The preliminary election to fill the vacant at-large seat on the Board of Aldermen is Tuesday, April 10. Jack Connolly, Robert Daut and Marty Martinez, the three candidates running for election, met with friends of Somerville dogs at the Somerville Dog Owners Group meeting, Monday, March 26.

In the hour we spent with the candidates, we asked the following questions:

1. What proposals do have for increasing the number of off-leash recreational areas in the City and improving access for all residents to open space?
2. (a) Five parks maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) account for sixty percent (60%) of open space in the City (Dilboy Field, Draw Seven Park, Foss Park, Mystic River Parkland and Shore Drive Parkland). How will you help City residents work with our State Senators and Representatives to pursue off-leash recreational opportunities in parks in the City that are maintained by the DCR?

   (b) When one of the candidates suggested that Somerville residents could go out of town to enjoy off-leash recreation, we asked: What will you do to foster partnerships with neighboring communities to improve opportunities for off-leash recreation?



3. What will you do to make Somerville more friendly to dog-owners?


4. Will you work to set aside city-owned property in Union Square for open space?


5. Will you commit to never close the Nunziato Off-Leash Recreational Area for events on the other side of the fence in Nunziato Field (see here and here)?

Before the question and answer period, the candidates took the opportunity to introduce themselves, their background and their vision for open space in the City. Following is a summary of each candidates’ remarks in alphabetical order by the candidates’ last name:

Jack Connolly

Born and raised in Somerville, Connolly was educated at Boston University and Tufts University, and now owns a business in Davis Square. He was the Ward Six Alderman from 1984 to 2005. He is committed to maintaining Powder House Park (a.k.a. Nathan Tufts Park) as a passive park, through which people may walk with their leashed dogs. He would also like the City to take back Foss Park from the DCR. He described the park as currently “overused and under-maintained;" he would like the City to construct a community center in Foss Park.

1. Somerville neighborhoods have limited open space. Connolly sees potential for off-leash recreational areas at Foss Park and Dilboy Field. He compared the process of establishing neighborhood off-leash recreational areas to the process of establishing the Homeless Coalition in Davis Square, which has proven to be a great success.
2. To create more opportunities for off-leash recreation, Connolly stressed the importance of organizing citizens’ groups into a coalition. He recalled that the City sold Foss Park to the Commonwealth for $1: What’s wrong, he asked, with taking it back? He intimated that he could talk to Medford’s Mayor McGlynn about creating off-leash recreational areas in Medford.
3. The city could raise awareness through clinics, for example, to teach people who are fearful of dogs how to feel safe around dogs. The school system could also offer responsible dog owner education and clinics about how to be safe around dogs. Connolly would also like the Somerville Police Department to hire a K-9 Officer.
4. Zoning for higher buildings can allow for more open space around the buildings, for example, higher buildings can be set back further from the street, allowing for wider sidewalks. Seven Hills Park was created when Davis Square was redeveloped in the 1980’s.
5. If the City needs to close the Nunziato OLRA to accommodate users on the other side of the fence, Connolly said that he would work to ensure that it is not closed all day.

Robert Daut

Daut moved to Somerville in 1991 when he was a student at Harvard Law School. He appreciates Somerville both for its access to urban amenities and its small-town feel. He spoke of his own experience as a ward of the court of how youth is affected by the State. He also spoke his sixteen-year relationship as a Big Brother to his Little Brother (who is a dog owner). Expressing appreciation for the Somerville Dog Owners Group’s understanding of direct involvement in the City, he listed among his own primary concerns for Somerville development, public safety, education and open space. He supports the adoption of a Home Rule Petition to create a Rainy Day Fund for open space.

1. There is no simple solution for off-leash recreational areas in our neighborhoods. As Alderman-at-large, Daut said he would be available to work with citizens to identify areas for consideration and to develop a long-range perspective. He suggested finding space in other communities, specifically Medford and Arlington, where Somerville residents can go with our dogs. He also recommended circulating a petition asking the State legislature to pass the home rule petition to set up a rainy day fund for open space.
2. Daut observed that development requires a big picture perspective. Offering his native Chicago as an example, he said that tall buildings do not have to mean devastation to local communities while observing that increasing the population will necessarily degrease the acreage of open space per capita (currently Somerville has just over two acres of open space for every 1000 residents—ed.). Daut recognizes that it is the job of local politicians to reach out to legislators in other communities and feels that, with his experience as a prosecutor and his ability to see the perspective of the other side, he can reach win-win solutions.
3. Referring to the som|dog “origin story” from our website, Daut acknowledged that signage makes a big difference to whether or not dog owners feel welcome. He repeated the necessity of getting past an “us/them” mentality: the human and the canine species can co-exist. He said the main reason that people do not like dogs is poop. Poop sends a powerful anti-dog message. The city can help by improving maintenance: residents take less care of their neighborhood when their neighborhood is neglected in terms of city services.
4. Daut would not vote to purchase open space: he would not increase the tax burden on residential property owners, but rather would look to the commercial tax base to fund the purchase of open space.
5. Daut said that while he would advocate on behalf of keeping the OLRA open, he would not commit to never closing it for other groups to use the field on the other side of the fence. He said that decision could only be made by the permitting authority (Permits to use municipal parks must be approved by vote of the Board of Aldermen—ed.).

Marty Martinez

Martinez, who owns a Tibetan Spaniel, has a Masters degree in Public Policy from Tufts University and has lived in Somerville—as a renter and as a homeowner—for ten years. He has served the City as the Youth Director and as a board member of the Somerville Community Corporation. He said that he has visited the Nunziato Off-leash Recreational Area and that he frequently hears that it is “great”. Identifying himself as a community organizer, he said that he appreciates what the Somerville Dog Owners Group does. Too often, he said, we fight over what we have: He said that we have to find ways to build bridges.

1. To create new parks and maintain existing open space in our neighborhoods it is necessary to develop allies and for community groups to take an organizing role. Martinez would love to see the City take jurisdiction over Foss Park. In addition to the Rainy Day Fund, he advocates adopting the Community Preservation Act, which would allow the city to assess a surcharge on commercial and/or residential property taxes to generate revenue for open space, affordable housing, and historic preservation.
2. It is in the capacity of the Alderman-at-Large to organize citizens: Martinez noted that members of the State Delegation who have endorsed him for Alderman-at-Large. While he is interested in taking back Foss Park from the DCR he is also concerned about the City’s ability to maintain it. We have the opportunity to think about open space in the context of new development, for example, at Assembly Square.
3. Martinez observed that one reason Cambridge feels friendly to dog owners is that the City provides “mutt mitts”—not just in off-leash areas, but also in public spaces where people walk in the company of their dogs. Small things like that send a message that people with dogs are welcome here. Signage, too, is important to communicating a welcoming message.
4. Though unaware of any proposal to create open space on city-owned property in Union Square, Martinez recalled that at a recent hearing, the Diesel Café, which plans to open a location on Bow Street, requested to create a small park rather than a paved parking lot for patrons. He clarified that the Community Preservation Act does not necessarily impose a surcharge on residential property taxes; Communities can elect to impose the surcharge on commercial property taxes.
5. If it is the case that the permitting process for Nunziato Field allows groups to close the OLRA on the other side of the fence, Martinez said it is okay for the City to close the OLRA.