AMHERST — Roads and sidewalk improvements, production of more affordable and family housing and ensuring all voices have a say in town government are priorities being identified by those running for district seats on the Town Council at the Nov. 7 town election.
During the first hour of a candidate forum put on by the League of Women Voters of Amherst at the Amherst Regional Middle School on Oct. 5, 12 of the 16 candidates who are running for 10 positions outlined the issues on which they would focus and pledged to bring an anti-racist lens to their decisions as councilors.
In District 4, incumbents Jennifer Taub, Anika Lopes and Pamela Rooney, who along with Dillon Maxfield are running for the two positions, observed that the neighborhoods they represent are compact, with a mix of families and renters living near downtown.
Though densely populated, Rooney observed people have no easy access to a grocery store. “Having good sidewalks and an improved transit system will make a huge difference for these folks,” Rooney said.
Lopes said she understands the challenges of a district with many student renters affiliated with the University of Massachusetts. “A lot of solutions rely on collaborative relationships between students, the university and the nonstudent population,” Lopes said.
As councilor, Taub said she fought off zoning that would have brought more in-fill development. “We need to maintain a viable and healthy balance between student and nonstudent rentals,” Taub said.
Maxfield did not attend.
Similar challenges exist in the new District 3, which extends from the Commonwealth Honors College on the UMass campus south to Bay Road, and encompasses many apartment complexes. Newcomers Heather Hala Lord and Patrick Drumm, and former councilor George Ryan, are running for the two positions.
Ryan said the poor condition of roads and sidewalks creates some of the general perception in Amherst of rising taxes yet diminished services. Ryan said he would also like to address the “lack of civility in public discourse” that exists in town.
Drumm said access to sidewalks and access to the former Hickory Ridge golf course are problems in the district, along with the affordability of housing. “Trying to get a house is next to impossible,” Drumm said.
Lord said she has seen rent go up by “hundreds of dollars” since the pandemic, and with six apartment complexes in the district, is hearing from many who live there that police are omnipresent. “A lot of people feel oversurveilled,” Lord said.
In District 2, incumbents Pat De Angelis and Lynn Griesemer are facing challenges from newcomers Allegra Clark and Amber Cano-Martin.
“The consensus is no one in Amherst thinks roads are good,” said Cano-Martin, who added that affordable housing is also a critical need.
Griesemer said roads and sidewalks can be improved in a multiyear plan, but that an issue specific to the district is large-scale solar planned near the Pelham and Shutesbury town line. “We need to understand impact of solar and where we should be putting it, like on parking lots and buildings,” Griesemer said.
De Angelis said that she brought forward a proposal to make sure solar won’t unnecessarily disrupt woodlands. “We really need to protect our forests and wetlands,” De Angelis said.
Clark said lack of affordable housing and rising taxes means people are concerned about being able to age in place. Clark said she would endorse various climate efficiency projects for apartments, bringing her experience from the Affordable Housing Trust.
In District 1, both newcomers Ndifreke Ette and Vince O’Connor are challenging incumbent Cathy Schoen, who was not present. They noted the condition of the roads, too. “If you’ve ever been in District 1, it’s just a nightmare on one of the roads,” Ette said.
O’Connor said road repair and addressing the main intersection are necessary. “That situation has got to be resolved,” O’Connor said.
The second hour of the forum allowed the five at large candidates competing for three positions — newcomers Jamie Daniels and Matt Holloway challenging incumbents Mandi Jo Hanneke, Andy Steinberg and Ellisha Walker — to respond to a wide array of questions.
The first was how they would respond to the needs of the Latinx community.
Walker said she wants more people involved in making decisions, including those who don’t speak English.
Steinberg said Amherst needs to make sure all services in town meet community needs, and recognize that language can be a barrier for some.
Hanneke noted that she sponsored a wage theft bylaw that gives protections to those whose first language is not English.
Holloway said his career has included working with English as a second language student learners, and knows how to defer and yield decision-making power to others.
Daniels said her work is focused on anti-racism and reaching out to communities of color. “Those closest to the problem have to be part of the solution,” Daniels said.
On affordable housing, Steinberg said that has become an increasing problem. “We need to be looking at what we can do to make housing easier to build,” Steinberg said.
Affordable housing is the cornerstone of community, Daniels said, and local officials need to lobby state and national officials for funding. “We need to ask UMass to build more housing on campus,” Daniels said.
Hanneke said that affordable housing can be supported through a transfer fee bylaw that would create a fund from a surcharge on sales of non-owner occupied properties and high-end housing. Hanneke also has worked extensively on long-term zone changes, including the possibility of student housing districts.
Holloway said a deep core value of Amherst is affordable housing. He likes the North Amherst duplexes that will provide home ownership opportunities to people who have been shutout, and would encourage Planning Department staff to pursue more flexible zoning.
Walker said she would like to require UMass to house more of its students, while also redefining what is affordable, concerned that developments are unattainable for low-income residents due to rising rents.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
