Meet the Candidate- Jim McCauley (Mayor)

This profile is part of a “Meet the Candidate” series. All candidates were given the opportunity to answer the same questions. Their responses are published verbatim, without any editing.

Why did you decide to run for office?

Newburyport is a special place for us all. It is the city where my wife and I raised our two children and the place where I have been actively involved in community-based organizations and charities for three decades.   I have become increasingly concerned about the direction of the city, especially when it comes to our finances because without financial flexibility we cannot tackle our challenges.

My campaign represents change.  For some the idea of change is unsettling, however,  if we are to continue to shine as a great place to live, then we need:  A change in our approach to government to address the challenges ahead; A change in culture for how we interact with residents and;  A change in tone to restore civility and mutual respect in our public discourse. 

As I knock on doors, I commonly hear residents share that over the past four years, they feel being “talked at” and not “listened to”.   This needs to change.  City government is meant to serve its residents.  I will work to implement this.

I believe that if elected as Mayor, I have the necessary experiences in City government as well as the experiences developed over 40 years of business success to create long-lasting successes.

If elected, what would be your top 3 priorities?

1. Restore fiscal discipline to better manage City spending so we can have the flexibility to invest in the projects we need.

2. Create a culture of respect for residents, for staff, for our volunteer boards and commissions, and interactions with the City Council

3. Invest in schools in support of improved student experiences and outcomes

How has prior experience (either professional or personal) prepared you for this role?

My background in both business and public service has given me the skills and perspective to effectively manage our City through the challenges that lie ahead. 

For 40+ years, I have successfully helped businesses of all sizes overcome complex challenges. I’ve effectively managed people, balanced budgets, prioritized project spending, and delivered results.   I have taken this approach to my work on the City Council, where I have advocated for investment in key projects to keep us moving forward but I’ve also called for more fiscal  discipline in our discretionary spending.  This is not a contradiction, but rather an example of “smart investments”

My work includes serving on influential committees and have worked on such projects as Fire Station, Market Landing Park, Outdoor Dining,  Plummer Springs Bridge Agreement, Phillips Drive, serving on the adhoc on economic development, Revised our trash ordinance to expand composting, introduced traffic calming measures in our streets, amended zoning in support of economic growth, and authored an ordinance protecting citizen’s privacy.

Additionally, I have a day job working for Nokia.  I’ve been there for 20+ years in a variety of roles.  For the past 6 years, I’ve managed a team of 100+ members covering service-based projects in North and South America. For the past 4 years, My team has scored 100% (#1 in the company) on a Change Index scorecard which measures team ethics, diversity of team makeup, and performance results.

My City and Private work experiences blend the value of planning, goal setting, collaboration, compromise, respect, adaptability, financial acumen, and delivering results.

What can city government do to make local housing more affordable?

Housing affordability is really driven by market forces…supply versus demand, which is beyond the scope of local governments.  However,

Local governments have 2 tools; those being zoning and taxation.

Newburyport historically has been pretty progressive in managing zoning rules to allow for housing.  Newburyport is a guided by a Housing Production Plan, adopted an Affordable Housing Ordinance, Created 40B (Smart growth) district, complied with MBTA (3A) Multifamily Housing, and ADU regulations from the state.  Plus we annually fund, via CPA, an Affordable Housing Trust. In addition, our ZBA actively works to accommodate housing growth with applicants.  These policies have created an increase in supply, but the homes are not less expensive.

Newburyport has not aggressively used tax policies that disrupt the models for house  flipping, or levy excise on house transfers, or unoccupied homes. While these policies may feel good to some, they further drive up costs, as well as, pit private land owners vs public policy. 

This housing affordability crisis needs a broader community wide discussion about how to build partnerships with landowners, developers and public policy leaders that meet our reworked objectives.

Do you think residents are getting their money’s worth in city services from taxes?

Residents should feel that the services they receive are worthy of their tax dollars. Newburyport provides residents with a full range of services as categorized as Public Safety, Public Works, Parks and Recreational Access, a public Library, various Social Services and of course our school system. What I hear most, regardless of age group, is a concern about the pace of tax increases. Spending has risen 20% these past 4 years on just basic services and yet residents feel we still have not addressed critical items including maintenance on our buildings (est $+10m), fixing our boardwalk ($2.4m), securing our infrastructure against climate change (est $5-20m),  or removing PFAS from our water ($23m). As a City, we need to prioritize a pathway forward despite the uncertainty of securing federal and state grants.  

How would you balance historic preservation with more practical concerns like safety and accessibility?

Newburyport is unique in its historical significance and the character of our historic downtown, homes, and neighborhoods.  There does not need to be a choice of either/or.  I think we can do both.  We’ve shown our ability to bring together residents, community stakeholders, and local business owners, to work together to find balance while embracing innovative solutions to access and pedestrian safety while preserving  our history. We need to support this collaboration.

How do you think Newburyport schools stack up against others in Essex County?

Schools are the very foundation of future success for our children.  I’ve seen first hand the power of education.  My father was employed in the Everett School system for 42 years, and Principal of the High School for 15+ years.  My 2 sisters were teachers.  After years of classroom experience, one became an administrator; the other a public school psychologist.    I appreciate the hard work undertaken by staff and administrators to meet the needs of  our students.

Newburyport has good schools.  They do a wonderful job of building a sense of community for students, parents and faculty.

Any comparison of schools means we’ll use a ranking system.  Please note that there are a multitude of criteria for rankings, and the results aren’t always an accurate reflection of a student’s (or parent’s) experience, so we should take rankings in context.  For this question, I used a ranking by Public School Review.  The criteria is the combined math and reading proficiency scores. These results can be argued as one-dimensional in representing student outcomes, but are nonetheless illustrative of Newburyport’s rankings.

Essex County has 217 schools to rank.  Newburyport Schools consistently ranks in the top of the rankings.  Ex: NHS ranks #11 (top 5%), Nock #73 (top 33%), Molin #80 (top 37%), Bres #45 (top 21%).   This is also true if we expand the rankings to the state level.  The state ranks 1626 schools.  NHS #133 (top 10%), Nock #672 (top 50%), Molin #744 (top 50%), Bres #427 (top30%).   If we take NHS as an example and dig a bit deeper into the numbers, we find that in 2021 NHS’s statewide ranking was #32, and today it’s #133.  While still in the top 10% statewide, are we asking self-reflecting questions like What are other communities doing to show increases, when we are not?  Could NHS be doing something different? Can we identify additional resources that may be needed?  How can we as a community be supportive of improvement plans? These types of conversations are never ending for our school’s leaders, because in the end, we all want quality schools.

What else should voters know about you?

My wife, Liz, and I chose to move here 32 years ago to raise our growing family and to contribute to building a welcoming and supportive community of friends.  My son James attended Newburyport Public Schools prior to graduating from St Johns Prep, my daughter Kaitlin is a NHS graduate, and is a volunteer assistant NHS Varsity Field Hockey coach. Both are now fully launched into their own professional careers.

I am a proud graduate of St. John’s Prep and Boston College (Go Eagles!)

Jim McCauley is Newburyport’s current Ward 5 City Councilor, and running for Mayor. Election and early voting information can be found here.