Joe Curtatone: Hype vs Reality

Joe Curtatone: Hype vs Reality

Reading Joe Curtatone's campaign literature, you might believe he is the most progressive mayor in America. However, what Joe says – and what he does – are two different matters. Curtatone likes to take progressive stances on matters he has no control over like immigration, drugs, and human rights. But when it comes to matters in Somerville where the mayor could actually make a difference, he behaves more like Donald Trump: handouts to developers, rewarding friends and allies, and obstructing the city's legislative branch while taking credit for its accomplishments.

Real Estate Development & Affordable Housing

Curtatone recently became an advocate for rent control after decades of taking tens of thousands of dollars from real estate interests. No mayor has the power to implement rent control and he knows it. While making promises he can't keep, he appoints anti-affordable housing activists to the Planning Board who vote on our city's affordable housing efforts. Curtatone refuses to replace them – despite the fact they were rejected by the city council and their terms have expired. His Planning Board appointments make the true decisions about affordable housing in the city and Curtatone uses them to mask his pro-developer agenda.

As City Councilor (and Mayor Joe supporter) Mark Neidergang eloquently wrote in 2017,

"The Mayor, in my opinion, has been too quick to protect the interests of developers - especially big developers in the City. We see this not only in decisions made directly by the Administration, but in decisions made by critical City bodies such as the Somerville Redevelopment Authority (SRA) and the Planning Board, whose staff work is done by members of his Administration. The Mayor appoints the members of these bodies, subject to approval by the BOA…But the Mayor has been unwilling to subject his appointees to re-confirmation by the BOA when their terms expire. Unfortunately, this is permitted by state law. So the people who serve on these key Boards and make critical decisions about development in our neighborhoods are not accountable to anyone except the Mayor. The SRA and the Planning Board have made some terrible decisions that advance the interests of developers at the expense of Somerville residents.[1]

The Federal Realty waiver from the city's 20 percent affordable housing requirement is the perfect example of his hypocrisy. Members of the planning board, upon his recommendation, reduced on-site affordable housing requirements at the 500 unit luxury tower in Assembly Sq. from 20 to 6 percent. A week after the 2017 election was over, he accepted thousands of dollars in donations from Federal Realty executives and their spouses.[2]

Curtatone now takes credit for the 20 percent affordable housing rate despite undermining what would have been the first development built at 20 percent. When we were working to increase the affordable rate to 20 percent, he and his staff obstructed the effort until it was clear he could not block the vote. Then they negotiated a compromise to allow smaller developments to not build at 20 percent, once again looking out for developer interests before the community interests.

Again, City Councilor Neidergang,

"The Mayor seems to have, in particular, a bias in favor of large, powerful developers such as Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT, Assembly Square) and Union Square Station Associates (US2, Union Square). There is a consistent pattern of this Administration providing favorable treatment and unreasonably good terms at residents' and taxpayers’ expense to major developers. Some examples are the Master Land Disposition Agreement negotiated with US2 by the Administration and approved by the SRA; the Development Covenant for Union Square negotiated between the Mayor and US2; and the affordable housing waiver agreement for the 500-unit development on Block 8 in Assembly Square that allowed FRIT to provide less than the 20% of affordable housing that is now required for large apartment buildings. This was negotiated by the Administration with FRIT and approved by the Planning Board. Put simply, the Mayor and his Administration have not gotten the best deals for the City in negotiations with these developers; in fact, these developers have eaten our lunch."

Nonprofit "Payments in Lieu of Taxes" (PILOT)

The two largest employers in Somerville – Tufts and Partners – rely heavily on city services, but because they are nonprofits, don't pay taxes. The Mayor negotiates a PILOT agreement with both companies. In a deal negotiated by Curtatone with Tufts in 2013 that expired this year, Tufts only paid $275,000 (less than 4% of its assessed land value!).[3] Partners promised jobs to local residents but has never been held accountable.[4]

Police

Curtatone proudly displays a Black Lives Matter banner on city hall. When it comes to promoting police, however, he goes to the usual well of sycophants and bad actors. The most recent incident involved his attempt to appoint Sgt. Michael Kiely -- not once, but twice! Kiely who was accused of sexual harassment, masturbating in an elementary school, and unjustly discharging a weapon, was rejected twice by the City Council.

Workers' Rights

Curtatone would like you to believe he is a hero of the working class, but his actions are always with the one percent. In 2013, Somerville passed a wage theft ordinance. One example of wage theft is the Herb Chambers dealership. Accused by employees of wage theft, the mayor's City Solicitor claimed the ordinance could not be enforced. But the Attorney General's office rebuked that and forced Chambers to pay workers $116,758 in lost wages. It should be no surprise that Curtatone protected Chambers, as Chambers and his employees have donated nearly $50,000 to Curtatone's campaigns since 2010.[5]

Curtatone also backed the renovation of Clarendon Hill public housing with a public-private partnership financing scheme that required waiving state prevailing wage laws. He lobbied hard for the deal which passed the city council – but was later wisely rejected by the state legislature.[6]

Construction is booming in Somerville with major work at Assembly Sq., Union Sq., the new High School and the Greenline extension. The mayor could have used his office to convene developers, contractors and the trades unions to reach project labor agreements to ensure that local residents, minorities and women had access to good jobs and that all workers had fair labor standards. He never lifted a finger.

When closely examined, Curtatone's progressive image is a façade. Somerville needs a mayor who puts people first. We don't need a well-oiled PR machine. We need an advocate for people who are struggling to make ends meet.

Marianne Walles has that record. She doesn't take campaign contributions from real estate developers, she answers only to the people, not special interests.

On Tuesday, Nov. 5, vote Marianne Walles for Mayor of Somerville

[1] Mark Niedergang, "Who I’m voting for and supporting in Nov 7 City election" campaign email, Oct 30, 2017, and https://somerville.wickedlocal.com/news/20170410/federal-realty-seeks-affordable-housing-waiver-in-somervilles-assembly-row

[2] Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, https://www.ocpf.us/Filers?q=Curtatone&cat=A

[3] Tufts and Somerville: A tense partnership, Joe Walsh https://tuftsdaily.atavist.com...

[4] City of Somerville Press Release, "PARTNERS HEALTHCARE, SOMERVILLE SIGN COMMUNITY SERVICES AGREEMENT," August 26, 2014

[5] Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, https://www.ocpf.us/Filers?q=Curtatone&cat=A

[6] "Wage requirements put Clarendon public housing project in jeopardy," by Laura Broman, Wicked Local Somerville, Aug 21, 2018