Braintree Candidate Profile: John McKinley For Town Council

BRAINTREE, MA — November's election will bring some new faces to the Town Council. There's 17 candidates running for nine seats, and five of those races are wide-open.

District 1 is among those open races and is where John McKinley will square off against Julia Flaherty. The seat became open after Town Councilor Charles Kokoros decided to run for mayor.

Patch asked the candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near. Here's a little about McKinley before the Braintree town election on Nov. 5.

Previously on Patch:

• Braintree Candidate Profile: Thomas Reynolds Jr. For Mayor
• Braintree Candidate Profile: Charles Kokoros For Mayor
• Braintree Candidate Profile: Timothy Carey For Town Council
• Braintree Candidate Profile: Lawrence Mackin For Town Council
• Braintree Candidate Profile: Julia Flaherty For Town Council
• Braintree Candidate Profile: David Ringius For Town Council
• Braintree Candidate Profile: Steve Sciascia For Town Council
• Braintree Candidate Profile: Gisca Bonhomme For Town Council
• Braintree Candidate Profile: Donna Connors For Town Council
• Braintree Candidate Profile: Meredith Boericke For Town Council

The single most pressing issue facing Braintree is ____, and this is what you intend to do about it?

District 1, and Braintree as a whole, has two issues that go hand-in-hand: Traffic and over development. In our district the two biggest traffic choke points are Five Corners and Hancock and Plain. While these are state roads a lot can be done to negotiate with the state traffic engineer to improve the currently untenable situation. Hiring a dedicated local traffic engineer would allow us to submit proposals directly to the state engineer where the state usually defers to the local experts' solutions. However, our traffic engineer's recommendations to the state must deter drivers from using our neighborhoods as cut-thrus. Right now the state is in the slow process of upgrading all of these intersections that are making our traffic situation worse. While increasing traffic capacity on the town's main roads we must find a way to limit the amount of development so that we are not put in this exact same situation a decade from now. That is why I am for fixing our master plan to limit development in our neighborhoods while staying just above the 40R requirements so that the greedy tactics of the developers is not only stopped this time, but also in their future attempts to harm our community as well. Braintree is a family town made up of special and unique neighborhoods. We are not going to become the next Quincy with every small parcel of land being turned into high rise apartments or condos.

A large amount of Braintree's commercial property is located in District 1 which includes the South Shore Plaza. The Plaza, while a large part of Braintree's tax base, has caused numerous problems for our district. It has caused a considerable amount of the traffic issues along the Rte 37 corridor. It requires constant police presence just to keep the on-going threats contained. Most importantly however, the plaza's developers have consistently built and added stores that the community has been staunchly opposed to. That is why I want the opportunity to mold any future plaza expansion according to our community's will. I am prepared to be the negotiator for our district to be able to work with the Plaza to prevent any more outrageous proposals that only harm our district's residents.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

The most critical difference between myself and my opponent is that I have experience in advocating for legislation. I am well versed in how to craft effective legislation and on how to stop unpopular legislation at any stage of adoption. Through this process I have established relationships with people at all levels of government.

As a life-long resident of Braintree, this is the only place where my family and friends have ever called home which makes me well aware of the history and life style that makes our district unique. This is where my opponent and I differ. I have a vested interest in keeping District 1 the family friendly neighborhoods we all live in and in some cases hope to continue living in for generations to come. Being born and raised in Braintree may have been my family's decision, but as an adult I choose to continue to not only live in Braintree, but to take an active role in its future so that I too can raise a family here in the town I was blessed enough to grow up in.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

I have grown up around Braintree's public works departments. I know that there are a lot of infrastructure improvements that this town needs to begin working on in order to maintain Braintree's high quality standards. The town's water treatment plant is in desperate need of either replacement or extensive renovation. Braintree's water supply is stable for now, but just. Our town saw what happened this summer when emergency aid was given to both Randolph and Holbrook when they were having water supply issues. Our entire town saw significantly dirtier water and a drop in water pressure. Randolph and Holbrook were supposed to join us in making a tri-town water system that would prevent such emergencies. Instead, they chose to hamper all efforts we made. Now it is time for Braintree to update its system on its own so that our community is not tied to the whims of other towns. This will allow Braintree to remain a self-sufficient town moving forward.

Secondly, our town's sidewalks and road ways need to be repaired and/or replaced and brought up to ADA compliant standards. Pond Street in particular is in need of serious sidewalk replacements. Many of the school bus stops are on Pond Street's cracked, uneven and crumbling sidewalks. This is a danger for our children, the disabled, and the elderly and should be made a priority.

Finally, Braintree needs a detailed plan to refurbish our ailing school buildings. It is unfortunate that all of our schools needed renovations at the same time causing the state to balk at our funding requests.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I am a graduate of Xavier University with an Honors Bachelors of Arts Degree in Philosophy, Politics, and the Public. My education has taught me how to be an effective public advocate for whatever cause the public deems important. I was a part of the team of students who helped get the "Good Samaritan Law" changed to help save lives in Ohio. During that course we learned how to advocate to State and Federal politicians and aides.

Among my many accomplishments, I have taken on large projects from inception to completion. One such endeavor was my Eagle Scout project in which I along with the help of other scouts from Troop 138 rebuilt the Highland Elementary School playground. What began as a refurbishment project ended up becoming an almost complete renovation. I replaced a couple hundred feet of chain for the swings, negotiated the donation of several new bucket and platform swings, arranged for a couple thousand cubic feet of safety mulch to be delivered, built multiple new benches, reformed the bent aluminum polls, and repainted every metal surface. With my leadership skills and dedication my project was completed on time and within budget. I was very proud of my completed project knowing that the playground would be able to continue serving the highlands community for years to come.

Scouting has been a big part of my life — from participating in community events to helping those in need. The biggest fundraiser for Troop 138 has been and continues to be selling Christmas Wreaths after all the masses at St. Clare's. As a young scout I saw the opportunity to expand our fundraising efforts by approaching the then pastor of St. Francis, Father Sepe, and arranging to sell the wreaths after their masses as well. Through this initiative our troop was able to increase our fundraising. This relationship between Troop 138, St. Clare's and St. Francis continues to this day.

What's your favorite thing about Braintree?

The residents. The kindness, generosity, and commitment that the people in the town show to one another is what makes Braintree great. I couldn't ask for better neighbors, whether new to the town or here for many years. Everyone treats everyone like family and that’s rare to find in many towns today.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I am coming into this race without an agenda. My platform was developed by listening to the concerns of my fellow residents and assuring them that I will fight for them as their District 1 Councilor. While the critical items like traffic and anti-40R are the major priorities we are faced with, fighting for fixing sidewalks and roads, and other infrastructure projects are no less important items on my platform. I take every concern told to me seriously, and I will be the town councilor for our district that solves problems. I pledge to have regular communications with district residents, so they can sleep well knowing that I will constantly be fighting for their interests. If you have any concerns I would welcome hearing them. I have several forums on my website, McKinleyForDistrict1.com, that will allow you to either set up a meeting or email directly with me. I hope to be able to talk with as many of my fellow neighbors so that I can best assist the will of our community.

And to that end, I humbly ask that you vote this November 5th for John McKinley.