Tim King
timforwaltham@gmail.com
781/502-4534
My name is Tim King and I am running for Councillor-at-Large for the City of Waltham. Waltham is where I was born, raised, and have chosen to remain. I brought my children up here, worked an entire 31 year public safety career for the city, and aim to continue my public service by becoming your next councillor-at-large.
In addition to being a retired detective sergeant and spokesperson for the police department, I am also an attorney and practice primarily in labor law. Part of my practice includes lobbying at the Massachusetts State House for working men and woman across the commonwealth. I draft legislation, support and oppose legislation, and work on proper funding of initiatives in the state budget process. In 2016, I was appointed by the Governor to the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. I have been an active member of the board and am a member of the audit and finance, and capital programs committees. The MassDOT board is responsible for approval and management of any transportation project over fifteen million dollars. We manage a two billion dollar annual operating budget and a nearly sixteen billion dollar five year capital improvement plan, with a spend of approximately two billion annually for projects across the commonwealth. I have a strong knowledge and background in state and municipal budgeting, financing, and capital improvement project development and implementation, as well as the legislative process. I have also had the honor of being appointed to a number of boards and commissions over my career, which have broadened my experience within government.
My wife and I attended Waltham Public Schools and graduated from Waltham High School. My children also attended Waltham Public Schools. I have been and continue to be involved in Waltham community and sports programs. I have coached Waltham Youth Baseball in both North Waltham and Warrendale. I also coached Waltham Youth Hockey and Waltham Youth Soccer, where I was a board member. I was a member of the Plympton School Council and also a member of a principal selection committee.
What do you love most about Waltham?
The absolute best thing about Waltham is that it is a mid-sized city, but has a smaller town feel. Waltham has always possessed a strong sense of community. This is evidenced by the participation in programs the city offers, the attendance in events like the fireworks, and the manner in which people come together in times of tragedy. There have been many unfortunate incidents where the community has banded together to provide financial donations, food, furniture, and other assistance to those in need. This love of Waltham is shared by both those who were born and raised here and those who have come and stayed because they enjoy being part of this community. Waltham has always been a welcoming and inclusive city, which I believe to be a large part of people coming together and sharing our experiences. Another large factor in our community feel is a result of the effort of so many in our school system. At the elementary level an emphasis is placed on events that bring children, families, and caregivers together. We have made lifelong friends from our elementary school experiences. As the children get older, sports, music, theater and other events bring people together participating in these school sponsored programs.
Another thing to love about Waltham is that our downtown area is thriving with small
businesses of all types. Many cities across America have become cookie-cutter reproductions of each other. We have a wide variety of businesses to choose from that are not big box chains and this demonstrates a success in our zoning. While we do have some very successful national scale businesses mostly adjacent to the highway, and their presence is welcome and necessary for a healthy economy, we have maintained a strong small business downtown area, which adds to our sense of community.
One of the biggest reasons to love Waltham is the fact that we live in a safe city. That is a testament to our public safety personnel, police, fire, and EMS. Without properly funded, staffed, and equipped public safety departments, our city would not be a place where you can live, work, and play as safely and openly as we do.
What would you change if you could?
One of the most overused words in politics is change. It seems like some politicians gauge their success by how much perceived change they have made, while never really exploring the outcomes. Change simply to say you changed something is not necessarily healthy. There is such a thing as negative change. That generally occurs in government when things are not thought out and studied, or when things are done too quickly. Any change in our city has to be based on improvement and that improvement has to come with a well thought out plan. Government is a slow moving machine and if you change something without looking at all possibilities, it can take decades to repair. There are certainly things in our city, like all others, that need improvement. We can make these improvements without changing the character and identity of the city we have chosen as our home. People who were born here stayed for a reason, and those who came here stayed for a reason. It is because Waltham is a great place to live. One thing that definitely needs improvement is certain aspects of our school system. Our MCAS scores are low and there seems to be a number of issues that need to be explored. I support our educators and their efforts at providing our children with the strong educational base they need to flourish. I also support efforts to abolish the MCAS, as I believe it distracts educators from their primary goal of teaching the curriculum as opposed to teaching to a test. While these issues are generally a function of the school committee, I do believe it is the role of a city councillor to advocate for issues that can improve the schools. One of which would be advocating for an alternative high school for those who are not succeeding in the traditional model, as well as workforce development, further training, and placement for those in the CTE (Career and Technical Education) programs.
What is one burning issue you plan to address if elected?
One issue that we need to address is the prevention of over development. There are a
number of communities in the area that have become completely over developed and it has overburdened their infrastructure, resources, and schools. While I am very supportive of good strong development that is healthy for our community as a whole, we need to be sure when issuing special permits or exploring zoning changes that we are sure that the project or zoning will be a benefit to the majority of the community. I will work with the other councillors to keep special permits and zoning changes in check, while supporting development that works to better our community.
Thank you to the Waltham League of Woman Voters for giving me the opportunity to present some of my ideas and thoughts on our great city through your thoughtful and insightful questions.