EDWARDS IS OUR CANDIDATE
Dear Editor:
We are supporting Lydia Edwards for district city councilor because we believe she will be an effective community organizer on the front lines of gathering Charlestown around important community concerns. In her significant previous job experience, she has proved capable of building bridges and setting an inclusive table with disparate parties to find constructive solutions to complex issues. We know that there are divisions in Charlestown, but she will have the experience, skills and perspective to assist the town residents in finding widespread consensus.
In her current position as deputy director of the City’s Housing Stability Office, she is responsible for programs that assist displaced residents, whether from eviction based on disputes with landlords, rent escalations from gentrification, or other emergencies. She works with landlords, management companies, housing authorities and tenants to find and identify affordable housing.
She came to the city from Boston Legal Services, where she worked to prevent human trafficking, and negotiated, developed and got passed legislation for the benefit and rights of domestic workers. Her family experience is in public service, as the twin daughter of a single mom, a 23-year veteran of the Air Force. She has a JD from American University, and a masters in law from BU, and has clerked for the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. She graduated from Fordham University with highest honors.
Charlestown will be extraordinarily lucky to have smart woman to represent our interests at the City Council and with the mayor and his department directors. She is articulate, poised, and presents herself in an honest and straightforward manner, and routinely asks, “What are you concerned about?” rather than solely speaking to her positions on issues.
We urge our fellow residents to vote Lydia on Sept. 26.
Mary C. Boucher
Ivey St John
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT
Dear Editor:
My name is Tiara Murphy, and I am the President of the Charlestown Resident Alliance (CRA), formally known as the Charlestown Tenant Task Force, located at 76 Monument Street Charlestown. We are the resident council advocating for the 1,100 families living in the BHA Bunker Hill Development.
It is with great appreciation from the CRA that we can come together and change lives for the better by providing vital resources to all families of Charlestown. It takes a village to not only raise a child, but also to raise a community, and together, this is where we can start. We, the CRA are in the process of finalizing plans for Unity Day.
Please, we ask that you join us for our “Rock the Block” Unity Day event on August 19, from noon-4 p.m. on the Carney basketball court located on Monument Street.
Tiara Murphy