Newton Candidate Profile: Victoria Danberg For City Council

NEWTON, MA — With the Newton Municipal Election scheduled for Nov. 7, Patch is profiling the candidates.

Here, we learn more about Victoria Danberg, who is an incumbent running for one of two councilor-at-large seats representing Ward 6 on the Newton City Council.

Danberg is running against fellow incumbent Alan Lobovits and challenger Alicia Garner Bowman.

Danberg, who has served on the council since 2004, has been a healthcare manager for 30 years.

Candidates were sent questionnaires and filled out the answers.

Name

Victoria Danberg

Campaign website

https://www.vickidanberg.com

What city or town do you live in?

Newton

What office are you seeking?

Newton City Councilor at Large, Ward 6

Education

B.A, M.B.A, finance and management

What is your occupation?

Healthcare manager, 30 yrs

Family

My husband, John Ficarelli, is a pediatric dentist. We have three grown children, Andrew, Alex and Meredith, who grew up in Newton and benefitted from the Newton Public Schools.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

n/a

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

Newton City Councilor at Large, Ward 6, 2004 to present

Why are you seeking this office?

I care deeply about my community and want to help make it the best place to live and work for all. I want to make a difference by addressing issues that affect everyone, have a positive impact by improving and expanding services that people rely on, and offer my voice to speak for all in the community; the young, the elderly, the disabled, struggling parents, and work to make them feel welcome and cared about.

The role of government is to provide public services for the benefit of its citizens. Local government controls what allows us to live our daily lives in comfort and security. It is responsible for all services essential to create a sense of community.

It provides for the education of our children, guards our public health and water supply, builds and repairs our roads, sidewalks and other infrastructure. It provides for wastewater disposal, trash collection and snow removal. Police and Fire guard our public safety. Zoning and Planning regulate land use and development.

In Newton, Parks, Recreation and Culture cares for our playing fields, recreational facilities and parks and helps the Arts flourish and enrich our lives.

Local government is vital in shaping our community.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ____ and this is what I intend to do about it.

The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is the lack of sufficient homes in our community to house our residents and those whom we want and need to have in our community to make it economically and socially viable in the future.

Newton's young adults, seniors, teachers, police and fire professionals, City employees, local employees and families who would like to locate in Newton have few options open to them for buying or renting in the city.

Land and home values are so high that few can afford to make their homes here. 90% of Newton workers live outside the city.

The school population is dropping by 200 or more students per year and we face closure of at least one elementary school if we cannot attract more families with children. Local businesses face stiff competition from the internet and large malls and some businesses are closing after decades of service to the community. We must build more housing and allow for the gradual expansion of our population and economy to remain economically and socially viable in the coming years.

Anything above two stories in commercial zones must now go through the special permit process, an expensive and time-consuming road that has resulted in virtually no change in commercial areas in the 35+ years since it was instituted.

The Planning Dept, working with the Zoning and Planning Committee, has been working for several years on a revision of outdated zoning code that discourages adding of infill units, allowing large old homes to include units within them and the gradual, gentle upward expansion of some appropriate locations in our villages.

I support this important work, which if passed, will put the city on a gradual path toward more affordable housing and a healthier economic and social environment for the city.

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

The main issue in this race is housing policy. My record speaks for itself. I have outlined my position clearly above.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

Environment and Open Space: Few deny the impact of fossil fuels on the health of our planet. Newton has addressed this critical issue with an aggressive Climate Action Plan, which I strongly support. As chair of Newton's Plastics Reduction Working Group, I led the recent unanimously supported ordinance to further reduce single-use plastics in the city.

Parklands, recreational facilities and open space are an important part of Newton's heritage and legacy. I support the protection and improvement of our natural environment.

Infrastructure: I will continue to work with the Public Facilities Committee to upgrade all 33,000+ city water meters, continue to upgrade our roads and sidewalks. We are now halfway through our Stormwater, Sewer and Water Infrastructure Upgrade Plan, which had not been addressed in over 50 years.

Education: Our schools are the lifeblood of our community. As a twelve-year high school teacher, I strongly support our schools and educators and will work to make them the best they can be.

Senior Services: Our seniors now comprise over 25% of Newton's population. I support universal design in new construction, which helps people age in place and those with mobility issues continue to live in the general community and participate in community activities. I am also a strong supporter of the new Senior Center in Newtonville.

Local Business: Local business needs all the protections and advantages we can give it. I fought for outdoor dining without parking requirements for our local restaurants and achieved that. We treasure our small, local businesses. I will continue to fight to keep local businesses alive and well.

Arts and Culture: The Arts keep our communities vibrant and alive. As a long-term Arts advocate and supporter and a founding member of the Newton Cultural Alliance, I will continue to work hard to support the Arts in Newton.

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

I have never accomplished anything significant alone. It was always together with my working colleagues that things got done. Here are a few:

Chaired Newton's Real Property Reuse Committee when we negotiated the purchase of the Newton Armory from the state for $1 to turn into 40+ units of affordable housing for formerly homeless veterans.

Led the effort to require businesses and residents to clear their sidewalks of snow.

Led the successful effort to ban polystyrene (Styrofoam), black plastic, helium balloon releases and other single-use plastic pollutants in Newton.

Chaired the Newton Centre Task Force encouraging adding housing into Newton Centre.

Served as vice chair of Newton Schools Foundation and vice chair of Newton History Museum, active in Mason Rice PTO.

Support(ed) Housing Coalition, Newton Interfaith Housing Equity (NICHE), Engine 6 Newton Housing Advocates, Green Newton Building Standards Committee, Newton Commission on Disabilities and others who advocate for housing in Newton.

Served on Chelsea, MA Receivership Team, which brought Chelsea out of bankruptcy. Served on the committee that created the first balanced budget for the city in decades.

Rewrote the Massachusetts Bankers' Asso. Commercial Lenders' Curriculum after the Mutual Bank and S & L crisis to reflect its new educational needs.

Arts Activist: Founding member of Newton Cultural Alliance, active in Boston Conservatory, Boston Ballet, Overseer of BSO, and more.

Ran healthcare group

Worked with the American Medical Resources Foundation to ship containerloads of medical equipment to rural communities worldwide

Helped found a children's dental clinic in rural Mexico.

Offer(ed) our home as a respite to Hospitality Homes, a Boston area organization that houses patients and families of patients at Boston area hospitals who cannot afford hotel stays.

Consistent and dedicated constituent services.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

I grew up on the water on Martha's Vineyard. Two things: Always follow your conscience, and never spit to windward.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I think I have said it all.