Medford Election Profile: Zac Bears 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. Isaac "Zac" Bears, 25, is one of nine candidates not currently serving on the City Council.

Bears has been the executive director of nonprofit Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts since January 2017. He was previously an economist at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and a digital communications manager for AFSCME, a labor union in Boston.

Bears is a 2011 graduate of Medford High School and holds degrees in political science and economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He lives in Medford with his parents, Bruce and Laura, and sister.

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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.

The most important issue facing our city is the significant growth in new property development and how it affects housing affordability, traffic, and livability for Medford residents.

We need a community-driven plan to address affordable housing and new property development that is grounded in the idea that we want people of all economic backgrounds in Medford, not just people who can afford luxury condos.

Medford needs a master plan, part of which would be conducting a complete zoning review. We also need to stop negotiating with developers on a case-by-case basis because it gives the developers a huge advantage.

The city must take the strongest position possible, and negotiate large Community Benefits Agreements for new developments that include additional cash payments to city funds, payments to a Community Land Trust that allows the city to purchase property and build affordable housing, and addressing traffic and infrastructure improvements near any new developments.

We also need to empower local neighborhood residents when it comes to new development. The most direct model is Somerville’s success electing a “Neighborhood Council” of about 100 local residents in Union Square to negotiate directly with a big developer. Somerville’s City Council withheld any zoning changes until the elected Neighborhood Council agreed to a deal with the developer. This process resulted not only in more community engagement, but also one of the largest Community Benefits Agreements in state history with large cash payments to fund important city services and infrastructure improvements.

We need development for the community, not the big developers.

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

As a young person who grew up in Medford, I understand the unique challenges many long-time Medford residents who are just trying to stay in the city are facing. I also know many of the people who have moved to the city more recently. I can build a bridge so that we welcome new residents to our community while protecting the rights of people who already live here to stay in the city they call home.

I’m also a first-time candidate, which means I will bring a fresh perspective to the council and move beyond some of the personal disagreements and challenges that have kept us from taking the bold action we need on the challenges we face.

Through my work, I have built strong relationships with our state legislators, and I understand how state government works (and doesn’t work). I also have extensive experience managing a staff, developing a vision, and working on important issues and achieving success.

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

One of the biggest disappointments of the past several years was the failure of the council to unanimously pass charter review. Because we need permission from the State House to conduct charter review, we need a strong showing of the council in order to receive permission. The last vote for charter review was 4-3, and it wasn’t strong enough to push the State House to act. Charter review would allow us to implement important changes like ward representation, as well as look at other pieces of the charter need to change after 30 years.

I will also bring an attitude of collaboration and forward progress to the council. We often see too much grandstanding and petty personal politics at our council meetings. We don’t need drama; we need action! A united council that involves the community is a great asset when it comes to solving the challenges we face.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

As stated above, we need a master plan for housing, traffic, and development. We also need charter review. Beyond that the city faces a host of issues.

We need to invest more in city and school building maintenance as well as essential city services.

Our public schools are the foundation of our community, and we need to invest in them and make sure students have the curriculum and resources they deserve.

Medford is lucky to have so many parks and so much open space. We need to protect them as well as replace play structures to make sure they are safe on a more regular basis. We also need to protect our existing trees and plant more trees, especially in areas that have seen a loss of tree canopy in recent years.

Along with protecting parks and open space, we need to take action on the climate crisis. This means net-zero carbon emissions for city buildings and new developments, and working with regional, state, and national partners to help residents make their homes carbon-neutral and more energy efficient. We also need to make sure that new developments in formerly-industrial areas don’t push out residents who have already been negatively-affected by poor environmental conditions.

We need to use the power we have from the state to tax and regulate short-term rentals like AirBnB—raising revenue and protecting our long-term housing stock? It’s a win, win!

City government’s communication with residents also needs more resources. We need new city and school websites that are up-to-date and translated into multiple languages. This is a first step towards hiring a Chief Information Officer who will create processes and every day action to involve residents in the big decisions that affect them.

We also need to work with regional and state partners on big challenges like funding our transportation system, addressing the large increase in airplane noise, ending the state ban on rent control, addressing the housing crisis, and ending the practice of state-level funding cuts to DCR. The DCR issue is not discussed enough. Medford has many DCR-controlled roads (I live on one, Fellsway West), parks, and other assets. We’ve seen that many of them are in serious disrepair.

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

As a member of the steering committee of the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance’s Fund Our Future campaign to fully-fund our public schools at the state level, I was deeply involved in the push to pass the Student Opportunity Act, which passed both the State Senate and State House of Representatives unanimously in October. This bill will invest billions of dollars in public education, and it will bring millions of dollars back to Medford by stopping the drain of funds from our public schools to charter schools, among many other great provisions.

I’ve also been involved in the push by Medford residents to increase the payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) from Tufts University and to pass bill at the State House allowing Medford to require large non-profits like Tufts to provide 5-and-10 year master plans to the city. We also joined together with Somerville residents to advocate for an equal agreement for both cities. I’m happy to say that the bill is moving forward, and even better, Tufts increased its PILOT by 64% for this year! The final agreement for the next several years is still under negotiation, and residents will continue to push Tufts to meet our demand that it pay 25% of what it would otherwise pay in taxes if it were not exempt.

I know how to bring people together, organize to get things done, and win big for Medford.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

“When we fight, we win.” I believe that when you bring your friends, neighbors, and fellow people together to advocate for what you believe in, you will succeed. There may be stops-and-starts, and unexpected obstacles, but when we work together to overcome them, there is nothing we cannot achieve.

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

I will advocate for you every day. I will always be available to talk to any resident about the issues that matter to them. Most importantly, I will work to create a Medford that works for all, whether you’ve lived here for 5 years or 50 years.

I love this city, and I would be honored to receive one of your votes on Tuesday, November 5th.