Candidate Profile: Adam Knight, Medford City Council

MEDFORD, MA — Adam Knight is one of five incumbent city councilors seeking re-election. There are 14 candidates vying for seven seats on the Medford City Council in the Nov. 2 municipal election, as well as contested races for mayor and school committee.

Medford Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles this week.

Knight was first elected to the city council in 2013. He has served in various leadership roles and is currently the vice president of the council.

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

Age

43

Position Sought

City Council

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

Wife Alison, two sons Ryan, age 7, and Brendan, age 5

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Medford High School
Merrimack College, BA, Political Science
Suffolk University, MPA

Occupation

Public Service

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Current Medford City Council Vice President

Why are you seeking elective office?

Serving on behalf of all our residents is a responsibility that I take very seriously. I am running for City Council because I want to make a difference in our Community. I believe I have something positive to offer and a record of results to back it up.

I pride myself on preparation, doing my homework, and understanding the issues. More importantly, I pride myself on being and outspoken and independent leader with a Medford first agenda.

I ask for opportunity to serve so I continue my work in advocating for swifter, more reliable, consistent and efficient delivery of city and school services.

We need to prioritize and allocate the necessary resources to deliver the basics to all Medford’s residents; public safety, public works, public transportation, and a adequate and reliable social service safety net for our disenfranchised residents and our seniors. We are not making the proper commitment and investment to achieve this goal. I will make it a top priority over the next two years to see that residents get the services they deserve-and pay for!

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

Zoning reform is the single most pressing issue facing our Council. Through zoning reform we can expand our commercial tax-base, establish sufficient new growth, deliver jobs paying living wages, stabilize neighborhoods and equitably provide residential tax relief to create a better Medford for all our residents.

As Councilor, my record shows that I have spearheaded measures to create new revenues, such as the adoption of local option taxation on short-term rentals, like Air BnB, ride share services, like Uber, and the voter approved sale of marijuana- generating new annually recurring funds for Medford. I have used our Zoning to deliver the City's first Inclusionary Affordable Housing Ordinance, and revitalization measures along Industrial parcels on Middlesex Avenue and 9th Street to bring over 200 jobs to the City.

Most importantly, I successfully advocated for the funding that allowed the Council to hire a Zoning Consultant. After over a years work, we have a proposed recodified zoning ordinance that has been submitted to the CD Board for Public Hearing. This proposal streamlines the permitting process, eliminates outdated and irrelevant sections and expands City control on development.

I intend to complete this review process and advocate for the additional funding necessary to start a second phase of review to update the Zoning Map of the City.

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

Experience. When first elected to the Medford City Council I brought with me 15 years of experience in government & a proven track record of results. Experience matters and it was because of this experience I was able to hit the ground running on Day 1, and haven’t stopped since.

Our accomplishments are many, but, just like then, there are still important issues we face as community and little time for learning on the job. I have degrees in Politcal Science and Public Administration, to get things done, you need to know how government works. I have unmatched experience working in government, where I saw the problems many communities faced, and was able to bring the resources and intelligence to work in a collaborative fashion to reach mutual satisfaction.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

We were all taken aback by the COVID-19 public health crisis, and it tested governmental agencies and social service organizations all across the spectrum. I believe we did a good job providing emergency relief measures, and helping those most affected by the pandemic. In many ways we rose and responded to the situation with food and rental assistance programs, virtual learning platforms for our classrooms, small business forgivable loans which stabilized our people and our economy, and allowed us to get through the darkest early days of the pandemic. But we still have long way to go toward reimaging and rebalancing and our economy. So many sectors of the economy, from hotels, to restaurants, the MBTA, and brick and mortar retail, have yet to fully recover. We must continue in our efforts to provide the relief, services and programming that proved so beneficial.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I've always felt that delivering results was far more important than political rhetoric. So While I am proud of our successes, I know we can do more, we can improve, We can be better. It's about delivering results and reaching our City’s full potential. To accomplish this we must establish an agenda for action, with focus on the goals we share & values that bring us together as a community. We must rebuild our City's foundation by taking action, by having a vision for our future and prioritizing investment in the reliable, consistent delivery of City and School services, so we can provide you the results that you deserve.

Local government plays an important role in all of our lives and our public policies should reflect just that.

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

I have been a leader, on bringing issues that impact our quality of life to the forefront, offering the most Agenda Items on the Council, passing 179/179 proposals including measures calling for: Food Trucks & Breweries, $15 Minimum Wage & Sick Leave Protections for City Employees, creating a Citizen-led Youth, establishing an Abutters & Beautification Committees, and In-Law Apartments and Comprehensive Zoning Reform

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Life is all about challenges and opportunities.

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

I am proud husband and father -who loves his community and asks for the opportunity to continue to help make it better.