Medford Candidate Profile: Charles Patrick Clerkin For City Council

MEDFORD, MA — With the Medford Municipal Election scheduled for Nov. 7, Patch is profiling the candidates.

Here, we learn more about Charles Patrick Clerkin, who is one of 12 candidates running for the seven seats on the Medford City Council. Four of the candidates are incumbents: Zac Bears, Kit Collins, George Scarpelli and Justin Tseng.

Clerkin, who will be 30 years old on Election Day, has a mechanical engineering degree and has worked as a mechanical engineer, handyman and entrepreneur. He has never held public office.

Candidates were sent questionnaires and filled out the answers.

Name

Charles Patrick Clerkin

How old will you be as of Election Day?

30

Campaign website

https://www.clerkin4medford.co...

What city or town do you live in?

Medford

What office are you seeking?

City Councilor At-Large

Education

BS Mechanical Engineering, Northeastern University

What is your occupation?

Mechanical Engineer (7 years), handyman (4 years), entrepreneur (1 year)

Family

Single

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

No

Why are you seeking this office?

To unify at a time of deep division — address polarization, complexity, civics and development barriers that stand in the way of shared projects.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ____ and this is what I intend to do about it.

Partial/Incomplete Information

• Run a civil campaign focused on neighbors rather than culture war wedge issues in order to get people to sit at the same negotiating table.
• Meet with the other candidates and appointees outside of chambers to keep a human face and nuance to the issues.
• Push for the rebirth of a city paper with a common project agenda, which will be delivered to a key location in each of the 16 precincts.
• Talk to each of the 37 department chairs and the mayor to make sure they understand how their projects overlap before encouraging them to make a map layer of their efforts. All the map layers will be brought together in a document in a common repository available to all 60,000 residents. This will reveal Medford in full dimensionality to each resident, investor and employee.

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

I'm not affiliated with a national campaign, party, ideology or special-interest group.

I have breadth of experience and accomplishment, which offers me a wider lens beyond my years.

I have a patient, curious and courteous temperament that helps people to rise above day-to-day irritations and character attacks — I assume the better in people and that you must give them the room to mature their opinions and better themselves rather than putting them on the defensive.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?

Current officeholders have leaned too heavily into partisan grandstanding, low-substance culture war wedge issues, and narrow special interests causing trust to remain low.

It's not entirely their fault because civics have been eroding for 75 years but they have not made it better.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

Renegotiation of terms with Tufts University and the Chevalier Theatre

Sanitation and eyesores

Parking enforcement

Risk management and lack of city solicitor

Closing the generation and skills gaps

Education fit for the 21st century that isn't based on the industrial Prussian model of standardizing students to be factory workers, soldiers or managers

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

President of fraternity for 3 terms

Chairman of House Ministry at Union Congregational Church in North Reading for 3 years

Trustee of fraternity for 4 years

Extensively well-read on many technical and humanities topics … particularly the lessons of history

Extensively conversational with all variety of personalities, demographics and beliefs, casually and on a podcast

Extensively traveled around the precincts of the city, the cities/towns of Massachusetts and the states of the country

Professionally familiar with:

• practical limitations and hands-on skills (handyman)
• design, supply chains and mediation (engineer)
• team building and economy of words in messaging (entrepreneur)

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Nosce te Ipsum (know thyself) — written on the top of each weekly syllabus by Mr. Putnam, my literature teacher at North Reading High School.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Medford needs your participation, your open mind and heart, your courage and your vision. Once enough people realize this we will accomplish what right now sounds ridiculous. We can rise above petty rivalries and focus on making Medford work for all residents, employees and investors. End the standoff and talk to your neighbors. Medford as either broken into divided shards or forced together in some unified lump is a false choice. The city can become a mosaic of diverse opinions that overlap and complement each other in a functionally integrated whole. A vote for me is a vote for this Medford.