Campaigning full-time for a better ward, as told on Twitter

I want to bring the full range of Ward 3s concerns and ideas to City Hall. And Ill bring information back to youon my website, on my Twitter feed (shown to the right), and through good oldfashioned face-to-face housecalls, so you can participate effectively before decisions are made. The future of the Fairgrounds, of Bridge Street School, of infill, of the economic life of our city, are all too important to be left to a small group of insiders. Doing things the right waythe transparent way might be a bit messy, might take a bit longer, but it brings the whole city forward together, so that all sides feel respected and heard, no matter what the outcome. Thats my vision for Northampton, and I ask for your vote on August 2.
Zoning proposals to aect Ward 3. I a ended the 7/14 presenta ons at the Planning Bd. See videos, public's concerns: bit.ly/q8JaZ4 17 Jul Just a ended a mee ng with the Northampton Preven on Coali on. 90% of American addicts begin using before age 18 | abcn.ws/q2DKUH 15 Jul See a video of my remarks during the public comment period at the July 7 City Council mee ng: bit.ly/o7Et5C #NorthamptonMA 12 Jul Spoke with Suzanne at whoospace.com about restoring streetlight missing from Market Street 12 Jul Just spoke with Mr. Bao Lang, MassDOT District 2, about reloca ng @CocaCola signs near Exit 19 to improve visibility and truck rou ng 11 Jul Tickets are on sale now for August 6s Vegetable Garden Tour in Ward 3. I encourage you to go! bit.ly/oRFbZi #NorthamptonMA 11 Jul Met with Laura Hanson at #NorthamptonMA DPW about "No Trucks" signage for Lincoln, Orchard, and Elizabeth Streets 11 Jul Spoke with sta at Florence Savings Bank about restoring their sponsored speed-measuring sign at Island Road to calm trac #NorthamptonMA 9 Jul Last night spoke before the City Council to convey urgent requests from residents for trac calming and road repair in Ward 3 8 Jul See the nal report of the Zoning Revisions Commi ee. I will watch to ensure that inll is handled with care | bit.ly/pURF90 7 Jul Visited @TheChamber01060 to discuss new King Street zoning, regional tourism, and a rac ng new businesses to #NorthamptonMA 7 Jul Visited @CocaCola plant to discuss truck route signage, noise mi gaon, idling trucks, and avoiding late night deliveries 7 Jul Visited Arcadia Sanctuary, another underappreciated local jewel. Day camps, classes, hikes, birdwatching... | bit.ly/roTwDJ #westernma 7 Jul Ge ng great feedback going door-to-door. Am concerned to hear about renewed dumping at Island Road and wetlands by the river...

Come to my Campaign Headquarters Opening Party!

Saturday, July 23, 3-5pm 11 Market Street Refreshments will be served

Visit www.arnielevinson.com to learn more, follow me on Twitter at @arnielevinson, or call 570-3243

Need help at City Hall? Who are you going to call?

If youre an ordinary ci zen trying to change a project that might cause problems, its easy to feel that the odds are stacked against you. The mayors oce, developers and special interests have plenty of power. They have ample access to money, lawyers, consultants and the ear of the citys professional sta. The mayor appoints the members to the Planning Board, the Conserva on Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Board of Public Works, and other important bodies. When residents have legi mate concerns, I believe its a city councilors duty to advocate for themin public mee ngsand bring balance to City Hall. Its not enough to just cra policies. Their actual impact is hammered out project by project. Nor is it enough to promise to represent ci zens concerns in private board mee ngs behind closed doorstheres no accountability. My opponent appears to have a dierent a tude:
[Owen Freeman-Daniels] condo on Woodmont Road is only a stones throw from the 5-acre site of the planned development called North Street Condominiums. The 20-unit complex, proposed by Hadley-based developer Douglas Kohl, won city approval last year, following months of intense controversy and debate about traffic, wetlands and density. Though Freeman-Daniels said he understood the opposition, he didnt fight the project himself or push the [Ward 3 Neighborhood] association to do so. A separate group, the North Street Neighborhood association, took on that battle. Freeman-Daniels saw his role more as immersing himself in the pros and cons of so-called infill development - encouraging growth near downtown services, rather than suburban sprawl - and the pros and cons of the North Street development. I think the association has to be careful not to get embroiled in every development project, he said. -Daily Hampshire Gazette, 2/5/10 Whenever there is a proposed project, we have to remember what a City Councilor can do. I dont believe it is the job of a City Councilor to try to adjudicate who has what property rights. In general that job is for the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Planning Board, the Board of Health, the Conservation Commission, the Department of Public Works, Building Commissioner, and a variety of other boards and administrators in the city What a City Councilor can do is facilitate a conversation between a project manager and the citizens who will be affected by a proposed project. If the project manager gives the City Councilor a voice in how the project will proceed, the Councilor can take that position and use it to represent the legitimate concerns of the residents he represents I've publicly stated that Id join the Fairgrounds Redevelopment Corporations Board (if theyll have me) if I was elected to the City Council. -Public letter from Owen Freeman-Daniels to Mike Kirby, published on 7/13/11

My opponent sets up a false choice for the role of councilor: a neutral arbitrator like the Planning Board or a cozy insider. Neither is appropriate. A councilor should take in a broad range of input and then be a public advocate for the right thing to do, especially when the interests of ordinary ci zens are at stake.

Vote Arnie Levinson for City Council

on Tuesday, August 2 at the Senior Center
Paid for by The Committee to Elect Arnie LevinsonFrank Werbinski, Treasurer, 351 Pleasant Street, PMB 122, Northampton, MA 01060. Labor donated.