible to these residents.
Although we did not ask candidates about their own modes of transportation, 23 candidates said that they or a family member rides a bicycle to commute to work or school or for errands and other short trips. Many others said that they used to or would like to bicycle, but do not feel that it is safe to do so with our current infrastructure.
Candidate Replies
You can read the candidate replies at these links:
Past Town Elections
-
Biking Brookline invited all candidates in the May, 2, 2023, Town Election for Select Board and and Town Meeting to respond to bicycling-related questions. We received responses fromall three Select Board Candidate and from 57 Town Meeting candidates.
You can access the candidates’ responses at these links: Select Board and Town Meeting.
-
Biking Brookline invited all candidates in the May, 2, 2022, Town Election for Select Board and and Town Meeting to respond to bicycling-related questions. We received responses from the single Select Board Candidate and from 134 Town Meeting candidates.
You can access the candidates’ responses using this link.
-
Candidate Responses
Biking Brookline invited all candidates in the May, 4, 2021, Town Election for Select Board, Town Moderator, and Town Meeting to respond to bicycling-related questions. We received responses from all Select Board and Town Moderator candidates and from 47 out of 104 Town Meeting candidates.
You can access the candidates’ responses using these links:
These documents also describe the roles and responsibilities of each position.
Biking Brookline's Observations About Candidates’ Responses
Overview
We are pleased with the level of interest that the candidates showed in their responses. The fact that we received responses from all the Select Board candidates, both Moderator candidates, and 47 Town Meeting candidates reflects wide recognition of the important role that bicycling can serve in addressing many of Brookline's critical needs.
The candidate responses are thoughtful and largely reflect an understanding of what needs to be done to improve bicycling as a form of transportation in Brookline.
Most candidates agree with the Bicycle Advisory Committee's assessment that our bicycle infrastructure is falling behind neighboring communities.
We are encouraged that many candidates reported that they get around Brookline and the Boston area by bicycle. However, others stated that they would like to be able to get around by bicycle, but do not feel that it is safe for themselves or their children to do so with our current roadway configurations.
Select Board
The Select Board influences transportation policies in Brookline through its power to appoint the Transportation Board, hear appeals of Transportation Board decisions, and its overall role as the Town’s executive branch of government.
Miriam Aschkenasy is a former bicycle commuter whose response to the questionnaire indicates that she clearly understands the importance of improving bicycling infrastructure in Brookline on key routes. We believe Miriam would be a strong supporter of making bicycling more accessible in Brookline.
Zoe Lynn is the Town’s former Sustainability Administrator. Zoe led the working group that drafted and guided Warrant Article 31 through Fall 2019 Town Meeting. This article established sustainable transportation priorities and time-sensitive goals for achieving a shift to sustainable modes of transportation. We believe Zoe would be a strong supporter of making bicycling more accessible in Brookline.
Donelle O'Neal is a former bike commuter. He provided limited responses to the questionnaire.
Incumbent Select Board member Bernard Greene has previously opposed some important bicycling initiatives. Although his response indicates a growing willingness to go on record to say that he recognizes bicycling’s importance, he has tended to support Transportation Board candidates who prioritize private motor vehicle transportation. In his response, he rationalizes Brookline’s slow progress in implementing bicycle infrastructure by saying: “Neighboring communities sometimes are better situated to develop good bicycle infrastructure while accommodating other modes of transportation for many reasons. Those reasons include their governing structures and the availability of conveniently located spaces that can be developed for safe commuter biking.” We disagree and believe Brookline can make better progress in improving bicycling accommodations notwithstanding existing frameworks.
Incumbent Select Board member Nancy Heller has previously opposed some important bicycling initiatives and has tended to support Transportation Board candidates who prioritized private motor vehicle transportation. Her response indicates a growing recognition of the value of safe bicycle routes and an acknowledgement that our public ways do not yet meet Brookline’s goals of being safe, accessible, convenient, and comfortable for bicycling by people of all ages and abilities. However, she also attributes Brookline’s falling behind neighboring communities to our roadway configurations and financial constraints. We believe Brookline can make better progress in improving bicycling accommodations notwithstanding these constraints.
In her response, Nancy wrote “I would prefer to see special bike routes on our less used streets.” We believe that bicycle users already travel on less used streets where practical, but a comprehensive, connected, and direct bicycle network, as described in the Town’s Complete Streets policy, requires protected infrastructure along some key arterial routes.
Town Moderator
In addition to presiding over Town Meeting, the Town Moderator appoints the Advisory Committee and other special committees that make recommendations to Town Meeting. These appointments can determine how well the advice of these committees aligns with Town policies and values, and how well it reflects the input of advocates for bicycling and other forms of sustainable transportation.
Scott Ananian was one of the petitioners on Warrant Article 31, described above, as well as on other climate-change related warrant articles.
Kate Poverman has opposed some important sustainable transportation initiatives, including the buffered bike lane on the outbound side of Beacon Street between Marion Street and Washington Street, the Covid-19-related “expanded sidewalks”, and the Gateway East priority bus lanes.
-
Biking Brookline invited all candidates in the June 9, 2020, election for Brookline Select Board and Town Meeting to respond to three bicycling-related questions.
We received responses from all three Select Board candidates and responses from 31 Town Meeting candidates.
The three candidates (Heather Hamilton, Eric Hyett, and John VanScoyoc) ran for two Select Board seats. There were a total of 103 Town Meeting candidates in 16 precincts, with contested elections in Precincts 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 14.
You can access the candidates’ responses using these links: