WGBH Radio; The Callie Crossley Show

I'm Cally Crossley This is the Calla Crossley Show. One former city councilor Chuck Turner was slapped with a three year sentence behind bars. He said he wasn't backing down. He promised to appeal and to return to politics. Meanwhile an alternative scenario is playing out. Seven candidates are on the ballot vying for Turner seat. Belt Turner's term ended in scandal. He served his district for over a decade. With distinction and an unparalleled commitment to the community. Whoever wins this race has a legacy to live up to and a tarnished reputation to clean up. This hour we host the first of two round tables with the men and women who have tossed their heads into the ring. Up next Boston City Council turning a corner. First the news from NPR News in Washington I'm Lakshmi saying.

Pitch battles in Egypt's main square firebomb stones bottles hurled between pro and anti government protesters today in the more than week old uprising against President Hosni Mubarak. NPR's Eric Westervelt is into a square where despite the escalating violence security forces appear to be holding back. It's like falling in Syria there's a curfew but both sides are ignoring that and continue to clash in the streets with rocks and Molotov cocktails metal bars Glaxo anything they can get their hands on. The military is pretty much letting this go on. Anti-Mubarak forces say these are all hired thugs and members of the police and security forces. That is not confirmed at the wide consensus here among anti-Mubarak forces. This is sort of payback by the police and pro-Mubarak forces. NPR's Eric Westervelt in Cairo. NPR's Scott Horsley reports President Obama is expected to brief reporters at the White House this hour about the uprising.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement condemning the violence taking place in Egypt televised pictures of peaceful protest have given way to violent scenes of clashes between demonstrators and forces loyal to President Mubarak. President Obama has repeatedly stressed the United States opposition to violence in Egypt. GIBBS Is the White House is also concerned about attacks on the media. Scott Horsley NPR News the White House. The latest winter storm weighing down on the Midwestern U.S. is being described as the worst in decades and Chicago is in the thick of it. NPR's Cheryl Corley joins us from Chicago where the snow accumulation is expected to reach how high Cheryl now almost as high as 25 inches or so. This is really the third largest snowstorm in Chicago since the city began keeping records and it's still coming down there about 20 inches of snow on the ground right now at O'Hare Airport. There's Lake effect snow falling and expected to continue to do so in the morning and that means the visibility is really really low here. We have

schools closed today also limited or no flights at all at O'Hare Airport and Midway Airport. We also know the storm has had an impact on the Chicago mayoral race which has been attracting national attention. Yes the former chief of staff to the president Rahm Emanuel is one of the mayoral candidates former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun as well this was supposed to be an early voting day. That's not happening today with all of this snow and cold. I think Cheryl NPR's Cheryl Corley reporting from Chicago this storm is barreling toward the northeastern U.S.. Parts of which are still recovering from last week's storm. At last check on Wall Street the Dow was up four points to twelve thousand forty five. Nasdaq up slightly at twenty seven fifty one. This is NPR. Another insurance company in California has agreed to postpone a rate hike. Steve Julian with member station KPCC reports Blue Shield's decision affects

200000 policyholders some of whom would have to pay nearly 60 percent higher rates than they paid in September. California's new insurance commissioner Dave Jones does not have the authority to reject outright health insurance premium increases but he asked Blue Shield and several other companies to give him 60 days to review impending rate hikes so he can ensure they comply with federal and state laws. Anthem Blue Cross and Pacific Air agreed. But Blue Shield initially turned him down. In a statement yesterday the company announced it acquiesced to remove any doubt that the higher rates are necessary under federal health care reform laws. Insurers must spend at least 80 percent of premiums on actual care. For NPR News I'm Steve Julien in Los Angeles. Today President Obama signed the new START Treaty with Russia that limits the number of strategic warheads each country can possess to fifteen hundred fifty down from 20 200. The pact also re-establishes a monitoring system that

expired in December of 2009 when an earlier arms treaty ended. The Obama administration considers the latest agreement critical to better relations with Russia. Russia signed the treaty last week ratification will be complete though when both sides exchange the signed agreements. Here's an update from Wall Street the Dow is up four points to twelve thousand forty four Nasdaq composite index up slightly at twenty seven fifty two. The S&P 500 down 3 points at 13 0 5. I'm Lakshmi Singh NPR News Washington. Support for NPR comes from the Scole foundation supporting social entrepreneurs and their innovations to solve the world's most pressing problems at Ask 8 o l l dot org. Good afternoon I'm Kelly Crossley. This is the Calla Crossley Show last week former Boston city councilor Chuck Turner was slapped with a three year sentence behind bars.

His response he vowed to appeal and to return to politics. Meanwhile a different scenario is playing out. There are seven candidates vying for his seat this week and next we're hosting round tables with the men and women who have tossed their hats into the ring. Today we meet three of them aspiring city councilors Tito Jackson Cornell mills and Danielle Williams. Welcome to you Well thank you very much. Listeners if you have a question for the candidates please post them on our Facebook page. That's Facebook dot com slash Calla Crossley Show. So the preliminary election February 15th is coming up rather rapidly and I dare say that a lot of people still don't know much about the candidates running for this seat. So the questions today are really to try to give people an understanding of who you are and what's going on. So first let's start with you Daniel how would you characterize District 7. I would characterize it by saying that there are

many facets to the to the community. There are people that are working people in a lot of them have two and three jobs as I'm knocking on doors that's when I'm finding out. And then there are a lot of people that are 50 to 60 years old that are finding themselves out of work and looking for second and third career. Also finding a lot of families in the community and District 7 and a lot of those families are families that I've helped to support and give services to over my 20 years of experience working in city and state government. Then there are lots of young people including young professionals between the ages of 24 and 35 that are looking for places to go to to to hang out with their peers. So there's a lot of issues that within the community including jobs and and and and. Other things that

that that the community wants and it's looking for and hopefully I will be able to provide as that city councillor. OK that was Danielle Williams she's running for District 7 city council seat left open by Chuck Turner. Let me remind our listeners that District 7 includes Dorchester Roxbury lower Roxbury and parts of the Fenway and the South in Cornell's the same question to you would you characterize District 7. Well District 7 is a very diverse district. The large African-American population in Roxbury make up the majority of District 7. We also have a pretty big Cape Verdean population in the uplands corner section. There is a Latino population that exists primarily in Eggleston Square and also in Roxbury and we have a huge BLT population in the south in. There are a lot of hardworking families but there are a lot of tough realities in our district that we're going to have to face head on. We have the highest unemployment

rate in the state. We have the highest high school dropout rate in the state. And the way I like to characterize it and it's an unfortunate characteristic is that as a as a district where at the bottom of every list that's good and at the top of every list that's bad. So we have to really be hands on and proactive in trying to change that paradigm and really find a leader and a counselor who's willing to advocate for the most marginalized members of our society and unfortunately District 7 consist of a lot of those people. OK that was my guest Cornell mills running for District 7 city councilor C. And to you Tito Jackson. Thank you very much Kelly. Again my name is Tito Jackson and I'm a candidate for district 7 city council district seven is the only district that you can march in the Puerto Rican Day Parade. The Caribbean Carnival as well as the. As well as the pride parade. And I've done that for the past three years. It's a very diverse district as as was noted and we have some very big difficulties. One of the huge difficulties is we have

double the unemployment rate that the rest of the city has. We're up around 15 and a pocket 20 percent unemployment. We have 11 schools closing in the city. Nine of those schools are in District 7 and that is obstacle that we have. But Cali what I see is really hope and opportunity and District 7 and that's how we're going to be able to turn that around. We have an empty building right in the middle of District 7 called the Ferdinand building that I'm 35 years old I've never seen it open the unlocking the Ferdinand building and developing that great building. It would be one of the ways that we turn around the Dudley Square area. I also think when I when I look at this extension I have the ability and the experience to bring jobs to my background in the Patrick administration as an economic development. I worked there for over three years and I was helped to bring over twenty five hundred jobs. What people need in District 7 is economic opportunity. Entrepreneurship and jobs and I have the experience to bring those jobs to this community

and revitalize that neighborhood. OK that was candidate Tito Jackson running for district seven city council seat. If you have just if you're just tuning in we're talking to three of the seven candidates vying for former city councilor Chuck Turner seat in District 7. Next question Cornell Mels Let's start with you. What is your relationship to District 7 I mean how how are you connected to it. I am a lifetime resident of Boston. I'm currently a homeowner in the district. My husband I'm a father of four children. We when my wife and I were looking for a home you know we looked in and we looked in Randolph but we ended up buying a home in Roxbury as a lifetime resident. I've always been involved in politics and community service and also in community building so you know I'm currently a real estate professional. I own a real estate company right in Roxbury and over the past couple of years my focus has been primarily on foreclosure prevention with

a large amount of foreclosures and with District 7 being hit the hardest by those foreclosures. A lot of my my clients who I formerly done business with have called me. And that's desperation and in need of assistance so I started doing some foreclosure prevention trainings just as a hands on advocate to to some of the problems that come up. My history is is. And a lot of different fields. I always tell people I run my real estate business because it helps feed my family. But I work in the community because it helps feed my soul. And I've been a volunteer as a youth baseball coach for a number of years. I started a mentoring program. My high school which myself and a lot of the other alumni have started. So I have a long history Calley of just being involved with the district. I'm a former homicide investigator with the Suffolk County district attorney's office. And that job actually gave me a unique perspective of the issue of crime and violence which is really my number one platform issue. As I move forward and hopefully when you're supporting your votes

on February 15th So how did you get a unique perspective. Well it's twofold. My my primary duties were crime scene response. I did witness relocation and some family advocacy. So as I would respond to crime scenes and I'll tell you a quick story I was in the South and for shooting one day and there was an older the older woman that was in the window. She was a little hesitant about coming down and about talking to the police. But after after all the police had left she kind of motioned to have someone come downstairs and asked me to come up to her apartment to talk to her. So you know we had we have this this relationship with the police that has been somewhat strained over the years and we meaning the community and the community. I think you know we need to really identify what our issues are there's there's this huge misconception that that snitches that snitching is the same as witnessing you know a witness is someone who happens to be a bystander who sees a crime happen and the snitch is actually someone who's involved in a crime and then decides to turn on on their on their codefendant and cooperate with the police so we need to really change the

dynamic on how our conversations are had but outside of my work inside with the district attorney's office in the upper rankings of the Boston Police Department I've worked with with Brother brother to see from the Nation of Islam out of reverence Brevan Dickerson's church we've done the peace walks back in 2004 2005 going into the housing developments dealing with these at risk youth on the street level you know at late at night 10:00 11:00 o'clock at night where they are comfortable trying to provide alternatives and steer them away from lives of crime. All right. To you Danielle same question. What is your relationship to District 7. I I grew up in Roxbury. I grew up off of humble down and I also raised two children off of humble that I also was I'm a graduate of Boston technical high so I have some involvement with the Boston public schools not only. My own personal education but my education making sure that my son was educated through the Boston public schools at the Louis school. I have raised my children there but not only have I raised my children there

and been a mom and Roxbury I've also done other things. I've worked for. I started my career working for Gloria Fox. I also worked for Chuck Turner in his district office and worked with residents bringing services to them. And because of that I I began. I started working as a as a housing advocate because I knew that a lot of the problems in the community stem from not a lack of having a house in the having someplace to live. So I've worked as a as a housing out advocate for several years and then I began working as a union organizer. Knowing that as the director of constituent services for Felix Arroyo knowing that a lot of parents were unable to stay home and raise their children because they had two and three jobs I wanted to find a job of find a job that help people get better wages so that they weren't working two and three jobs.

And those are the things that I've done within the community and I also in our youth leader at my church I go to Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. And I feel that in order for me to to to be a true leader people need to be able to look at the things that I've done and the only way that they can see that is through the things in the lives that I've impacted. And I believe that I've impacted lives and changed lives for the better through the through being a youth leader through being a housing advocate through delivering services to the to the community. I know that you mentioned you were a mom and Roxbury So that has a great amount of resonance for you as well. Well it definitely does because. As a mom and also working at City and state government with elected officials I know that they're the voice of mothers is not heard. And that's why I'm running because I know that the voice of mothers especially women of

color is not heard at city hall or at the State House for that matter representing Roxbury. And that's why I want to. That's why I'm running this race. You know as a monk whose son was shot and then and knowing that the police are there is this this this this relationship with the community and the police as Cornet. Cornell alluded to in terms of the stop snitching thing. I believe that most people want to have a relationship with the police. I know working through Felix's office going to neighborhood organizations and going to neighborhood meetings. People were saying we want to be able to to have better communication with the police department and how do we facilitate those things. And as I'm walking around and I'm talking and doing door knocking people are still talking about that. And one of the issues they're saying is they don't know who the district captive is for your area be. We know who the patrol

officers are but the district captain is the person that sets the tone of public safety for our community. And we'd like to know who this person is. I know that Dudley main streets. I know that the that the business owners there know him but the community does. The residents don't you. All right. Tito Jackson same question. Yes your relationship to District 7. I'm in love with District 7. It's a love affair. I was born and raised in this community. I'm actually adopted I was adopted and born and actually born at Boston City Hospital is now Boston Medical Center and I was adopted at the age of one month to two amazing people. Herbert and Rosa Jackson My father was a community activist. He passed away in 2002. He went away to Roxbury Workers Association and imparted upon me that we have to do more. So they did they did more when it came to adopting four of us. And Kelly they had no idea that they were going to have to

feed me. You know speaking of speaking I mean the job you definitely have an extra job to do that. But I was it was shown to me at a very early age that you have to really take part in your community. My mom and dad actually had fifty two foster kids come to their home. So it's just a really loving community. I started in leadership roles at a very early age at the old end WCP office that used to be. I was elected president of the Youth Council and then from there I actually after school I want to head and began to volunteer in a Citizen Schools program. I also was part of this organization called dunk the vote where we registered over 40000 people across the city of Boston. And actually we called it the hip hop generation I was 18 at 35 to have people civically engaged to understand what voting was about and understand how to get involved in the

civic process. So that has been what you know what I've done. And again the real issues that folks are facing. When it comes to foreclosure prevention when it comes to affordable housing when it comes to the real crime that's out there the real crime is that folks in our community don't have jobs that we have doubled the unemployment rate and that there's not the opportunity to turn to something illegal you know and we want we need to make sure that we have the be on the first day we are rolling around with training wheels that we have the rolodex that we need that need to have that we have the connections at city state as well as federal level to make sure that we get the resources that we need. And Kelly That's what I bring to the table here. And I would love for folks to vote for me Tito Jackson on Tuesday February 15th. All right Tito Jackson Cornell mills and Danielle Williams They are summary of the seven candidates vying for the District 7 city councilor C. I'm Kelly

Crossley and this is the Kelly Crossley Show. We will be back after the break to have more conversation with him and listeners next week we'll meet the other four candidates. If you have a question for these candidates however please post them on our Facebook page. That's Facebook dot com slash Calla Crossley Show will be back after this break. Stay with us. But the. Support for WGBH comes from you and from the New England mobile book fair in Newton for 54 years. New England's independent bookstore. The New England

mobile book fair. Find them online at an e-book fair dot com. That's an e-book fair dot com and from Newberry court a full service residential community for persons over the age of 62. Newberry court invites you to try the sleep on it program. You can experience the community and sleep on it in one of the guest suites Newbury court work. Live. JOURNALIST The NASA's come by the Boston Globe's former Middle East bureau chief blogs that when an authoritarian state collapses all bets are off as to where it could lead and who might assume power on the next FRESH AIR we talk with him about Egypt and his new book about Hezbollah called A Privilege to Die. Join us. This afternoon at two hundred eighty nine point seven. Hi I'm Brian O'Donovan host of a Celtic sojourn on WGBH inviting you to join

singer songwriter Robbie O'Connell and Me this spring for an Irish soldier and we'll explore island's best of the West with stops in Galway and the cliffs of Moore. We took more Abby stop for a pint at the famous McCarthy's bar in West Cork and each night we'll sit down for a session with some of the area's based musicians spaces limited. Sign up at WGBH dot org slash learning tourist. I'm Christopher Campbell joined me and my co-host Bridget Lancaster an all new show America's Test Kitchen radio. We're taking calls to cooking question recipes and this Saturday 2:00 right here on eighty nine point seven. Good afternoon I'm Kelly Crossley This is the Calla Crossley Show. If you're just tuning in we're looking ahead to the preliminary election to fill Chuck Turner's seat on the Boston City Council. There are seven candidates vying for his seat. And today we're talking to three of them. Next week we'll talk to the other four. Joining me today are Tito Jackson Cornell mills

and Danielle Williams. Listeners if you have a question for the candidates please post them on our Facebook page. That's Facebook dot com slash Kelly Crossley Show. And we do have a couple of questions from Facebook which I'm going to get to in a minute. So now that we've had a chance for you all to sort of in a relaxed manner give us a sense of who you are I'm going to move you through some questions here so that we can get to some of the Facebook questions. First of all starting with you. You know I haven't started with you but why city council or why City Councilor mark my objective it is to continue to fight for social justice and equality in District 7. I really want to continue what folks they have come before me such as Mel King Bruce bowling Council Turner and my father have done. I want to be the voice for District 7 not only on city hall but also if need be at the State House. And if I have to go down to Mr. Brown's office and make sure Senator Scott Brown. Yes yes Senator Brown's office to make sure that we have what we need. That's why

I'm running for District 7. Born and raised in this community. And as we know again jobs is truly the issue that we that we need to. Those are the things that we need to bring to this community. My background is in economic development. I have the experience I have the relationships to make it happen there. And I will bring all of those things and leverage all of those things to make sure that District 7 is well represented that our community gets back to work that we begin to see the bright lights of businesses in and around the Dudley Square area. Many of the negative elements that are there would be gone if there were restaurants as well as small businesses as well as artist lofts and in around that area. OK. All right Cornell same question why City Councilor. Well the job of city councilor is unique in that you're not really a legislator. And I sense you're someone who's an advocate. You're a leader you're a champion for issues that are difficult and somewhat heartening to the community so I feel as though my experiences through throughout my life have kind of prepped

me and prepared me for this position. You know the best indicator of what someone is going to do is really what they have done so over the course of the last 10 to 15 years as I mentioned earlier I've owned a number of small businesses. So I personally have created jobs for residents of the district. I currently own a real estate firm and I have I have two employees that work with me who live in the district. There are people in this district whose homes I have saved from foreclosure. So all of these issues that are at the top of the minds of people in this district are issues that I've been actively working on. And the job of city council just allows me to have a bigger platform to continue to fight for this district and for the people. We can do so much as citizens in this in this community that if we're really really dedicated to community building then there's there's there's no stopping. Well you know what the what the possibilities are so. I'm pushing to become the leader of this district because I want to take a hands on approach to the issues that are most important. Number one being crime and

violence dealing with kids on the street level going into the programs going into the high schools to deal with the six out of 10 black and Latino males who are dropping out and I think an effective mentoring program is the best way to do that. And obviously we saw the state of the Union Address from Barack Obama last week and mentoring was a large part of his speech. You know as young black and Latino men we need to see positive role models who can help steer us through life struggles and we have a great alumni network in Boston that will help do that. All right Danielle could you repeat the question again why city council or why I'm a city councilor Why is it why are you going to say because I believe my 20 years experience working in city and state government. Will benefit the community. I believe that my knowledge of the community and my ability to talk to people in the community and not only the people in the community but at the State House. Many of the state reps and senators

are my friends as well as city counselors that I've helped to put into office and I feel that my background my experience affords me that that opportunity would afford me that opportunity to to to be a strong advocate for our community for District 7. I believe my experience working within the unions and talking to workers at hospitals and finding out that a lot of the baby boomers that are leaving positions that can be held in by younger people that are coming out of the Boston public schools and being able to facilitate some some type of program so that they can get licensing so that they could have jobs once they get out of school. For those people that don't want to go to go go to higher education I believe that that just talking to people and finding out the things that the community wants and needs and not just saying hey we need jobs but here are some ideas for jobs in the community. I

believe I bring that to the platform. OK. One of the things about Chuck Turner and we've talked about his legacy love M.R. or hate him is that he was right there for the constituents in that community at all most times. And he also spoke up at every given point you might not like what he had to say but he spoke up on behalf of his constituents. What are you prepared to do to walk in that legacy. Let me start with you Tito councilor Turner spent over 40 years of his life advocating for the folks in Roxbury and in District 7. I'm prepared to take that passion and align it with my background and business development and economic development to make sure that our neighborhood gets all of the resources all of the jobs and all that we need to make sure that district seven lives up to its true potential. KELLY One day I want the tour to come down to the station. That's how how revitalized I

want that area to be. So when it really comes down to it again I will take that passion and drive it councilor Turner had and pair it with my background and knowing how to bring jobs I actually know. Last week you had some folks on your show. More talking about traumatic brain injury and your questions. I helped a company called zenith which had many folks scattered all over the country moved to low and they have a helmet technology that helps folks and sports as well as our soldiers to prevent it from getting prevent them from getting concussions. I have the background and knowing how to bring jobs and work with companies to make that happen. So I take that passion and drive and partner with the economic development and business skills that I have and we will get District 7 to where it needs to be going down else. Well the legacy of Chuck Turner I think speaks to his supporters and the constituents in this district who know that Chuck was a hands on advocate.

He was a leader who wasn't afraid to stand up for people's rights. And the thing that stood out for me about Chuck Turner's legacy is that he was involved and he was engaged long before he became a city council. So as I mentioned earlier you know the best indicator of what we will do is what we have done. I will continue with that legacy that Chuck has has left for us as a young man you know I'm 36 years old. I have a large group of supporters who I've worked with over the years who are very active in who are ready to deal with this issue of crime and violence. Head on. We are engaged on the street level we're engaged in the housing developments and in the in the prison system so I think that there has to be some sense of community that's brought back to this district into this race. The issue of community policing is one that's at the top of that list because we've gone away from from from the focus of it which has always been community and it's been more of a faith based and police based issue. We

need the kind of reinstitute these specific successes we had in the 90s with community policing in order to address the issue and create some some impact. OK. Then you know the legacy that Chuck left that Chuck leaves for me is that you know when I think of Chuck Turner I think of a strong advocate I think of a strong pounding fists for the community and terms of of of advocating for the things that the community needed. Whether people agreed with him or not I come from him. I come from his office and his office and within the community was like a family and his open door policy that he had and has district office where anyone from any walk of life through the district or outside of the district could come in and in and get things that they needed for for themselves and for their for their organizations. But more importantly. Part of

the legacy that I want to continue of Chuck's is to have a district office and to keep a district office within within the District 7 community. And I'm prepared like Chuck was to to give part of my salary to that and maintaining staff that is diverse that makes up the the look of the community which is what I learned working for. Felix Arroyo You know I feel that the Cape Verdean community is definitely under served. I believe that the black community is definitely under served and I believe that there is the rehab community as well as moms single moms that are struggling every day to to put meat and potatoes on their their their their table as well as lights and gas. And when I worked with Chuck in that district office those are the type of people that came into our office people that were struggling to pay their lights and gas and

needed someone to help them and assist them with rent to rear edges and to keep them in their homes and foreclosures was a major part of that too. But made but the major part was people that just needed some help with lights and gas. OK. You have each mentioned your you're kind of your main focus but I want to all of our listeners to be clear. If I heard you correctly you know your main focus is jobs jobs jobs. You're focusing on crime and violence. Cornell mills and you about making sure that there is a communication across all the parties who interact with members of your constituency. Danielle so I want to just very quickly make certain I heard that correctly and you correct me if not Danielle your main focus will be my main focus will be on making sure that residents of District 7 get the type of services that they deserve from city and state government. OK. Now my my main focus is going into the office of

city council will be to take a hard look at all of the agencies who are receiving funding to do crime prevention. So so that we can get a better sense of what kind of measurable outcomes we're getting from those from those dollars and to find a way to redirect any monies that are being used effectively to those people in those agencies that are doing the doing the right job by the constituents in this district. Kelly we have a lot of good people who are doing bad things because they're poor they're in despair and desperate. And the only way that we fight the desperation and despair is with opportunity and economic opportunity is the way to make it happen. We need to make sure that folks have to have to have jobs and have economic opportunity. I think the biggest crime that we have out there is really around folks not having jobs and that this part of the city has double the unemployment and unemployment rate that other parts of the city has. If we are able to bring back economic vitality I think you will see many of the ills and needs of that community

be changed. OK let me just go to some Facebook questions I have one here from you male Sara he asks. Yes I'm very concerned with the state of education here and he in Boston. I'm a high school student with special needs and I am very disturbed that charter schools can discriminate against special education students. Will you support the cap on charter schools knowing that it can discriminate against students with special needs. Danielle. That's a good question. I would not be supportive of anything that's going to be discovered by Tory at all. OK. All right. Well as as we all know Cali education is really the civil rights issue of our time. I work strongly to support law students and parents and concerned citizens who are working with the Boston public schools and really to take a hard look at the issue because when we have this myriad of issues facing the

community we're forced to kind of do what's best for the greater good. So we need to look at look to see just how many families and how many residents are impacted by the charter schools and find a way to proactively advocate on behalf of the greater good without disrespecting any other pockets of the city. I think one of the misnomers out there is that charter schools are the answer. I think they are part of the mix of the answer. I think the real issue here email is making sure that we make sure that charter schools begin to accept students who have special needs and this language learners and broaden their population. One of the and I think one of the criticisms of charter schools is that sometimes they're not as inclusive as they should be. So instead of you know capping them I think the real issue is making sure that we hold folks accountable and that we broaden this these these schools to make sure that folks who need a little bit extra help are able to

be involved in all schools. Nine out of 11 schools are nine out of the 11 schools that are closing are in our district. One of the other places that we need to make sure of is that schools that have been have been renovated. One of them High Park High 30 million dollar renovation that these schools are not moved the kids from district schools are moved out of the schools and then kids from charter schools are moved then we need to make sure that all of our young people in particular the ones in district schools get the type of quality education that they deserve. I wonder if each of you that was Tito Jackson I'm also speaking with Cornell mills and Danielle Williams They're all candidates vying for District 7 city council seat. I could describe quite briefly a day in the life of campaigning I mean you've got to have your full time job and campaign because this election is coming up fast. February 15th. Cornell. You know I'll start with just to say one brief comment about the last question. I have two children that actually did attend a charter school and it was done based on a lottery lottery

process so they attended the Boston renaissance. It was it was strictly you know unbiased as to how they received the applications and they were fortunate enough to get in so we need to really kind of get educated on what the process is before we kind of jump out on a position on it. But as far as the campaign goes it's tough sledding specially in the middle of the winter. My day normally starts with shoveling trying to get out of the house trying to get down the steps and make sure that my children are able to safely get back and forth to school through the course of the last several weeks of the number of radio spots we do visibilities throughout the throughout the week. We also do visits to homeless centers we do visits with elderly residents of the district. So there's a lot of door knocking. There's a lot of phone calling that has to be done just to raise money. Have you learned something new about the district that you didn't know before. What are the thing that I'm hearing from most residents as I'm knocking on doors as well. How do I know you're going to be here. You know when the election season is over so you know I

don't want which is a great question and you know it's a recurring thing because you know as someone who's volunteered in this district for so long you don't really do it for the accolades and you don't do it for the recognition you do because it's the right thing to do. So now that I'm running I'm having to kind of lay my platform and my history out there for everyone to see and I always tell them I've been here for a long time I've been in the shadows but now I'm out in the full force they are here to run and hopefully gain your support your vote. Daniel Williams Day In The Life then wife of Danielle Williams as a campaigner. I have to say this is been a serious transition for me I've been I've managed other campaigns and I've worked on a variety of campaigns for the past 20 years and being the candidate has been a very it's been a serious experience. But it's been something that I've enjoyed and I am loving this new challenge because I believe it's changing me and humbling me. I think if anything I'm

learning is to become much more humbled and feel like I don't have all the answers but I can find them and not feel afraid that I can't. I don't know I don't know certain things. I think the new thing that I learned that was helpful is I also worked for Barack Obama. I volunteered in four different states and one of the states that I started off early in was New Hampshire. So while I was collecting signatures I have forgotten that ink pens free forever. So you learned that on your campaign this time around. Yes so I have been collecting signatures and the pen was frozen. I learned to get a felt pen. Very good. OK. All right do you know Jackson. Yeah it's a long base. But mind you Kelly we're in Black History Month right now. There's a lot of folks who came before us who really

were the ones who knocked down the door so we can actually sit in the rooms that we're sitting in. So we owe it to them to have these long days. 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. standouts three times a week for me. It seems that I'm a good predictor of snow. So every time I do a stand out it does snow. And you know on the phone as was mentioned before you know we have campaigns do cost money so we need to fundraise. So we've been doing that you know anything new for a while being out there. Everything about the district. You know one thing that I learned about the district is that folks really really really need jobs. Every There's almost every other household that I speak to people are discussing that issue. And I also learned one other thing. I have had a little gentleman. His name was Emanuel eight year old boy and he said to me Mr. Jackson you look like the president. And I told a man you know I look like I hate the president.

OK. But so you're getting young constituency I would say yes now. All right well we if you're just tuning in we're looking ahead to the preliminary election to fill Chuck Turner's seat on the Boston City Council. And there are three seven candidates vying for his seat and three of them are here today Tito Jackson Cornell mills and Danielle Williams. If you have a question for the candidates please post them on our Facebook page. That's Facebook dot com slash Kelly Crossley Show. The election is Tuesday February 15th. And we'll be talking more with them when we come back. Stay with us. That the. Support for WGBH comes from you and from opera Boston presenting the New England premiere of Hindemith's cardiac about an artist whose love for his creations turns deadly for his customers. February 25th. Twenty seventh and March 1st at the Cutler Majestic Theater

opera Boston dot org. And from safety insurance committed to safe driving safety insurance would like to remind Massachusetts drivers that it is now illegal to text and drive. You can learn more at safety insurance dot com. Be safe don't text and drive. Next time on the world one calls for discontent in Egypt. The cost of living is getting to be on air and there's no change in the salaries. A young Egyptian man can't afford to look for a wife. He has to pay some money has to bring her and Jodi Gold or diamond depending on the social class marriage out of reach for some Egyptians That's next time on the world. Coming up at 3:00 here on eighty nine point seven WGBH. Right now one of the most popular DVDs in the world. Is a co-production of the

BBC and WGBH Boston. This is great. When the call is a really great song it's Downton Abbey. From the beloved PBS series Masterpiece Classic continue the legacy of masterpiece and will funk you with a DVD copy of Downton Abbey for a contribution of seventy five dollars almost all the details are online of WGBH. Everybody has his own story the world he has seen didn't involve his belongings. He definitely gave my love. Coming up on eighty nine point seven. WGBH. Good afternoon I'm Cally Crossley This is the Calla Crossley Show. If you're just tuning in I'm hosting the first of two round tables talking with the candidates vying for former Boston city councilor Chuck Turner see. I'm speaking with Tito Jackson Cornell mills and Danielle Williams. Three of the seven candidates running in the special election next week will meet the other four

candidates. Listeners if you have a question for the candidates please post them on our Facebook page. That's Facebook dot com slash Kelly Crossley Show so let me go to one of those Facebook questions this is from Carlos. He asks what basic services will you deliver to District 7. That rarely has clean streets and parks basketball courts and commercial districts. You know one of the basic services that is in need right now is to make sure that snow is removed and in particular in a business district. I did a stand out yesterday morning. When you stand at your stand out talking about talking to folks they were not there in the snow I write about that I mean my my little lingo OK. And much of the Times Square area did not have the snow removed. So I immediately went down to DPW and reported it and asked them to make sure that they were removing removing the snow. We need to make sure that all of our basic services including And I do this on a regular basis. When I see a light out

I call that in to make sure that it is taken care of and I think all of the basic services need to be extended to everyone in the city and in particular in District 7 Cornell mills. Well the basic services that we all kind of deal with on a daily basis involving trash pick up obviously in the winter with snow removal and also keeping our parks in our and our recreational centers clean and free of trash. I think as a community and as as residents of this community they're so much more that we can do obviously the city and the government they do their part but there's so much more we can do as residents to get more involved in making sure that we actually have a mechanism in place where we have a way to take care of our own needs. And I think that can be done if we look at you know Boston water and sewer or national grid. There are a lot of our street corners they're fixing issues and they're dealing with the issues. But a lot of those people who do work for those companies don't actually live in District 7 so if we can

find a way to to create create an environment where the jobs in the in the the employment that's going to the needs of the district are filled by people who live in the district then that will help us to kind of generate that sense of community that that's been missing. Danielle I think in terms of basic needs of the community. It's not just trash removal and it's not just snow removal and it's also the street pavement. And another month we're going to have a bunch of potholes and people need to be able to know who to connect to to bring those services to them. But also in addition to that it's also people that are looking to improve their homes and standing up at CBA with them. It's also a business owner Yeah. Let's just zoning board of appeals. OK. OK. It's also not only that it's also standing with business owners that are planning on opening businesses in the district. The licensing board. So

there's a number of of every day quote unquote every day type issues that that the community needs some type of services through and I've been doing that for the past 20 years. Kelly can I just toss in one more thing. The summer jobs program just opened. They can call 6 6 1 7 6 3 5 hope and that will allow young people in our community what's in this is a basic service that they need which is a job for the summer that summer job program just opened February 1st. So get on the phone and make sure you get yourself a job. OK I'm glad you mentioned that both my daughter and my nephew took advantage of the hope line program last year and were able to work. And the city threw that program so it's a great one that we need to fund and continue to support. There is also some though there's also some problems with that knowing that young people that have Cory's they're not able to get those jobs. And it needs to be open for all young people in particular. We should consider young people with Cory's because if they need an

opportunity and if they're not getting opportunities when they're young then they're not going to feel that they can get them as they get older. OK this is fast fast around this came from Facebook. We want to know some specifics that you have done for the District 7. So do you know what jobs if you landed into District 7. What jobs have I managed in terms of the actual jobs and District 7 specifically. I would say my purview at the state wasn't pushing jobs directly to District 7 so I can't tell you the companies that we've actually located there but I can let you know that I did work with a company called Kadian. We bought them from Cambridge. I'm sorry from Nashua New Hampshire and we brought them into Lowell Massachusetts and now they're a company that's located in low mass. I work at Microsoft they had 800 employees when I first started working with them and now they have 2000 employees and they're opening another one. So what I'll do is I will use those

opportunities and those relationships to build on. I make sure that I bring those jobs to District 7. OK moving quickly Danielle what tangible changes have you made in District 7. Well that's from our Facebook questionnaire I think the most tangible way. The things I've done for the community as been you know working as a union organizer making sure that people over hundreds of hospital workers that had jobs two and three jobs just to maintain a standard of living are now have negotiated a contract where they're getting better wages benefits benefits and one of those benefits is the opportunity to go back to college for free as well as job security. Also tangible when when when a mom has no money to pay her rent or mom has no no way to live and I'm helping to put her in housing. That's tangible. I think when when moms or people don't have enough money to pay their rent their gas and their lights and I'm able to keep their lights and gas on that's tangible.

OK. Cornell how many foreclosure cases have you addressed and fixed. There are about six people who have saved their home. The issue of foreclosures is complex because what happens is as President Obama rolled out his Making Homes Affordable program for a lot of homeowners really didn't know the details they didn't know the language in terms of speaking to the banks to take advantage of it. So I've had to kind of shift from my brokerage to kind of being an educator in this work is totally free. I don't make any money from it. Obviously people who are dealing with foreclosures don't have money to pay the bills that I can with so there are about six people whose homes I've saved and I look forward to educating you know a larger larger portion of this community on just how to go through the process. OK 30 seconds why you have all seven candidates Tito Jackson. My name is Tito Jackson and I'm a candidate for district seven. I would surely appreciate your support on Tuesday February 15th. I have the knowledge the passion as well as the relationships to bring District 7 up to its true potential. My background as an economic development. I

know how to create jobs and jobs is exactly what people in the District 7 need. So on Tuesday February 15th I'll surely appreciate your support and your vote. OK. Cornell's why you the dame of my campaign is real experience real results as a as a leader in this community as a homeowner a husband a family man and a community man. I feel that it's always been our responsibility as people who live in this community to support it. I feel like I'm the best leader to do that based on my history of supporting and advocating for this community over the course of the past 16 years so I respectfully ask for your vote on February 15th and I thank you Kelly for allowing us to use this forum to get our issues across. OK then you know why you. I think my 20 years experience working with city and state government can help move District 7 4. I have three words to say to the listening audience service commitment and experience.

Twenty years experience I hope that people will go out and vote for me on February 15th and I believe that I will be the right choice for them. And you all have our have websites. You know let me let me give your website then you. It's W W D R W city council dot com. Cornell w w w dot Cornell Mills dot com. Jack's minus Tito Jackson for f o r Boston dot com. Tito Jackson t I t o Jerry S. KSL for Boston dot com. Not related to the Jackson OK. All right well I want to thank all of you for coming in to talk to us and give us a detailed accounting of who you are and why District 7 is a viable post and why you all are running for that office. We have been talking about the Boston City Council and the seat vacated by Chuck Turner. You've been listening to the first of two roundtable with the candidates who are vying to feel a seat. Today I spoke with Tito Jackson Cornell mills and Danielle Williams. Next week we'll speak with the other four

candidates. The preliminary election will be held on Tuesday February 15th. You can keep on top of the Calla Crossley Show at WGBH dot org slash Calla Crossley follow us on Twitter or become a fan of the Calla Crossley Show on Facebook today show was engineered by Jane pipit and produced by Chelsea murders and a white knuckle be an Abby Ruzicka where a production of WGBH radio Bostons in PR station for news and culture. Wow. Wow. Wow.