City Councilor Mike Ross Responds to Patch Column

Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from a blog post written by District 8 City Councilor Michael Ross. He wrote this post in response to a recent Patch column, calling for a city councilor to serve Boston "proper."

This morning, Patch published a column about Boston’s need for a City Councilor who resides in a downtown neighborhood. 

I agree that Boston needs to focus on its downtown neighborhoods. One area in which we need to do better is increasing the number of seats for elementary-age children as discussed in this recent Boston Globe series. We have made unprecedented progress in this area with the success of the Josiah Quincy Elementary School, Hurley K-8 School, Eliot K-8 School, and Warren/Prescott K-8 School – all schools that serve downtown neighborhoods. 

But we still do not have a school that is located in the Back Bay or Beacon Hill, even though an unprecedented opportunity to purchase the old Brimmer School from Emerson College in 2003 was declined by the Boston School Department. Of course, Downtown Boston’s issues aren’t limited to schools. There’s also the need to fill the giant hole that once was Filene’s in Downtown Crossing, though I think this has more to do with economics than a lack of concern for the heart of our city.

As the only current elected official who actually lived in Boston’s downtown neighborhoods (for 13 years), I must disagree with Mr. Keith's comment that I am mostly “preoccupied with keeping Northeastern from intruding on its… neighbors.” Yes, restoring balance to our neighborhoods is part of what I do. But surely the residents kept awake from late night parties in Beacon Hill and North End deserve to know that Keith, who is a real estate agent, stands to lose business from student renters as dormitories are built to make our neighborhoods more accessible to recent graduates and young families.

Being an effective Boston City Councilor is not a matter of mailing address, but of being connected to the residents of Downtown Boston and addressing the issues that are important to them. Here is just a partial list of what we’ve accomplished in our downtown neighborhoods -- you can learn more on my website and blog:

• Revitalizing the Boston Common. 
• Reclaiming underutilized spaces.
• Improved neighborhood services.

I will continue to do the work of all the residents in my district—from Mission Hill to Beacon Hill and beyond.