Medford Election Profile: Curtis Tuden For City Council

MEDFORD, MA — Medford's municipal election Nov. 5 will send seven people to the City Council out of a pool of 14 candidates. Curtis Tuden, 31, is one of nine candidates not currently serving on the City Council.

Tuden is a lifelong Medford resident and lives on Early Avenue with his wife. His mother, Aggie Tuden, serves as the Tree Warden, and his brother lives in East Medford.

Tuden has been the registrar and data manager of the Medford Public Schools since 2014 and has served as the Energy and Environment Committee chair for three years. He has a bachelor's degree in legal studies from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a master's degree in ethics and public policy from Suffolk University.

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The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Our single most pressing issue is the climate crisis. We need a Medford Green New Deal to address these issues, a copy of which can be found on my website, VoteTuden2019.com. This plan centers Environmental Justice and focuses on ending the affordable housing crisis, the transportation crisis, the tree loss crisis, and the fossil fuel crisis.

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

My work building a career in our local public schools while dedicating time to volunteer for the environment and other causes distinguishes me from other candidates.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

Previously, the council has lacked leadership on climate change. Our few successes took far to long and there's no time to waste. A vote for Curtis Tuden will be a vote to prioritize environmental issues in our city and a vote for a better, more sustainable future here in Medford.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

I support the Medford People's Platform along with other Our Revolution Medford endorsed candidates and we will work for the following issues:

ENVIRONMENT
Protect existing parkland, trees, and open space
Require all new or renovated city buildings to have renewable energy plan with a carbon-neutral goal
Strengthen or establish zoning laws on renewable energy in new developments

TRANSPORTATION
Expand the Complete Streets program
Explore new municipal bus routes and work with state to expand MBTA routes
Support a resolution to eliminate fares for public transportation at the state level

EDUCATION
Affordable Early Childhood Education
Expand hours for Medford Public Schools Pre-K
Increase Medford Family Network Budget

PRO-PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Increase substitute, paraprofessional, before-school, and after-school educator pay
Ensure equitable transportation for all students
Oppose attempts to increase the number of charter school seats currently available to Medford students so that money is not diverted from Medford Public Schools

AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Create a Community Land Trust
Create a transfer fee on house-flipping real estate transactions to fund the Community Land Trust
Increase affordable units required by zoning in new developments
Demand for Tufts to build new high-density on-campus housing

SAFE COMMUNITY
Uphold non-cooperation policy between Medford Police Department (MPD) and ICE
Support translation and distribution of MPD policies
Commit to actively engage immigrant communities to understand their needs, and secure a commitment by the city to hold free, regular immigration legal clinics
Sponsor a resolution to support the state Safe Communities Act

PRO-LABOR
$15 minimum wage for city and school system employees
Prioritize hiring of union labor for all city-funded jobs
Honor any strikes
Support new collective bargaining units for city and private sector workers

FAIR TAX STRUCTURE
Reform the city’s tax code to create a fair exemption structure
Support progressive city taxation, a debt exclusion, or a Prop 2½ override to address aging infrastructure and buildings

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION
Support a budget to translate all city communications into major area languages
Develop a modern, fully accessible city website with full-text search access to all public information
Improve outreach to impacted communities to ensure well-attended public meetings and forums and encourage participation and leadership from those communities in Medford
Commit to holding regular, publicly-posted office hours

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

My proudest accomplishments in the schools include merging the high school and vocational school, overhauling our data management system, and engaging in 1 on 1 support with staff, students, and parents/guardians. This work and more always focused on equity, collaboration, and innovation which is exactly what our City government needs.

And as I have volunteered on the Energy and Environment Committee, work was successfully completed for municipal energy aggregation, the plastic bag ordinance, the solar ordinance, along with protecting parks and the tree canopy while educating the community about energy and sustainability.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

"There is more to learn in defeat than in victory." This has been a touchstone for my campaign since I lost the 2017 City Council election. Lessons learned from then have transformed my 2019 campaign. We look forward to finishing what we started and finally bring progressive leadership to Medford City Council!

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

A vote for me, Curtis Tuden, is a vote for progress. It’s a vote to help
build a better future for our community. Whether you are from an older or younger generation, or you are a new or longtime resident, or if you identify as a marginalized member of the community, know that I will be your voice on the Council. I love the City of Medford and I would be honored to receive one of your seven votes for Medford City Council this Tuesday, November 5th. GO MEDFORD, VOTE TUDEN!!!