* Take better care of our school and city buildings, parks and open space, roads and infrastructure;

* Implement long range plans based on strategic, fiscally sustainable future investments;

* Support mixed-use development where transportation and infrastructure exist "smart growth", to protect neighborhood character while providing needed services and revitalizing village and commercial centers;

* Improve City work environments and use performance-based management techniques to track data and reward measurable results in delivery of City services;

* Invest in energy efficiencies to lower maintenance and operating costs;

* Support a range of housing opportunities to serve the needs of our culturally and economically diverse community;

* Communicate what we learn and take responsibility for the decisions we make.

I am running for the open seat for Alderman-at-Large from Ward 5 - because I have both the community and professional experience, and a commitment that Newton needs, to address the important and challenging issues facing our City. All of Newton can vote in this election, and I ask for your vote on November 3.

My husband and I and our two children have reaped many advantages of Newton’s exceptional public schools, diversity and quality of life. I wish to work for you to help sustain and build upon these qualities and to pass on to your families and future generations what we have been so fortunate to have for ourselves.

I have spent 24 years in Newton doing community work and advocating for community preservation, environmental protection, more thoughtful city planning, and more open and accountable government. Today, I seek to serve on the Board of Aldermen, where I can help develop policies that can lead Newton into a future that both reflects our values as a culturally diverse community, and is environmentally and economically sustainable.

My leadership in the League of Women Voters and active service on numerous city boards, commissions and citizen action coalitions, has afforded me a rich variety of opportunities to effect positive change in our community. As LWV President and Local Action Chair, I played a key role in passing the Community Preservation Act in Newton, and then established the well-respected LWV committee that monitors the CPA program to this day.

I collaborated on the Energy Action Plan in my role on Newton’s Energy Commission, and then built coalitions to promote effecting citywide efficiencies. Some have already saved the city a great deal of money such as changing our streetlights, and others will save money while improving our buildings, such as the recently begun audit and retrofit work on school and city facilities.

In addition, I served many years on the Comprehensive Planning Advisory Committee, where I had a key role in developing both the natural resources and housing sections of the Comprehensive Plan, and currently participate in the Newton Housing Partnership, and as Co-Chair of the High Performance Building Coalition working to implement those elements of the Plan. My history and contribution is one of analyzing issues, developing solutions, and working to implement them. I would like to continue to do so as your alderman.

Today our City faces serious fiscal, environmental and social challenges. Costs of city and school services increasingly exceed available revenues. The failure to invest in regular maintenance of our public buildings and grounds over too many years, now requires urgent correction - at a time when resources are constrained. Even in this environment we must make certain key investments to prepare for the future.

We must invest in revising our zoning laws to align them with the objectives and goals that are the community vision expressed in the 2007 Comprehensive Plan. We should invest in developing Master Plans to revitalize some of our village centers and commercial corridors, like Needham Street, to facilitate mixed-use development and provide needed smaller, and more affordable housing. In addition, we should invest in energy efficiencies throughout the city and performance management techniques to streamline the delivery of city services. I am confident that my community work and professional experience as an architect will enable me to make an important contribution to such necessary change.

I want to serve as your alderman to see that we address our fiscal challenges by taking better care of our city, living responsibly within our means and investing in our future. As leaders, we must forge a carefully prioritized capital plan that will serve present and future needs, undertake and continually evaluate facilities maintenance programs, and make strategic investments that will strengthen our community to prepare for a quality of living that we want - and are willing to sustain.

You can count on me to listen to your concerns, do my homework – and act with integrity to serve our community. I look forward to collaborating with a new administration, renewed Board of Aldermen and School Committee to tackle this work.

Please VOTE – and vote for me on November 3, so that I may get to work for you!

Deborah “Deb” Crossley