Waltham Candidate Profile: Tom Stanley, At Large City Councilor

WALTHAM, MA — Waltham will have several contested races in this fall's election, including one that will determine who will snag the seat left by Diane LeBlanc as she makes a run for mayor. Waltham Patch asked candidates in the contested races to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Rep. Tom Stanley, 55, a lifelong Waltham resident is one of eight candidates running for the six at-large city council seats up for election. He's one of five incumbents along with Carlos Vidal, Kathleen McMenimen, Randy LeBlanc, and Paul Brasco running for reelection. Each of the incumbents have decades of experience in city council between them. Three new faces vying for a seat at the table include Colleen Bradley-MacArthur and Patrick O'Brien and Steve Lydon.

He and his wife Kimberly Bayliss - who works for the state auditor's office - have two sons, Ryan, 25, and Parker, 16. Stanley got his bachelors from Bentley and his MPA from Suffolk University.

For the past 18 years he's been a city council and worked in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as the state rep for the 9th Middlesex District. He's also worked as a real estate agent for ReMax in town in the past, according to his LinkedIn profile. [Patch previously included that he was currently at ReMax, but Stanley said his license has lapsed and he's no longer in real estate.]

As state rep, he's recently co-sponsored a bill that aims to require notices of pesticide applications. Another bill he co sponsors supports a feasibility study to look into how to more equitably distribute group homes throughout the state.

Previously: Waltham Elections 2019: Here's Who Is Running

Are you running for office in Waltham? Contact Jenna Fisher at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Waltham Patch.

The single most pressing issue facing our community is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Waltham needs to think seriously about transportation and infrastructure impacts as part of local land use and sustainability efforts. Sitting in traffic wastes time, fuel, and money, while needlessly harming the environment.

As City Councillor, I will work to fund the Master Traffic Plan which will improve signalizations and out of date intersections, make the city more bike and pedestrian friendly, and press state officials for improved public transportation access. Traffic conditions in Waltham are unacceptable. Kids no longer safely play along neighborhood streets or walk themselves to neighborhood schools because of excessive and reckless cut-through traffic.

Residents feel trapped in their homes because pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles cannot safely traverse our city streets and the local transit infrastructure is inadequate. Moreover, too many residents are forced to pay for repairs to their vehicles from damages due to the poor condition of many Waltham roads. As City Councillor, I will work hard to help reduce traffic congestion, improve walkability, make our streets safer for cyclists, make neighborhoods safer for children and lessen the stress of daily commutes.

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

Waltham benefits from having a City Council diversified in gender, age, culture, length of residency and experience. My long history of community involvement, education and experience in state and local government adds an important dynamic to the Council when making tough decisions for the betterment of all.

My unique role as state representative and city councillor benefits the City of Waltham as well. I have built relationships in both state and local government which directly help me address important issues in Waltham as well as on Beacon Hill. These experiences and the knowledge obtained, especially from my work on House Ways and Means Committee, are invaluable to my efforts as a Waltham City Councilor.

There are many important issues facing our city: funding and constructing a new high school, creating more affordable housing, constructing new fire and police stations, improving traffic, overseeing Fernald reuse and preserving the Waltham Field Station Farm, to name a few. My community involvement, education and state and local government experience make me uniquely qualified to help tackle these issues.

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

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

Ending a divisive two-year struggle within our community, I filed a successful motion to take the Stigmatine property by eminent domain for the purpose of building a new state-of the-art high school and preventing a massive private housing development along the Lexington Street corridor. Now it is time to ensure proper funding and timely construction of our new state-of-the-art public high school.

The nation is facing a critical affordable housing crisis. There are far too many individuals, families, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities who lack access to clean and safe affordable housing. I worked with my colleagues on the council and WATCH Inc. to pass a new ordinance increasing affordable housing requirements for housing developments from 10% to 15%. Over the next two years, I will work with colleagues to better understand the viability of increasing this requirement to 20%.

After years of work and collaboration between Mayor McCarthy, the Waltham City Council and the Waltham Fire Department, the Moody Street Fire Station design plans were approved and construction funded to build a state-of-the-art fire station. The modernized building, which will feature clean practices for the City’s 166 firefighters, will be a great asset to our community. Over the course of the next two-year term, I will work hard with my colleagues to successfully construct the new fire station and prioritize the site selection, design, funding and construction of a new modernized police station for Waltham.

I led the effort and made the motions for the City Council to vote in support of the Fernald Working Group’s recommendation to hire an outside professional planning consultant to manage the reuse process of the Fernald property. In addition, I made the motion and gained council approval to fund the process.

During our next session, I will encourage our mayor to embrace the Fernald Working Group’s vision of a community-driven and professionally-assisted re-use process. Waltham residents deserve an inclusive and transparent process for planning the future use of the Fernald. The future of this 189.7 acre campus, a National Historic Landmark, is vitally important to Waltham and deserves a professionally developed and competently-managed comprehensive master plan to achieve the best possible outcome for the City.

Working together with community advocates and both state and local officials, we successfully prevented the development of the UMASS Field Station property. Our next step is to secure ownership, ensure continued non-profit organizations use and develop a viable long-term plan to protect the farm land and promote sustainability. I support the mayor’s plan to purchase the farm with CPA funds. As city councillor, I will vote to purchase and protect the farm. As state representative, I will ensure the necessary legislation is enacted to make this a reality.

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

Over the last twenty years I have been very involved in every state and local public policy issue facing our community. From the closure of Waltham Hospital to preventing development at the Fernald and making the decision to take land by eminent domain for a long overdue high school many of these issues have been contentious. Through it all, I have always put the interest of our city first. This experience and public confirmation through re-election is ample evidence that I can do the job.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

Always put constituent service and the interest of Waltham first!

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

I’ve dedicated my career to working in public service because I believe in helping others and improving our community. Waltham is more than just a place to live. It’s my home and my neighbors are my family. I have spent my entire life here, watching generations of my family give back through community service. This life experience has had a profound impact on me and my commitment to public service and community. There won’t be a day that passes that I won’t be thinking of ways to make my community even better than it already is.

Your social media info (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook)

@RepStanley / Tomstanleyphotos / @RepStanley & Tom Stanley

My favorite aspect of this city is...

Waltham is an ethnically and racially diverse city; residents come from all over the world to join our proud community. In past years, our city embraced newcomers from countries including Italy, Ireland, England, Scotland and Canada. In recent years, we welcomed Latin Americans, South Asians, Indians, Haitians and Ugandans among others. We are a stronger and more cultural city thanks to these residents’ presence and contributions.

More on Waltham Elections:

• Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy Announces She Will Run
• Possible Challenge To McCarthy's Run For Waltham Mayor
• Councilor Diane LeBlanc Hints At Run For Mayor
• Waltham Councilor Diane LeBlanc Announces She Will Run
• Waltham Election Calendar: What To Know About Election Season
• Column: Why I'm Running For City Waltham City Councilor At Large
• Don Desrochers Announces Campaign for City Council Seat

More Waltham Candidate Profiles

• Heather May - Ward 2
• Sean Durkee - Ward 6
• Robert Logan - Ward 9
• Colleen Bradley-MacArthur - At Large City Council
• Steve Lydon - At Large
• Marisa Diamond - School Committee
• Jeannette McCarthy- Mayor