Peabody Candidate Profile: John Salisbury-Rowswell For Council

PEABODY, MA — Peabody will have several contested races in this Tuesday's election, including a seven-way race for five at-large seats on City Council and contested races for city council seats in four of the city's six wards. Peabody Patch asked candidates in the contested races to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Incumbent John Salisbury-Rowswell, 59, is running for election to Peabody City Council in Ward 4. Salisbury-Rowswell is a molecular biologist and lives with his wife Kathleen. He has not previously held elected office.

Are you running for office in Peabody? Contact Dave Copeland at dave.copeland@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Peabody Patch.

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

The most pressing is the JB Thomas/King Street project, since the NEXT City Council will decide what goes in there; a big condo development, or homes that match the zoning and are like all the homes of the area.

The JB Thomas project isn't JUST about the quiet Emerson Park neighborhood, it is an issue of inside deals, motions and votes scheduled to avoid involving the neighbors, the powerful influence of developers who contact the right people, and the lack of voice the people of Ward 4 have, until they organize. Constituents have busy lives; they expect their Ward Councilor to represent them, do his homework, always give them TRUE information (not make them fact check everything), and consult them before votes are scheduled, not when caught by citizens. The Ward Councilor should make getting involved and informed easy, not as hard as possible.

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

I plan ahead. I do my homework. I'm good at juggling lots of complicated issues. I make fact-based decisions, and am scrupulously fair.

I have had a career of (partly) teaching, and can boil complex subjects down to understandable bites - that's essential to being a good teacher, and SHOULD be necessary to being a good councilor (not politician - no-one understands THEM, and they like it that way). Walking the neighborhoods convinces me that residents would love to be more involved, and are interested in local, practical issues, if only it weren't muddied by spin and partisanship.

I like the thought process. I will definitely try to convince you if we disagree, but always argue fairly, never bully. Scare tactics and misinformation are NOT part of my way of dealing with people. I believe Ward 4 residents are sensible, reasonable people, and my role is just to make sure they have facts, real facts, they know them in a timely fashion, and they will make good decisions. I promise to be a terrible politician - I'll tell you if I disagree, I won't do favors for endorsements or votes, or developers.

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

He has the priorities, avoidance of issues, communications, and job record of a Politician, not a Councilor. There isn't a photo-op he doesn't do. Don't get me wrong, if elected, I will probably go to lots of official functions; you never know what an event means to people. But when getting the photo and being in the official party is all you communicate to constituents, when it seems to be the purpose of being a Councilor, something is wrong.

Transparency. What promises have been made.

What residents NEED to know is not events attended, photo ops, endorsements, or content-free testimonials. What people want to know is how you stand on issues, what challenges are ahead, what is going on that will affect their lives and properties, and facts, sourced, accurate information. I intend to, and have been, as transparent as possible, and that is very possible. In what residents need and want to know, our present councilor is absent. He is absent from debates, won't debate online, won't weigh in on issues so that everyone can see where he stands, and is accountable. He solicits endorsements from PACs, but does NOT tell you what he promised to get that help, and you know those promises are always paid out of YOUR pocket.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

Affordable Housing

First, State initiatives and rules are really directed to Boston's problems, not Peabody's. We have to work with them, but need to recognize that they aren't written for us. Blindly following them will not solve problems specific to Peabody.

Peabody HAS a great deal of affordable housing, and it had well above the limit of State-recognized affordable housing until those affordable covenants were bought out, to give the Administration had a burst of extra cash. The latter was grave mistake. In the future, we need to make affordable covenants as long as possible, and not allow buyouts unless they serve the long-term needs of Peabody.

Walking the neighborhoods, it is apparent that we DO need more assisted-living housing, and low income housing for seniors. Instead of taking the initiative to partner with non-profits, which might be interested in building what Peabody needs, we pass off the needs to unaccountable for-profit developers. The needs of Peabody for housing are not going to be met by approving huge numbers of $500,000 condos, with a small setaside of $300,000 condos (what the State says is "affordable"). That is a Boston/State priority, that is concerned with more and more housing, not better meeting the needs of Peabody. Meeting the State benchmarks adding 5 affordable units for every 100 built will require the construction of an entire new Ward Precinct.

The needs of Peabody are better met by taking the initiatives I mention above, or by bypassing the State, and instead offering help to owners of affordable housing that the State doesn't recognize. Helping the owners of mobile homes (which the State does not recognize as affordable, even though they are to most people) to upgrade their units would benefit more Peabody residents, and make their neighborhoods stable.

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

It is tempting to give my whole CV, which is long, but I have interviewed enough people for jobs, that I know that people really want to know is how I am going to do on THIS job of serving the public.

I help my neighbors. I help them because they are my neighbors, and my wife and I like them. I don't help because I need votes, or testimonials, or because it will help my career; I've had a career. My neighbors are fun, interesting, and very different from us, and we feel we hit the neighborhood lottery. That is the only reason to run for Councilor, and the best motivation to be Councilor.

During my career, I've worked with amazing artists, many near-Nobel scientists, and tech b/millionaires. I am NOT going to be impressed with an outside developer or Politician, nor am I going to be impressed with myself for meeting with them. The only interest group I care about are my great neighbors.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

For Council? Best advice was from a biotech investor - success doesn't all depend on having the best ideas, it comes from NOT doing stupid things. Always listen to your critics.

Previously Published Peabody Candidate Profiles:

Candidates for reelection are marked with an asterisk (*).

City Council, At-Large

John DeRosa

Anne Manning-Martin *

Ryan Melville *

Tom Rossignoll *

City Council, Ward One

Craig Welton

City Council, Ward Two

Jaclyn Corriveau

Pete McGinn *

City Council, Ward Six

Keith Doucette

Mark O'Neill *

PMLP Commission

Charles Bonfanti *

Ray Melvin