George Ryan: District 3
What would you say are the biggest challenges Amherst faces?
I think the first revolves around continuing to exercise fiscal responsibility in the face of pressures to fund new programs and positions. We have a financial plan that will allow us to address the four major capital projects and ensure our Town continues to flourish for many years into the future. But the success of this plan will require careful oversight and prudent fiscal management. The second concerns housing and housing production. Housing in Amherst remains expensive and often hard to find. Both State and Federal resources are available to help address the shortage of housing but it will require taking steps to encourage housing production. We need to act on zoning changes that will create more housing opportunities for people at all income levels. Housing affordability is not just an issue for those who are under 80% AMI. It is an issue for a wide swath of people that will require bold action on our part. The third challenge I think is linked to the first two. This Town needs to enter into serious and substantive conversation with the University and the two area Colleges on housing and economic development. The Town and its three major employers each exist in their own silos and conversation when it does happen is narrowly focused -- usually around compensation for EMS services or about modest payments to the schools. The latest discussion revolves around a proposal by Amherst College to erect a series of wayfinding signs on or near campus, some of which would be on Town land. A necessary conversation, yes, but hardly of any great consequence for the Town and its future. Any real attempt to address the challenges which this Town faces will require a serious conversation among the four key players on matters of real substance.
What relevant experiences and qualities would you bring to the Town Council that would help it work through these challenges constructively and effectively?
I would hope that my (nearly) three years on the Council have provided me with ample experience as well as evidence to others of how I approach problems in a constructive and effective manner. I have served on three Town Council Committees and currently chair one of them -- Governance, Organization, and Legislation. I take my duties seriously and always seek to work collaboratively and respectfully with my colleagues regardless of whether we agree on an issue or not. As a matter of course I always look to areas of common ground and seek to work on those, rather than focus on places where there is strong disagreement. I believe in the virtues of compromise and collaboration. It is about getting a positive result, not just about getting what you yourself want. Much of my work with GOL has revolved around the task of fashioning an effective Council Committee system and a set of policies and procedures that will guide Councils in the future. The creation of the Town Services and Outreach Committee (TSO) was one particular accomplishment that I am proud of (not that I was the only one involved in this; I was not). I felt that it was important that there be a Council body to which residents could go when they have issues or concerns over the delivery of Town services.
Have you ever served on an elected board or committee in Amherst and if so, what were 3 of your most challenging votes?
My first challenging vote came early on in my term on the Council. It concerned approval of Town funds to support Valley CDC's proposal to build 28 affordable studio units at 132 Northampton Road. The site of the project was literally at the end of my street. I can count on the fingers of one hand how many of my neighbors were in support of this project. Some of those who were opposed are people I have known for almost all the years I have lived on Dana street. It was not a difficult decision for me to support the project -- from my work on the Habitat for Humanity Board I knew Valley CDC, I knew their record, I knew that they have been doing projects like this in Northampton for over 30 years. But it was personally a painful vote and one that I know has cost me some support in my own neighborhood.
The second concerned the decision to remove the parking lot in front of Town Hall as part of a larger project to re-activate the South Common, to make it a place for people to gather and not a car depository. The total loss of spaces when all was said and done was a grand total of 11 spaces. But a good number of the downtown business community were against this proposal -- understandably they don't like any loss of parking downtown. I have been and remain a strong supporter of the downtown business community, I have a good working relationship with the Executive Director of the BID, and I am a long time patron of the Amherst Cinema. Here I had to weigh what I thought was in the long term interests of the Town against the concerns of some of the downtown business community. In the end I think this change will make the downtown a more attractive place for people to be and give them a reason to stay downtown which will benefit our downtown businesses.
The third is actually a vote that is coming up but has not yet happened. The Council will be asked to approve a Comprehensive Housing Policy. The question for me -- and for all of us on the Council -- is whether we can actually agree on a policy. Housing is a complex problem with many moving parts. It is also tied to debates about zoning and the desire by some of us to increase housing opportunity in Town by supporting zoning changes which encourage more housing through greater density. But some on the Council fear this and see it as forever altering Amherst's "character". I am not optimistic that we can find common ground here and that vote -- if it happens -- will be a good test of our ability to craft a set of shared goals.
What steps would you take to engage low-income residents, renters, residents of color, and other underrepresented voices?
I have been impressed by the Amherst Mobile Markets and how they have gone about empowering the community of need (in this case around the issue of food insecurity). One simple but key step they took was to ensure that all their organizing and planning meetings had the services of instantaneous translators in Spanish. They used the available technology in an effective and creative way to empower individuals who otherwise might have been left on the side. Another suggestion back before the days of COVID was to consider holding some Council meetings and/or some Council Committee meetings in locations in or near one of the large apartment complexes. I discuss below my efforts to reach one of the most historically underrepresented voices in our community -- students.
“One Town, One Plan” has been in development and in public discussion for over a decade. The plan is designed to meet the town’s most pressing infrastructure needs in a financially responsible way, and prioritizes the following four projects equally: the Jones Public Library Renovation & Expansion, the Elementary School Building Project, the Department of Public Works Building, and the South Amherst Fire Station. Do you support this plan? Why or why not?
Yes, completely. It offers us a roadmap forward which addresses our four most pressing capital needs and in a way that is fiscally responsible. As I said above the main challenge to this plan will be the ability of the Town to exercise fiscal discipline necessary to see it through.
As a member of the Town Council, how would you engage and communicate with your constituents, including those who have not previously been active in town politics?
I have an e-Newsletter (The District 3 News) that I have been putting out since I began my service on the Council. I just sent out the 25th issue. I try to make it informative. I do not use it as a platform to promote my own views. I give updates on what is happening on the Council (right now the big item is zoning proposals), news of events happening around Town, helpful links to Town services, info on cultural or social events, requests for citizen involvement on Town Boards and Committees. With my colleague Dorothy Pam I have held regular District Meetings, once in person but now on zoom. I have worked especially hard to reach out to the student community, meeting with various student groups (MassPirg, UMass Dems, the InterFraternity Council, the PanHellenic Council, among others) and encouraging them to become more involved in Town affairs, especially in areas that are of particular concern to them such as the environment, housing, and social justice. Each month I attend the meetings of the Campus and Community Coalition which for the past 15 years has brought representatives from Umass (Off Campus Student Life, UMPD, Greek Life), the Town (APD, AFD, Inspection Services), representatives from Hadley and Sunderland, and a host of other local agencies, to address issues around student behavior, particularly the use/abuse of alcohol.