Candidate Profile: Greg Christiana, Arlington Town Moderator

ARLINGTON, MA — Greg Christiana is running against longtime town moderator John Leone in the only contested race in the April 2 election.

Arlington Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles over the coming weeks.

Christiana, a software engineer, has been a Town Meeting member for six years. He has also served on the Envision Arlington Standing Committee for four years, including two as its co-chair, and is the founder and chair of the Civic Engagement Group.

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Age (as of Election Day)

47

Position sought (including ward or district number if applicable)

Town Moderator

Party Affiliation

unaffiliated

Family

spouse: Angela; two children, attending Ottoson Middle School and Bishop Elementary School

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

BS in Math with a concentration in Computer Science from MIT

Occupation

Software Engineer, 27 years

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Town Meeting Member (6 years), Envision Arlington Standing Committee (4 years, 2 years as co-chair), Civic Engagement Group founder and chair (6 months)

Campaign website

https://GregForModerator.com/

Why are you seeking elective office?

I feel fortunate to live in Arlington, where we have living, breathing democracy at the town scale. Local representative democracy like Town Meeting is rare and precious, and every generation should take seriously the responsibility of renewing and sustaining it. I’m running for Town Moderator because I value fair debate and discussion that reflects the diverse viewpoints of our town’s residents.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The single most pressing issue facing Town Meeting is understanding the causes of the high rate of members not running for re-election this year, and insufficient numbers of candidates across precincts to fill all seats. Representative democracy functions best when all seats are filled with elected representatives, and when there is a healthy level of competition for those seats. One of the responsibilities of the Town Meeting Procedures Committee is to consider how the rules of Town Meeting "affect the desire of voters of the Town to become Town Meeting Members" (Town Bylaws, Title I Article 1 Section 8). Given the year-long vacancy on this committee, one of my first actions as Town Moderator would be to contact all Town Meeting Members to seek candidates for filling the last of the three appointed seats and promptly schedule interviews with candidates. I would continue outreach to members who have decided to not run for re-election this year, and offer them a survey to help us identify issues that led to their departure. These issues could then be taken up by the Procedures Committee.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I see the disruption caused by the pandemic as an opportunity to rethink some long-standing assumptions about how Town Meeting is conducted. We could try to go back to how things were before, or we can apply what we've learned from our experiences of these past two difficult years to rethink our approach. I'll do the latter. In some cases, changes are at the discretion of the Moderator, such as whether to display the speaking queue publicly. I will make the speaking queue public for in-person meetings, so that everyone knows who has requested to speak. In other cases, changes are required by a vote of Town Meeting, such as changing the maximum speaking time. Last year a motion to reduce speaking time from seven minutes to five minutes failed. I'll work with Town staff to track metrics about speaking time so that the next time we have this debate, we'll be ready with data that will help members make a decision with a better understanding of its likelihood to make the meeting more efficient. In other cases, state law may be an obstacle to improvements, such as a remote participation option for Town Meeting in the future. During the pandemic, we saw record high participation at Town Meeting due to remote participation. Once it's safe to return to Town Hall, a remote option in the future could help bring voices and perspectives that would otherwise not be able to participate. If state law needs to change to allow that possibility, then I would band together with like-minded Moderators across the Commonwealth, and work with Senator Friedman and Representatives Garballey and Rogers to advocate for an equitable and inclusive remote option.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

Appointments to town committees have not been made in a timely manner. For instance, it took several months to fully appoint the Youth & Young Adult Study Committee. As a result, this committee had little time to complete its work ahead of Town Meeting this year. Also, the Town Meeting Procedures Committee had two of its three appointed positions vacant for most of the past year. This committee is responsible for determining how our rules affect the desire of residents to run for Town Meeting, which is directly relevant to responding to the high rate of attrition from Town Meeting this year.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

If I am elected, transparency, inclusion, and responsiveness will guide my approach. I will:
- Foster a welcoming atmosphere at Town Meeting for all members
- Increase transparency by publicly displaying the speaker queue during Town Meeting and pursue procedural options to ensure that we hear from a diversity of voices
- Make prompt and thoughtful appointments to town committees, following a clear and well-publicized process
- Work with the town’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion staff to track metrics relating to Town Meeting and town committees
- Use my technology skills to explore hybrid meeting options and to meet challenges that arise as we navigate this stage of the pandemic and beyond
- Seek input and welcome criticism, feedback, and new ideas

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

My volunteer and leadership efforts have demonstrated a collaborative approach and a commitment to strengthening the connections between residents and our town government. My experience includes:

- Elected Town Meeting Member in Precinct 15 since 2016
- Co-Chair of Envision Arlington Standing Committee (formerly Vision 2020)
- Founded the Civic Engagement Group within Envision Arlington, serving as inaugural chair
- Engaged Town Meeting Members town-wide to organize and plan precinct meetings for residents to meet with their elected officials
- Contributed technical expertise from my work as a software engineer to the effort to revive and publicize Town Meeting Member Candidate Statements so voters can be better informed about the candidates in their precincts
- As a parent of two children in the Arlington Public Schools, served on the steering committee of the School Enrollment Parent Group and started the Bishop Enrollment Group
- Leadership Team for Build Arlington’s Future campaigns to secure school and town funding in 2016 and 201

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Be the change you want to see in the world.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

The broad diversity of my supporters -- including long-time residents, newer residents, Town Meeting Members, School Committee members, and Select Board members -- speaks to the universal values that I embrace and have centered in my campaign from the beginning: transparency, responsiveness, and inclusion. As Town Moderator, I will continue to work to increase civic engagement in town, to uplift voices that have not always been heard in our town government, and to ensure the smooth operation of Town Meeting, conducted with fairness and respect, for all its members.