Perhaps inspired by the increasing intensity of political interest inspired by the presidential primary season, The Ellis South End Neighborhood Association (ESENA) hosted a South End Political Forum at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts on January 26 as an opportunity for elected officials to inform constituents of what they are working on and hoping to address as well as hear questions and concerns from South Enders. Sue O'Connell, editor and co-publisher of the South End News and Bay Windows and host of NECN's Broadside program moderated, with a panel consisting of state senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, chair of the joint committee on education; state representative Aaron Michlewitz, chair of the joint committee on financial services; state representative Byron Rushing, assistant majority leader; and former City Council president Bill Linehan. About 40 people attended the meeting, which dealt with topics in economic development, education, taxes and quality of life issues.

Rushing observed in his opening remarks, "For most us [on the panel], this is a big turnout!" Welcoming the audience and participants, David Crowley of ESENA said, "In addition to great restaurants and neighborhood associations, the South End is blessed with a great team of representatives working for us day in and day out in City Hall and on Beacon Hill."

O'Connell posed a question about the future of Widett Circle following its role in the rejected 2024 Olympics bid. True to his nature as an academic and historian, Rushing approached the question with an explanation of the area's history as the site chosen for relocation of a number of food businesses forced out of Quincy Market in order to make way for its redevelopment as a commercial and tourist center. Rushing used the anecdote to make the point that relocating current businesses should only occur for a "good reason" and stressed engagement with the community in planning such a move.

Linehan mentioned it as a component in the Mayor's Boston 2030 strategic plan and a potential site for new residential development. Linehan remarked, "There's a lot of opportunity there. People from South Boston and the South End need to get in this together. There need to be big public infrastructure changes." Michlewitz admitted he was not very familiar with the area before the Boston 2024 discussion. "I was disappointed when Boston 2024 was talking about displacing businesses using eminent domain. It is a great opportunity for the city to explore, but I think we have to make sure we don't displace those businesses along the way because those are jobs that are very valuable to the city. You may not see them, you may not know them but they are important to how the city works."

O'Connell read an audience question concerning FAA flight paths and airplane noise over the South End. "The FAA has come up with a way to conserve fuel by finding most direct way for airplanes to land. Can we get more monitors to check the sound over the SE? Can we get curfews for larger carriers? What can we do about airplane noise in SE?" Michlewitz explained that the FAA has an advisory board that MassPort controls which includes a South End seat, but the South End representative moved from the neighborhood. Rushing said that the flight route plan for Logan conceived in the 1990s with input by surrounding communities has since been changed without community involvement. "There is a very strange thing that happens around community involvement that probably goes to being too successful, too good at it; a community being completely ignored. The basics of civic education: it's never over. They will wait until you die. You have to plan to come back to the issue. We need volunteers to represent us who show up."

On the subject of improving the Boston Public Schools (BPS) in light of current funding challenges, the panelists acknowledged Chang-Diaz's expertise in that realm. Chang-Diaz expressed the view that charter schools are a part of the solution to improving overall quality of education, but not a panacea. "Charters do not have a monopoly on innovation; we see innovation in our traditional school system as well," she said. Chang-Diaz also stated that charter schools have not performed as well in serving non-white students, while BPS district schools have a majority non-white student population. Chang-Diaz would like to see focus on increasing access to early childhood education and engaging with community partners to improve public schools as well.

In his response, Michlewitz recounted growing up in the North End in the aftermath of busing, where the local public school, the Eliot School, was avoided by families such as his that could afford private or parochial school. "Now that has changed, completely 180 and everyone is trying to get their kid into the Eliot School. I attribute much of that to the growth of charter schools and the competition they provided, forcing the Eliot School to adapt and become a much better public school. Without that push, I don't think that would have happened." He continued, "I am also very blessed to have two public schools in my district, the Eliot and the Josiah Quincy, that are doing very well and have the resources to continue to grow. That is not the case in every public school in the city of Boston. The charter schools are not the be-all and end-all, but they aren't the devil, either." Linehan said, "I know that people think that the charter schools are a panacea, but every time funding is transferred to the charter schools, it takes the district schools down. We spend $19,000 per student and we have a $1 billion budget for the Boston public schools." Linehan mentioned Boston schools superintendent Tommy Chang, who moved from Los Angeles to become BPS schools superintendent last summer. Linehan asked that Chang be given the chance and the power to do his job improving BPS.

A senior and longtime homeowner spoke of increasing property taxes and the difficulty that older residents face since their property taxes are based on comparison to recent purchases by younger, more affluent homebuyers. She called the current tax-deferral legislation for over-55 homeowners "cynical, like a reverse mortgage idea" with a 4 per cent interest per year on the property imposed at the time of sale. "It's mean-spirited. If we've owned our homes and paid taxes for 25 years, why not give us a break?" She suggested tax relief tied to homeowners' income and longevity, noting that General Electric received a $25 million property tax abatement for moving its headquarters to Boston. Linehan cited a steep increase in tax on his South Boston home with a one bedroom rental unit, noting that "everything is based on comparables." Chang-Diaz pointed to rising spending pressures on municipalities including increased funding for public schools as the state's contribution decreases, and the fact that Massachusetts has a flat income tax.

"We need to have some hard, hard conversations about the structure of our tax code. We are in a structural deficit year after year and it's not going to get better for property taxpayers until we confront that at the state level," she said. Chang-Diaz proposes legislation that would increase both tax rates and standard deductions at each tier. Linehan added that state aid to cities has fallen from over 30 per cent in 2007 to 15 per cent currently, and past programs that funded city programs have "dried up". Since 2007, the city has added $40 million in new revenue every year through economic development. "I agree with the senator, we need to have a serious discussion on this. Instead of just, "No new taxes", we need to have a new, better way of taxing." He told the homeowner that he is over 60 and said, "I agree with you. We need to do something for seniors."

An audience member posed the final question about pedestrian safety issues such as slippery brick sidewalks and traffic lights timed to have turning cars competing with pedestrians crossing the street. "I did not agree with it and I think there are certain intersections at which we should not have it, but it's a fundamental of transportation policy throughout America." Linehan added that because Massachusetts is a home rule state, changes to this policy have to be approved by the state government. Rushing said that most of the major pedestrian safety changes have been made at the request of the community, noting that the pedestrian crossing signs came as the result of discussions between neighbors and the police. He also observed that in order to get the speed limit lowered on city streets, as many South Enders desire, support would be needed from state legislators across the city, but West Roxbury residents think it is unnecessary.

An audience member asked about the continuation of urban renewal. Michlewitz replied that it has been effective in certain areas and should be decided on a district-by-district basis whether to continue urban renewal and in which areas it should end. Linehan said the Boston Redevelopment Authority must do its due diligence to get community input before submitting a proposal to the City Council.

Commenting on the event via e-mail, ESENA president Betsy Hall wrote, "Regarding the recent evening, we were pleased to see so many neighbors attend and participate in the forum and thought the broad range of topics was well covered by knowledgeable legislators."