Newton mayor won't seek new term
School plans face challenge
Mayor David Cohen of Newton announced yesterday morning that he will not run for reelection, but a new challenge surfaced, threatening the $197.5 million high school he wants to build.
A group of residents has organized a ballot effort to repeal $56 million in funding for the new school. They seek to collect enough signatures to put the question on a ballot in September.
News of the weekend referendum surfaced on the same day Cohen announced that he will not seek reelection, calling the city's May 20 override vote "more important than my political career."
Cohen was under pressure by former political supporters to announce that he would not seek reelection after disclosure that he budgeted a 28 percent pay raise for himself, despite the prospect of teacher and police job cuts in the city.
"The hard-working proponents for the override publicly expressed their concern that if I stood for reelection it may have an adverse effect on the override," his statement said. "The outcome of this is far more important than my political career."
However, the proposed ballot initiative signaled that controversy in Newton over the school, the override, and Cohen may not subside, despite the mayor's announcement.
Janet Sterman, organizer of the ballot drive, said yesterday that the soaring cost of the high school sparked the ballot initiative. The Board of Alderman approved $56 million of the total earlier this year.
"I can't believe they [the Board of Aldermen] allowed the project to get close to $200 million without asking anybody if they wanted to pay for it," she said by phone. "For the price to go up 39 percent in one year is just outrageous. I think it's embarrassing."
City spokesman Jeremy Solomon said that if the effort were to succeed, it would set the project back and add more costs to the project. The new high school is scheduled to open in September 2010.
"While we understand the concerns of residents who feel the project is expensive, this effort will undoubtedly at the end of the day add costs to this project," Solomon said.
State officials have said that a preliminary review found the general construction costs for the school to be 25 percent higher than average.
Cohen has defended the increases, citing rises in the costs of raw materials and efforts to create an environmentally conscious school design.
To get a question on a ballot, organizers must collect 2,600 signatures and submit them to the city Elections Commission by 5 p.m. Monday.
Backers of the possible ballot measure will fan out across the city, heading to post offices and supermarkets, to get signatures this morning, organizers said.
If those signatures are certified by the city Elections Commission, the Board of Aldermen is required to set a date for the question to go on a ballot.
Paul Levy, chief executive of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a former Cohen supporter, praised the mayor for stepping aside.
"I think it was a very gracious and thoughtful act that shows David's overriding concern for the good of the city," he said.
A pro-override group, Move Newton Forward, called the mayor's announcement "selfless."
Alderman Jay Harney, a Cohen critic, questioned whether the move signals meaningful change. The mayor will serve another 19 months, and, if the override passes, the $12 million will be his to allocate.
"He's been so stubborn and adamant about building this ridiculously expensive high school," Harney said. "He's got us in a real bind." 