>> Despite several confirmations from the Yancey campaign, Councilor Yancey was unable to show up on time for the beginning of this conversation. He joins towards the end.
Thoughts, motivations, and goals of your race:
Andrea Campbell: “For me, from the beginning, I never make it about Councilor Yancey. Even before the primary, I didn’t make it about the other candidates. It’s about bringing a different perspective on how you address certain issues in the community that seem to be persistent, bring creative ideas... I am excited for the energy I bring to the table-- the new ways of thinking about getting things done, and also mobilizing the next generation...People are ready to to see new blood. And for me that’s new ideas, new energy, new thoughts, and new ways of mobilizing people in that community.”
What are the threads of your career past that sort of come together that you feel give you a good foundation to do this job?
Andrea Campbell: “So I left Latin school and went off to Princeton University and then left Princeton to go to UCLA for law school. Then I actually came back to Roxbury. I started my legal career in Roxbury at a non profit doing education cases, representing kids in school discipline cases, special needs cases, push out cases-- largely against BPS but sometimes they were METCO students... I have worked in the private sector doing some labor and employment work. I worked at a regional planning agency as a general counsel, and this regional planning agency-- The Metropolitan Regional Planning Council-- represents 101 cities and town in the state of Massachusetts, and Boston is one one of them. I left there to go work with governor Patrick. While I was at MAPC, I got a call from governor Patrick’s office and went to interview, and next thing you know, I’m working as an attorney for him. I’ve worked in both the private and the public sector-- the non profit sector. I bring a range of experience in terms of a legal background. And also in terms of public service work. I have worked with populations that this district consists of. Most of the kids I worked with came from Roxbury, they came from Mattapan, they came from Dorchester, and they were families that fell below the poverty line. I am the president of the board of a foundation called the Lionheart Foundation-- a national organization that works with prisoners and at risk youth, and they put out curriculum on social and emotional literacy. And so I’m passionate about work with prisoners. Many of the people in our community are re-entering after being previously incarcerated. So I bring a whole wealth of experiences that I look to bring to the Council to do things differently-- not just from my opponent, but also from other city councilors. I’m looking at what is possible out of that district city council office that hasn’t been done in the past and I see district four as being a model for many things, and I’m excited for what we can create. I love the fact that it’s predominantly a district of color in the sense that this is a district that’s been overlooked for a long time. We have a lot of residents that are passionate about so many different things-- who have been working on many issues for a long time. So I’m excited to be a partner with them in the work.”
You’ve said that you feel district four is not always getting the services that it deserves to get. Name some services that you feel that you’re definitely going to pursue if elected:
“There are obviously resources and services that come from the city of Boston, and I’ve found that many residents don’t know what those services are. So if you’re a senior, and you’re looking to repair your home, do you know what services exist in the city-- how to apply, what the application process is. And many do not. Making sure that our seniors and our most vulnerable populations know the services that exist for them if they are looking to address a particular issue and that we help walk them through the process. And the way for me to sort of do that well is for me to be accessible. We have a campaign office now, I would like to maintain that so if seniors come in there we can actually help them fill out the forms, or we deliver that information to them. But I also want to impress upon residents in district four that there are additional resources-- not just monies, but opportunities that exist outside of the city of Boston’s budget, but that are right here in the city. Many of which are right in the district. Many young people-- or older people are saying we want to see more trade opportunities for our young people. I immediately said 'okay, let’s reach out to the building trades.’ That’s not necessarily going through the city although there are some relationships with building pathways and other things. But lets go through the organizations themselves. I was calling the elevator constructors, I was calling the sheet metal workers, the carpenters, the plumbers, all of whom have endorsed me in this race, to say how can I work with you as a city councilor to create more opportunities for people in this community? How can I vet residents, and send you resumes, and things like that. I think that’s a little different from what my current opponent is doing. I have talked to foundations who say we have money for educational purposes.”
The question of violence. District four is often labeled wholesale as a place where violence occurs what avenues do you want to pursue to help people prevent or protect themselves from it?
Andrea Campbell: “So I think there’s a few things...one thing is community policing. There are a lot of residents in that district...who have creative ideas about how to improve community policing. Some neighborhoods in district four do it very well, so when I’m door knocking I actually see the same officers patrolling in the same neighborhood. One of the officers speaks Portuguese which is unique to a constituent base in that neighborhood. I’d like to see that consistently across the district. Looking at how we access officers. I was at a forum last night and we were talking a lot about unconscious bias and how do we change how we vet people who are going into the police force... how do we address that some residents including myself, we have unconscious biases, and when you’re a police officer in a particular community you obviously have to check some of those things. I talk about young people all the time. I go to forums and community meetings where we’re talking about youth violence reduction. We have clergy in the room, we have officers in the room, DCF, DYS, all the right stakeholders but no young people. I want to engage and treat young people like they are a stakeholder. Listen to them. Take their ideas, use them. Make them a part of these meetings. Make them welcome, and do it on a consistent basis. I’m also sick and tired of emergency meetings-- these meetings that are in response to a shooting. We need to be having these meetings consistently, and then we need to follow up....for me, we need a bottom up approach-- working with residents all year round, taking their thoughts and ideas, staying in constant dialogue is a way to do it.”
How do you feel about body cameras?
Andrea Campbell: “I agree with [Councilor Yancey]. If we can do a pilot program for dash cameras, I think we should do a pilot program at least for body cameras. There are studies across the country that when they actually put body cameras on police officers, they saw a reduction in misconduct complaints, so we should do it.”
How do you react to gentrification and affordable housing in district four?
Charles Yancey: “We have in many ways become a victim of our success. In my tenure on the city council, I’ve been pushing for some major infrastructure improvements, some major housing developments including hundreds of units on the Boston State Hospital site. We just opened five-- we have five stops along the Fairmont line which is a direct result of advocacy. And along that line, where commuters have easy access to downtown Boston-- which didn’t exist before-- there’s a great deal of development taking place, and a great deal of potential development. So that put pressures on the existing housing stock which is driving up the prices of course since we no longer have rent control in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. So that’s creating a lot of pressure. Our approach is to increase the supply of affordable housing units, and a mix of the type of units so that, at the Boston State Hospital site, for example, we have the a development that provides housing for homeless individuals who otherwise may well be on the streets. We are also pushing other developments in other areas of the district. Fundamentally we have to deal with not only the cost of housing, but also increasing employment opportunities so people can earn a livable wage, where they can afford new and existing housing in the city of Boston.”
Thoughts on the proposed city council pay raise:
Charles Yancey: “I didn’t say I support it...at all. That’s strictly the prerogative of the mayor. The mayor submitted a proposed ordinance which has not been acted upon. I certainly believe that all legislative bodies should be eligible for pay increases over time. Certainly over a decade. I don’t think anyone is going to argue that the city council as well as the mayor’s office should not see salary adjustments at least based on the CPI. I don’t think it should be controversial. I also believe that what’s before us in terms of the mayors proposal to increase the mayor’s salary and the city council’s salary is relatively modest when you consider that it hasn’t changed in a decade. ”
Andrea Campbell: “I’m in opposition to the pay raise, and I’d first like to se a couple things before we even contemplate a pay raise for the city council. One is defining a job description, actually putting a job description written down somewhere on the city of Boston’s website about what the expectations are for the district city council to do, taking that into consideration when determining how much they should make. I agree with Councilor Pressley and Councilor O’Malley that maybe we tie it to median income for the city of Boston. So if that goes up, the city council raise maybe goes up, if that goes down, the city council salary goes down, but the current proposal that sits before the city council... I think should go to a vote. Going forward I would like to see the city council not vote on their own pay raise but currently this is where we are. I don’t think it should become law without the citizens of Boston hearing from each and every councilor how the feel about this particularly proposal. And lastly, my opponent has supported a pay raise in the past and I remember when Councilor Linehan put forward his proposal for pay in crease, Councilor Yancey you pushed for something even higher than that. So I think we need to talk about that, and I think it’s important for residents-- and district four residents in particular to know that. I don’t support a pay raise at this time.”
Final Statement:
Charles Yancey: “I have a solid record for effectiveness. We built the Mattapan branch library-- which is the most technologically advanced library in the city of Boston-- every year my office and family distributes new books to the children of Boston. For 29 years we have distributed well over 650,000 new books. We’ve established the parental school leave ordinance, which allows families, parents and guardians to take upwards of three days a year off of their job to visit their children during school hours. We’ve required that all Boston Public School buses have the yellow crossing gate on the front bumper to provide greater safety for the children. We’re very successful in getting a police station built in the district, which did not exist before my election. We build the Galvin community center and the Mildred Avenue Center based upon the wishes and desires of the residents ...In conclusion, we still have a lot of work to do. I’ve proposed that we require police officers to have body cameras. To institute more accountability with the police including the establishment of a civilian review board and of course continue the fight to actually build Boston’s first new high school since 1979 on the grounds of the Boston State Hospital.”
Andrea Campbell: “I started this Campaign with prayer, and it continues to stay in that space. This truly is a calling on my heart. I share often the story of my twin brother, which most people know, and so this campaign has always been-- and will continue to be-- about bringing in more opportunities, particularly for young people in that district so that we don’t get different life outcomes (like my twin brother and I). It’s about bringing in more resources, it’s about being more proactive, more accessible, more accountable, and going forward and looking forward with a vision of bringing more of that community together. I would also say about engaging these next generations. I’m 33. I have a brother who is 19, and there is a generation after that, and at some point we have to engage them in the civic process. They have to know that their voices matter, at the council level, and in other political spaces. I’m excited to do that, and I hope I can count on each and every resident’s vote on November 3rd. We’re going to continue to work hard. ”
