In a letter to the Newton TAB on August 30th, Jonathan Kantar, Eric Olson, and Jim Purdy endorsed current City Councilor Ruthanne Fuller for Mayor of Newton. The environmental leaders praised Fuller’s attention to detail and willingness to take action against negative environmental forces. “Ruthanne Fuller takes climate change seriously and is determined to develop and execute a strategic plan that sets challenging goals and defines a clear path to attain clean energy future for our city,” they said. Read the full text of their endorsement below:
“We have been involved for many years both advocating and leading efforts to protect the environment and mitigate climate change. We support Ruthanne Fuller for mayor because we believe she has both the clarity and ability to lead Newton toward a more sustainable future, one that recognizes the importance of strong environmental stewardship, and provides the right balance among environmental, community and economic needs.
For us, environmental action here in Newton has meant promoting home energy efficiency and renewable energy (such as installation of solar panels on our homes, schools and at Rumford Avenue), reducing energy use in our municipal buildings and streetlights, and fixing gas mains that leak methane to the atmosphere, among other measures.
The energy-efficient designs of our three new schools are examples of the City being pro-active on climate change. Councilor Ruthanne Fuller is the only City official to serve on all three school Working Groups, and in each case she was consistently supportive of making those schools as energy efficient as possible. This is just one example of the ways the environmental community in Newton has been able to count on Ruthanne Fuller for her support and leadership. She has also supported wise development in Newton that will promote public transportation and walking as environmentally preferable alternatives to driving, even though individual projects are sometimes controversial. We think this shows both wisdom and courage.
Ruthanne Fuller takes climate change seriously and is determined to develop and execute a strategic plan that sets challenging goals and defines a clear path to attain clean energy future for our city. Ruthanne’s broad experience as a strategic planner, demonstrated ability to engage collaboratively in a public process and leverage financial resources, is the leadership we need to make the most progress toward combatting climate change in Newton.
Although our focus is on the environment, the new mayor needs to lead on a host of issues ranging from a fiscally sound budget to social issues. Support for environmental policies is not enough: Ruthanne has the highest level of understanding of public administration and finance and the ability to lead the people who do the work of city government. She believes in diversity and inclusive policies. She cares about our children and our seniors. She recognizes the importance of an open planning process and infrastructure improvement. Most importantly, she has the ability to make these things happen.
In short, Ruthanne Fuller is the complete candidate – smart, experienced, compassionate, and dedicated. People like us who are concerned about the environment should vote for her on September 12.
Jonathan Kantar
Eric Olson
Jim Purdy”
Read Fuller’s plan for the environment and for open Spaces here.