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If you are exhausted by the tone and tenor of this year’s local elections, you’re not alone. I think we’re all disappointed that the conversation has devolved into name calling and one-upmanship online and, at times, in the pages of our local news sources.
Elections get heated, and people get passionate. But when a writer in The Daily News accuses the entire LGBTQ+ community of Newburyport of indulging in the “superficial gloss of flag waving” and “gay privilege” because they aren’t (in his view) adequately outraged about a city personnel issue, things have gone too far.
Re-litigating grievances, settling old scores, and pointing fingers might be politically effective or personally gratifying, but they don’t serve our community as we make important decisions about who we elect to lead us. Even worse, these arguments are focused almost exclusively on the past, when we should be talking about the future.
For me, the antidote to the ugliness of all of this has been speaking with young people about local government at the high school and middle school. These students were highly engaged and asked thoughtful, timely questions. And they reminded us all why we must lay the foundation for a better Newburyport.
Our young people need our help to build a city they can afford to come home to if they choose to live, work, and raise their families here. The Kmart redevelopment has become a lightning rod when it could be an opportunity to have a serious conversation about investing in the future by replacing much-needed rental housing we’ve lost. Is the project perfect? No—it’s still a negotiation in progress. But it’s the right thing to do, and it creates a more affordable option for people looking to downsize or get their start in Newburyport. We have other tools available too, so we need to keep working on this issue—because the vibrant city my husband grew up in should never become a gated community that locks our children out.
Newburyport must also modernize its approach to transportation, so we can be a place where kids can safely bike to school and seniors can easily get around town. Projects like the one proposed on Hale Street or efforts to improve multimodal connections along Low Street aren’t just about recreation; they’re about accessibility and affordability for people who ride a bus or bike to get to work. They also create a climate-friendly network that connects our community and allows us to commit to a less car-centric future.
We all must take up the responsibility of being the generation that invests in protecting and upgrading our critical infrastructure—especially our water and sewer systems—so we’re building a resilient Newburyport for the next 50 years. Claiming that not enough has been done or that costs are too high, while blaming others for the problem, accomplishes nothing. Now is the time to create a clear roadmap for addressing our aging infrastructure. As leaders, we have a responsibility to do that work thoughtfully and transparently, because the last thing that should ever be politicized is access to clean drinking water.
Finally, it’s time to show our young people the power of a community that comes together—not only to solve problems and build for the future, but to lift one another up. Newburyport has a proud history of refusing to accept injustice—of practicing disobedience in the face of oppression and taking risks to make the world more equitable and fair. That work is never finished. I, for one, will continue showing up to support the vulnerable and unseen, because while a flag raising or a remembrance ceremony may seem merely symbolic to some, they are profoundly affirming and protective for those whose freedoms or right to exist are under attack.
When the tone of local politics starts to sound like national politics, something’s gone wrong—but we can always make it right. We’re neighbors who volunteer together. We cheer on our kids’ teams together. When a family or group is in need, we pool our resources together. And no matter what happens, after this election it will be our job to come together once again.
Local elections matter, and I believe in what we can do together. We can’t afford to get lost in the noise or distracted by division. So let’s dig in to do what we’ve always done best: working hard, listening closely, and putting people over politics so we can keep making progress together.
Ben Harman
Newburyport City Councilor, Ward 4
Candidate for City Council, At-large
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