Arlington Election Profile: Michaiah Healy For Select Board

ARLINGTON, MA – Arlington will have several contested races in the June 6 Town Election, including School Committee, Select Board and Town Clerk. Arlington Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles ahead of the election.

Michaiah Healy is running for a three-year seat on the Select Board. Healy has been a pastor for five years and a counselor for nine years.

She holds a master's degree in counseling from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and a bachelor's degree in biological psychology from Tufts University.

Are you running for office in Arlington? Contact Alex Newman at alex.newman@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate profile and submitting campaign announcements to Arlington Patch.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

I think the most pressing issue facing our town (really our world) is navigating our upcoming budget crisis. How we make budget cuts and how we prioritize our spending is going to greatly affect the community. We'll need leadership with the skills that encourage people to bring forward their concerns, to validate diverse viewpoints, and incorporate those views into decisions. We need leadership to make difficult decisions, but decisions that protect our most vulnerable populations. My experience leading the Diversity Task Group has given me an extensive network (across neighborhoods, age groups, religious backgrounds, sexual orientation, and class). I am professionally trained as a counselor and pastor and am comfortable sitting with pain and not adopting it as my own. I am able to make tough decisions and take each issue one at a time.
Arlington's history of fiscal responsibility will greatly benefit residents in the early years of the waning pandemic. As a Board member my eye will be on the revenue forecast and I will continue to prioritize the most vulnerable populations in Arlington. I will be their representative and their voice as we make and adopt policies that will affect health, shelter, and safety.

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

I am a bridge builder who offers a safe presence and impartial judgment after hearing multiple perspectives. This is foundational to being a board member whose responsibility is to adopt policies that affect community life.
I am a person that acknowledges the validity of viewpoints and recognizes the personal sacrifices it took to bring that concern forward. This is a critical quality for a board member representing the body that elected it.
As a manager and supervisor, I recognize there is always room for improvement and I will regularly suggest ways that our government can make improvements.
I have a keen eye for making incremental improvements geared toward supporting low and fixed income residents, and the disabled and mobility impaired residents. I see how government processes can be more inviting, transparent, and understandable.
I have natural connection points in our community that make me accessible to the growing and changing demographic in Arlington- residents of color, working parents with young children, and renters with financial responsibilities and hopes for home ownership. Every voice in our community matters to me.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

There's a format for public engagement that is missing in our town. When residents of the town engage in public dialogue it happens over email listservs or various social media platforms, or in town meeting. There's a need for residents to engage and meet their elected officials with regularity in a town hall format like how the Envision Arlington groups conduct their meetings. Many new residents don't connect to their elected or representative leaders until there is an issue or a problem. I want to eliminate those barriers by continuing to be present to residents and assisting departments with their community outreach efforts.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

I have heard and witnessed public frustration about how government meetings are conducted and how resident input is received. I have also observed frustration by public officials who feel their dedicated work goes unappreciated or undervalued. The result is that, on both sides, people feel undervalued and disrespected. I am a leader who can see multiple perspectives, name the problems, and help to close the information gap. I want to help share information, encourage public involvement, and model shared ownership in moving an issue forward as a community.

I believe that a strong government has a continual flow of new participants (e.g., new residents, youth, retirees, disenfranchised residents). We need to encourage more residents to become involved in the life of Arlington, at whatever level is possible. A lack of involvement does not equal a lack of interest. Sometimes a lack of involvement is simply due to a lack of access, knowledge, or opportunity. I’m going to work toward reducing the barriers that prevent people from contributing meaningfully.

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

As a pastor, I was a community partner with the Cambridge Police Department and the Mayor’s Office. Together we involved the community in the Gun Buyback program, Soccer Nights (a free, week-long, inter-everything-camp now in its 11th year), and in many interfaith initiatives. I've built relationships with city councilors in neighboring municipalities, and have close relationships with many state and federal leaders. These relationships are a vital asset to me and our entire community as our Board makes policy decisions that move our town forward.

Locally, I am trusted for my honesty and impartiality. Earlier this year I was part of the community interviewing panel for Arlington's Chief of Police. I was asked to lead the benediction at the MLK Jr. Commemorative Service earlier this year.

I have an ongoing track record for investing in the ideas of curious voices and coaching new leaders to become involved in the areas of their interest and intrigue. Through my leadership in the Diversity Task Group (DTG), and collectively as a group, we have been a reservoir for events involving equity and inclusion in the community and the public schools (documented under Envision Arlington's yearly reports to Town Meeting). These projects make Arlington a more welcoming and inclusive place to live and work.
DTG:
-encouraged a culturally sensitive approach to the overnight parking ban that disproportionately affected low income and disabled residents (successful result),
-supported the safe communities act,
-supported the rise of the Diversity and Inclusion Groups in APS,
-liaised and supported METCO students and programs, and the Black Student Union.
-supported its interns in advancing our community through film projects involving Restorative Justice in AHS (a year after 14 students were charged for vandalism), and memorializing the unmarked graves of the enslaved buried in the cemetery by Robbins Library.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

"The person you're waiting for is you." I heard this at a Community Development Association conference in 2008. It has guided me through many uncertainties.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I am a disciplined person. I train for 1/2 marathons, embrace new topics with intrigue and seek to understand a subject as thoroughly as I can before offering my opinion. I am a woman of conviction and of strong faith, and I love the people in this town. I would be honored to continue my life of public service by representing and serving as your next Select Board member.